Competency in medication management is paramount in the acute care setting, but unfortunately, medication errors continue to impact inpatient safety despite the safeguards established among healthcare systems across the nation. Learn how three nursing professional development (NPD) specialists at one of the largest pediatric cardiac centers in North America sought to improve medication safety through a year-long interprofessional initiative.

Nurses are natural problem solvers. If there’s a patient, family, or clinical need, we want to fix it. We see this all the time—jumping right to the solution when we should stay open to weigh options and use the best evidence. This article raises the PURPOSE approach as a possible solution to sustain effective practice environments.

1 in 5 U.S. adults experience a mental health condition every year, and 1 in 20 experience a serious mental health condition. We may sometimes forget that we need to care for the mental health of every single patient who walks into the hospital, regardless of their primary diagnosis or reason for visit, because mental health is an integral part of a person’s overall health. This article discusses the roles of the nursing professional development (NPD) practitioner in two key programs that have benefited the Allegheny Health Network's patients, teams, and community.