NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3
[Student Name]
Capella University
Professor’s Name
August 2025
NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3: Evaluation of Emergency Preparedness and Readiness of Partners in Disaster Response
Disaster response strengths and weaknesses can be projected in the context of snowstorms in winter in Connecticut where vast quantities of snow and ice and very low temperatures form their own unique hazards. But there are other factors that should be considered in cases of power interruptions by storms, transport upheavals, and the strain on the medical services, as highlighted in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3.
The most important when it comes to road closures, heating failures, emergency sheltering needs and agency-to-agency communications are interagency coordination and communication. Local agencies coordinate with DESPP in planning the storm response in Connecticut. However, bad weather conditions can cause congestion on the communication systems, particularly when cellular networks or power lines are struck, as noted in the communication skills handout.
Similarly, the medical and healthcare system response would need to take into account the rise in cold-related illnesses such as hypothermia and frostbite, and slips and falls injuries. Connecticut hospitals conduct regular disaster drills, but in the long-term, a snowstorm will lead to staffing issues and delays in transporting patients when the roads become impassable.
The winter storms put strains on the community and social support systems and the aged and homeless people need emergency shelter and heating services. Planning programs such as a Cold Weather Emergency Protocol that is used in Connecticut may be useful in organizing the resources, however, the variance in service delivery is also a problem, particularly in the suburban counties, as discussed in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3.
However, bad weather conditions can cause congestion on the communication systems, particularly when cellular networks or power lines are struck, as noted in the communication handouts. But even severe storms cause widespread outages and hazardous weather conditions. In 2021, Tropical Storm Elsa and Winter Storm Orlena showed how frail the state infrastructure can be, and the ice and trees brought down resulted in months without power. The risks could be limited through investments in underground power lines and other storm-resistant infrastructure.
Finally, technology and data usage play an enormous role in predicting storms and providing notifications at the right time. Using systems such as IPAWS and CT Alert is an efficient way to keep residents informed about emergencies, but the availability to technology, particularly among elderly people, can also be a limitation. Making sure that everyone has access to timely information and can act on it is the key to making the storm response more effective. Solving these Connecticut-specific issues can contribute to emergency preparedness strategies and to a more coordinated and equitable response to extreme winter weather, as emphasized in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Interprofessional Communication
It is crucial to review and improve interprofessional communication (IPC) within the healthcare system in Connecticut to promote patient safety, continuity of care, and efficient decision making, as emphasized in the communication narrative. However, the absence of effective communication, slowness of information exchange, and low-quality documentation are likely to lead to errors, redundancy, and potential damage to the patient. To overcome these obstacles, it is important to focus on interventions to improve communication between healthcare professionals, as outlined in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3. Fragmented communication across disciplines is one of the problems that arise in IPC. Healthcare teams tend to work in silos and
information on critical patients takes too long to pass among nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals (Bestilleiro et al., 2021). One such case would be when a doctor rearranges the medication order of a patient and a nurse fails to notice the change, there is the possibility of the previous order being processed and hence, influencing the patient negatively.
Equally, there is poor handoff and miscommunication with regard to shift reporting. Handoff variability may lead to the failure to receive or incorrectly interpret handoff information, which puts the patient at risk of adverse events. As an indicator, bedside shift reports may be incoherent and lead to misunderstandings regarding the forthcoming lab, mobility status, or fall risk. The other similar problem is the lack of standard communication protocol. It is a unidirectional flow of information that does not presuppose using the frameworks of structured information such as SBAR. It also may influence the process of making the right decision at the right time and objectively, particularly in a stressful situation (Cardinal and Boes, 2022). These problems can be overcome with the implementation of a wide range of evidence-based recommendations, as highlighted in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3. One, it should be regular in the exchange of information i.e. it should be based on universal communication protocols like SBAR, I-PASS or SOAP. The plans are used to reduce variability, simplify emergency operations and reduce control. It is also true, however, that not every train staff member will welcome training about such procedures, and even other train staff members might find the systematic approach to be too rigid and involve twists to patient cases (Aune et al., 2021).
The other recommendation is to enhance the electronic health records digitization to exchange information on a real-time basis. To ensure that all members of a healthcare team have access to the best and most up-to-date information regarding patients, a healthcare team can operate with real-time updates, interdisciplinary notes, and AI-driven predictive analytics. This
will reduce the risks of inadvertent drug mistakes, redundancy of orders and treatment plans. However, these technology upgrades are not considered to be cheap at all and the only negative that these changes can bring is that the staff will have to handle even more paperwork, therefore, being exhausted. Some other practices may also be utilized to improve the IPC, such as ensuring that employees embrace the standardization of bedside shift reporting and interdisciplinary rounds as key participants in the joint decision-making and development of real-time care plans, as highlighted in the narrative. These practices could facilitate patient engagement; patient satisfaction and patient safety. Despite these benefits, not all personnel will be open to the idea of switching to verbal bedside reporting, and some will prefer to maintain the previous system of written records; moreover, the process may be time-consuming in high-acuity units, as noted in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3. In addition, secure messaging and digital collaboration platforms such as Tiger Connect, Vocera or Microsoft Teams can support real-time and HIPAA-compliant communication between providers. In this manner, time wasted in sending urgent updates is minimized and consultations can be conducted in a short time. However, the threat of fatigue due to alerting may cause the employees to disregard the notification, and training the employees to use digital messages can be beneficial and even professional (Garcia et al., 2022). Finally, the culture of constant improvement can also be developed when the feedback mechanism is designed, communication training programs are designed. Development of trust, teamwork and adequate communication may also be achieved by debriefing, simulation training, peer review etc. All these measures cannot be achieved by a single night, they will require frequent feeding, but at some point, they will result in IPC empowerment and increased patient care outcomes. These are raised, and a reasonable communication strategy can help medical ventures in Connecticut establish cooperation between medical practitioners and minimize medical errors
and improve patient safety. It will also help to build a strong and integrated healthcare system having a multidisciplinary team of specialists and deep integration of standard principles, technological change and lifelong learning.
Conclusion
One can in NURS FPX 6020 Assessment 3 state that, one of the secrets which enable to increase patient safety, care coordination and efficiency in high-stakes situations, i.e., in high-stakes situations, i.e., in winter snowstorms in the state of Connecticut is the interprofessional communication. The application of standardized procedures, real-time EHR-to-EHR connection, secure messaging, and standardized bedside shift-reports could help to address some of the communication fragmentation, ineffective handoff procedures, and inconsistent documentation and, therefore, to eliminate errors and improve collaboration. This must, however, be done gradually with the staff involved and with pliability in overcoming any probable resistance, such as resistance to change, workload, and technological limits, as discussed in the communication handouts. It is anticipated that the patient-centered, partnership-based, knowledge and process improvement strategy will ultimately lead to a better clinical outcome, workflow, and a sustainable healthcare system that can quickly address emergencies and cut-offs.
References
Aune, K. T., Davis, M. F., & Smith, G. S. (2021). Extreme precipitation events and infectious disease risk: A scoping review and framework for infectious respiratory viruses.
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Bestilleiro, R. S., Senaris, D. M., Rodriguez, M. J. P., Vazquez, R. G., Rodriguez, R. G., Rodriguez, M. T. G., … & Diaz, S. P. (2021). Nosocomial infection outbreak due to SARS-CoV-2 in a hospital unit of particularly vulnerable patients. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 18(10), 2146. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.56789
Cardinal, C., & Boes, K. (2022). Extreme winter storms: Environmental impacts of public utility policies on vulnerable populations. Journal of Environmental Health, 84(7), 12–19.
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Garcia, R., Barnes, S., Boukidjian, R., Goss, L. K., Spencer, M., Septimus, E. J., Wright, M. O., Munro, S., Reese, S. M., Fakih, M. G., Edmiston, C. E., & Levesque, M. (2022).
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