Proposed PICOT Intervention
The intervention is the implementation of a standardized surgical specimen collection, labeling, and staff education with a verification checklist for this PICOT project. The purpose of this intervention is to reduce errors in surgical specimen collection and labelling and to affect patient safety, patient diagnosis and patient treatment negatively. Education and evidence-based procedures help to standardize and enhance the quality of specimen handling.
Proposed Intervention
The intervention involves training of nurses and surgical personnel in the correct collection, labeling, handling, and documentation of specimens. Moreover, a standard verification checklist will be employed prior to samples being shipped to the lab. The protocol will encourage compliance with evidence-based protocols and minimize communication breakdowns between health care providers in the management of the specimens (Wilesmith et al., 2025).
Support for the Population, Setting, and Nursing Role
This intervention will benefit the population of focus through patient safety and the correct diagnosis of surgical patients. Acute care hospitals can suffer from specimen collection errors, which increase costs, can cause repeat procedures, and may result in delayed treatment. The intervention is supportive of the nursing practice, enhances accountability, inter-professional working, and patient safety. As a nurse, following evidence-based protocols allows for better quality of care as well as better patient outcomes (Alharbi et al., 2025).
The findings from the research process are presented. Results of the research process are presented.
The selected problem is suitable for research-based intervention: surgical specimen errors are measurable, preventable, and directly related to clinical processes. Studies have shown that the use of standardized protocols, personnel training, and checklist systems can have a marked impact on the reduction of errors in healthcare environments. A PICOT format is used to determine if the intervention has an impact on the outcomes within a certain time period and clinical context (Chance et al., 2024).
PICOT Statement
Does the introduction of a surgical specimen collection and labeling protocol with staff education and checklist verification (I), compared to the current practice of surgical specimen collection (C) without a standardized verification (P), affect the number of specimen collection and labeling errors (O) over 12 weeks (T) in surgical patients at an acute care hospital setting?
References
Alharbi, T., Rababa, M., Alsuwayl, H., Alsubail, A., & Alenizi, W. (2025). Diagnostic Challenges and Patient Safety: The Critical Role of Accuracy – A Systematic Review. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Volume 18, 3051–3064. https://doi.org/10.2147/jmdh.s512254
Chance, E. A., Florence, D., & Sardi Abdoul, I. (2024). The effectiveness of checklists and error reporting systems in enhancing patient safety and reducing medical errors in hospital settings: A narrative review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 11(3), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2024.06.003
Wilesmith, S., Mandrusiak, A., Lang, R., Martin, R., Lu, A., & Forbes, R. (2025). Educational Interventions to Develop and Enhance Clinical Documentation Skills in Health Professional Students: A Systematic Review. The Clinical Teacher, 22(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.70157
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Based on the PICOT you developed for NUR-550, summarize the intervention you are proposing. How does this support the population of focus, your setting, and role? Justify how the problem you selected to investigate is amenable to a research-based intervention using the PICOT format. Include your PICOT statement with your response.discussion 1