QSEN Competencies In Undergraduate Nursing Education

3. Please list the six Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies that were developed for pre-licensure and graduate nursing programs.

In October 2005 the Quality and Safety Education for Nursing program was established. This program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. QSEN was developed specifically for future nurses to understand and be aware of key challenges such as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are essential to constantly advance the quality and safety of the way healthcare systems work. The goal for QSEN is to reshape the identity of nursing so it includes the recommendations by the Institute of Medicine so there is a commitment to the quality and safety proficiency (Dycus, 2009).

Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) was started around 2005 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. QSEN's main goal is to “prepare future nurses with knowledge, skills and attitudes (or KSAs) necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare system,” (QSEN, 2017). “Integration of clinical skills with the intellectual capacity to safely manage the complexity of nursing work in key to quality care in a time of diminishing resources,” ( Dolansky, 2013). “It is vital for schools of nursing to meet the needs of today's complex health care systems by including principles of quality and safety throughout the curriculum,” (Lewis, 2016). Within the KSAs are six main categories; patient-centered care, teamwork

The overall goal through all phases of The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) is to address the challenge of preparing future nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems in which they work. In order to accomplish this goal, six competencies were defined. These competencies from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) are patient centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics and safety. Over a decade has passed since the Institute of Medicine’s reports on the need to improve the American healthcare system. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses

Over time the health care industry has become more complex. Health care is rapidly evolving and continuing to complicate our delivery of care, which in turn has the same effect on quality of care. This steady evolution and change results in nursing shortages and an increase in the prevalence of errors being made. In hopes of preventing these errors and creating safe and high quality patient care, with the focus on new and improved ways of thinking, The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative was developed. The QSEN focuses on the following competencies: patient-centered care, quality improvement, safety, and teamwork and collaboration. Their initiatives work to prepare and develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary to make improvements in the quality and safety of health care systems (Qsen.org, 2014).

Dolansky and Moore (2013) argued that the development and integration of QSEN competencies into nursing education had not have the outcomes intended. They stated "over a decade has passed since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System" and national initiatives to improve quality, especially QSEN, have been futile in significantly improving quality and safety. "QSEN is a national movement that guides nurses to redesign the "what and how ' they deliver nursing care so that they can ensure high-quality, safe care" (Dolansky & More 2013).

Human flourishing, one of the National League of Nursing competencies, refers to the overall state of well-being of an individual within multiple contexts. This competency celebrates diversity, freedom, happiness, and holistic well-being of individuals within their families, communities, and society (Nursing Framework and Program Outcomes, n.d.). The concept of human flourishing embodies the elements of contrast and conflict in life, connection with the surrounding world, loving kindness, and harmony and stillness (McCormack, B., & Titchen, 2014). It is within both the challenges that arise in life and the joyous moments that the individual grows physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. Human flourishing requires one to embrace the unknown, the uncomfortable, and the contrasts that occur in life and find a sense of inner peace that enables one to show kindness and love to others (McCormack, B., & Titchen, 2014).

Elisha (2008) discussed evidence suggested, programs that focused on clinical educators had a positive effect not only with the teachers but also improved the learning environment for students. The school providing opportunities for professional development in curriculum design allows for novice learners to advance their skills (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Changes require faculty to expand their views, taking into consideration the future of nursing practice, goals, and how students can be successful in achieving these goals (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). National League of Nursing (2016) notes that educators have to commit to maintain competency in their educator role with the competency of pursuing continuous quality improvement in the nurse educator role. Educators have to be willing to push themselves to develop the skills for curriculum design and evaluation to continue to provide effective education to nursing students. Success of curriculum development is dependent upon knowledgeable faculty willingness to participate and professional development planned with and for the faculty (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Educators will also need to develop skills for evaluation of student learning and part of the curriculum development. Evaluation of student learning is key to determine if the current curriculum allows for students to achieve set goals for the course and evaluation methods used match course objectives (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). Evaluation helps to understand what works and what areas need improvement to ensure student

The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Institute developed six core competencies: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses Institute, 2017). At my facility, it is clearly evident that they have adopted these six core competencies to improve patient quality and safety. My facility created the Office of Patient Experience which supports care that is safe, of high quality and high value. Patient satisfaction is a top priority which is why our guiding principle is known as “Patients First”. Through teamwork and collaboration, we deliver care that is patient-centered by working together in multidisciplinary rounds on the inpatient units. Also, the nursing education department supports quality, safety and consistent nursing care through a database of policies and procedures developed using evidence-based research. Lastly, the nursing informatics department is working towards making our EPIC system more patient-centered. They are doing this by decreasing the redundancy in charting for the nursing staff and finding ways to improve processes which automate tasks. This in turn will reduce the time that the nursing staff spends with their computer and increase the time that the nursing staff can spend with their patients.

The clinical nurse practitioner has numerous areas of core competencies that vary greatly from the five categories listed for the nursing administrator. Nurse practitioner competencies are: scientific foundation, leadership, quality, practice inquiry, technology and information, policy, health delivery system, ethics, and independent practice (NONPF, 2012). The nurse practitioner needs to have a solid foundation in the nursing science field (NONPF, 2012). Quality competencies are another area in which clinical nurse practitioners need to hold as they are dealing directly with patients and their needs (NONPF, 2012). Relationships between access, cost, quality, and safety and how they influence health care are what are needed for nurse practitioners (NONPF, 2012). Also, interpreting knowledge into practice interacts with the quality of the practice. Generating knowledge about the practice and constantly improving the practice through evidence based best practices furthers the area of nursing (NONPF,

When I took my current position, as a flight nurse, I expected to experience a significant amount of clinical growth. What I did not anticipate, was that my greatest growth would be in the area of teamwork and collaboration, which is one of the seven competencies outlined by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project. The goal of the QSEN project is to improve quality and safety in healthcare by preparing nurses with the KSAs to function in seven competency areas: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics (Cronenwett, 2009). By reflecting upon my experiences in my current practice as a flight nurse, I can see where my KSAs concerning

The Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies were selected to serve as the backbone of nursing. This means that every nurse that has the initials RN behind his/her name has the exact same competency-based education, no matter where they obtained their degree. These competencies serve as a foundation to nursing.

The five core competencies identified by IOM and the sixth added by QSEN, safety, are believed to be necessary to improve both quality and safety of the healthcare system within which nurses work (Multimethod teaching). The six core competencies outlined are patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, informatics, and safety (Diffusing Qsen). While all competencies are significant to the healthcare system, patient centered care is vital to positive patient outcomes and focuses on the patient’s perspective within the healthcare system.

Furthermore, licensing and accreditation standards must be heightened to insure the quality of the nurses that enter the workforce. Certifying organizations must therefore mandate the proper demonstration of core competencies and skills prior to endowing students with the nursing title. The nursing profession, according to the IOM report, must undergo fundamental changes within the overall education of nurses. In many respects the basic

Academic nurse educators engage in a number of roles and functions, each of which reflects the core competencies of nursing faculty. Those competencies include the following: 1) facilitate learning, 2) facilitate learner development and socialization, 3) use assessment and evaluation strategies, 4) participate in curriculum design and evaluation of program outcomes, 5) function as a change agent and leader, 6) pursue continuous quality improvement in the nurse educator role, 7) engage in scholarship, and 8) function within the educational environment