Quality Improvement Initiatives And Performance Management Systems

Accountability means:” being accountable for one’s own action”. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states in its code that the nurse will assume accountability for individual nursing judgments and actions. Professional nurses are accountable in several areas including accountability to the public, client, profession, employer, and self (Hood, 2010, p. 307). All professional nurses have the responsibility to work within their scope of practice to provide the best possible care to patients. Nurses’ should have a thorough knowledge about their accountability in specific areas of practice. The level of responsibility and accountability depends on professional levels. A nursing supervisor has more responsibility than a charge- nurse. A

Every health professional has a legal obligation to patients. Nurses as part of the health care team share an important role in the quality and safe delivery of patient care. They have the major responsibility for the development, implementation and continuous practice of policies and procedures of an organisation. It is therefore essential that every organization offer unwavering encouragement and resources to support their staff to perform their duty of care in every patient. On the other hand, high incidences of risk in the health care settings have created great concerns for healthcare organizations. Not only they have effects on patients, but also they project threat to the socioeconomic status. For this reason, it is expected that all health care professionals will engage with all elements of risk management to ensure quality and safe patient delivery. This paper will critically discuss three (3) episodes of care from the case study Health Care Complaints Commission [HCCC] v Jarrett [2013] Nursing and Midwifery Professional Standards Committee of New South Wales [NSWNMPSC] 3 in relation to Registered Nurse’s [RN] role as a leader in the health care team, application of clinical risk management [CRM] in health care domains, accountability in relation to clinical governance [CG], quality improvement and change management practices and the importance of continuing professional development in preparation for transition to the role of RN.

What do you consider to be the key issues for quality improvements in the NHS quality-improvement program as it goes forward?

What is accountability? It means being responsible to someone or for some action and be able to give explanation on any action applied. To be accountable involves being ready or prepared to give

Critically analyse how clinical governance can ensure accountability of individuals and teams and that nursing practice is safe and of a high standard?

This paper will describe current quality outcome measures and the significance for improving medical care. Organizational accountability and transparency has improved with the emergence of Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) programs and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPs). This article will review the role of the nurse manager in creating a culture for quality care as well as the nurse for meeting organizational and patient expectations. Organizations like The Joint Commission (JC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and The American Nurses Association (ANA) have been critical in establishing standards for quality. This paper will also report on the most recent hospital statistics and steps taken to improve HCAHP scores and reduce readmission rates at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville (UTMCK). Statistics at UTMCK will also be compared to the Tennessee and National averages found on the Medicare website Hospital Compare. The aim of this paper is to explore if healthcare system initiatives are improving quality and enhancing patient outcomes.

Accountability is important in the health care industry; it holds an individual accountable day in and day out for his and her own tasks. Holding a person accountable for their actions can also assist in creating accountability for the department, unit, organization, and industry level of the organization. Accountability is considered to be a performance management system to improve and measure quality in the health care industry (O'Hagan & Persaud, 2009).

Accountability and Responsibility are two of the most important skills that a clinical nurse can display. These skills are taught beginning in nursing school, when learning about the ethical framework behind the nursing profession. Nursing is a skillful combination of science and art that places patient preferences above everything else. Not everyone has the unique ability to be caring and medically savvy. The American Nurses Association defines accountability as the ability to be answerable to oneself and others for one’s own actions (Battie & Steelman, 2015). Accountability plays a huge role in patient care and the process of learning the skills of nursing. Student nurses learn that nurses should be accountable for all actions, delineation of tasks to supportive staff, as well as nursing interventions. Responsibility is also intertwined with this idea of being accountable for one’s own actions. Responsibility refers to the specific accountability or liability associated with the performance of duties of a particular role. Nurses can either accept or reject specific role demands based upon their education, knowledge, competence, and extent of experience (Code of Ethics, 2015). This paper will discuss accountability and responsibility of nurses delving into assessing one’s own competence, techniques of learning responsibility, and the future of nursing accountability.

Accountability is honestly one of the most important aspects to the healthcare industry. It is one of those factors that one would expect to be a necessary part of an organization not only because it is expected but because it is a necessary evil. Employees need to be accountable for their actions in one way or another. An organization cannot function properly without this feature. It has become a new fact of life and affects an organization like no other factor and has cost the healthcare industry billions of dollars and continues to grow on a day by day basis. According to Porter-O’Grady (2007), accountability is

As the largest group of health care professionals, nurses hold the key to effective health care system change. Without the nurses and their leadership skills and expertise, we know that the efforts to address the challenges facing the healthcare system will be in vain. So much of what nurses do directly addresses health care reform goals concerning better quality care for more people at a lower cost. Throughout the years nurses have made a tremendous effort to reduce the rates of medical errors,

Nurses can play a fundamental role in transforming the health care system. The IOM report already recognizes nurses as patients’ advocates and now must move forward to advocate for the entire care delivery system by speaking as a policy. The situations should be viewed as something they can shape and develop, rather than something that merely happens to them. In the old style of leadership, leaders give orders and expect them to be followed. In the call for a new style of leadership, this is not relevant. The IOM sets up “a style of leadership that involves working with others as full partners in a context of mutual respect and collaboration.” It sites that studies show that this style of leadership is associated with better patient outcomes, fewer medical errors, and greater staff satisfaction. However, it recognizes that transforming the current healthcare hierarchy into something more equitable won’t be easy. Group consultations, self-assessment, mentorship, and evaluation are essential parts to developing leadership. These will translate strategic vision into action, and implement managing and organizational

Errors pervade in our lives whether it is our home, in our workplace, or in our society. The effects of healthcare errors have impacted all our lives either directly or indirectly. Patient safety and quality care are at the core of healthcare system which strongly depends upon nurses. “To achieve goals in patient safety and quality, thereby improve healthcare, nurses must assume the leadership role. Nurses need to ensure that they and other healthcare providers center healthcare on patients and their families. Even though the quality and safety of healthcare is heavily influenced by the complex nature

Nursing care delivery is defined as the way task allocation, responsibility, and authority are organized to achieve patient care. Tiedeman and Lookinland (2004) suggested that systems of nursing care delivery are a reflection of social values, management ideology, and economic considerations. (Tiedeman&Lookinland, 2004) According to Fewer (2006), the quality of nursing care delivery systems affects continuity of care, the relationship between nurse and patient, morale, nurse job satisfaction and educational preparation.(Fewer, 2006) Nurses are essential human resources to provide medical services with professional knowledge and skills in the healthcare setting. However, the registered nurse turnover rate has increased in recent years resulting

Weston, M. & Roberts, D., 2013, September. The Influence of Quality Improvement Efforts on Patient Outcomes And Nursing Work: A Perspective from Chief Nursing Officers at Three Large Health Systems. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved on January 23, 2015 from http://www.nursingworld.org/Quality-Improvement-on-Patient-Outcomes.html

This piece of work will critically explore the theories about management and leadership in health care. At the beginning it will provide a base understanding of both topics and accountability importance. It will then concentrate