Quality Improvement Of Health Care

During hourly rounds assess the patients pain level and take necessary intervention to alleviate pain, reposition patients who need assistance and make sure that urinals and call light and telephone are within reach of the patient. Taking care of these needs in a timely manner will make the patient comfortable, which will reduce anxiety and stress levels in the patient and reduce the risk of falls. The nurse should always make sure that the environment is safe for the patient by keeping the area clutter free. Comfort measures like tightening the wrinkled bed, giving warm blanket, changing moist dressings or repositioning the tubes or other objects that bothering the patient can enhance their comfort level Monitor high risk patients with delirium, dementia, hypotension, medications, and other conditions which can increase the risk of fall. Providing safety companions for continuous observation and to help the patients will reduce the number of falls. Nurses should educate and encourage patients to use the call light and phone to call for help. Provide patients with appropriate assistive devices like cane, walker as needed to keep them steady. I believe the concept in this theory of comfort can be utilized to reduce the occurrence of falls in health care settings.

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).

Quality improvement is referred to as “the use of data to monitor the outcomes for care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care” (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2012). Data is used as the reflection of quality care that is provided by nurses and presents whether or not improvement is needed. In order for nurses to be mindful of the care that they give, they must be taught a systematic process of defining problems, identifying possible causes of those problems, and methods for trying out new solutions to prevent those problems (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2012). Currently, quality improvement measures are being utilized throughout hospitals to reduce the risk of patient falls and fall injuries.

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.

No matter which perspective the view is from, most everyone would agree that millions of nurses worldwide are involved in a profession that is constantly changing and changing at a very quick pace (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). This transformation is due to a number of factors like demographic changes, the shortage of health care professionals, economic downfalls on the health care system, and evolving technology (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). In an effort to support and promote the future of nursing and advancement in health care, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) took on a 2 year initiative that

Patients want and expect to receive high quality care. Nurses want to provide the best care possible to their patients and like everybody else; want a pleasing job environment. Hospitals, on the other hand, are expected to provide a safe environment to patients, have enough nursing staff and remain profitable (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier & Owens, 2013). The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and patient safety across the United States; therefore, all the different interests of these major stakeholders should be taken into

In this essay, we will explore the course goals, which I achieved by completing the course assignments and discussion posts. Therefore, we will discuss the driving forces that promotes a patient safe culture. Also, we will discuss the interdisciplinary team and their contribution has an impact on improving the quality of care delivered to patients. Also, we will discuss evidence-based practice and the importance of the nurse leaders to increase their knowledge in interpreting research and why different approaches may be utilized. Also, we will discuss quality management how it may improve patient care and how it is utilized by the nurse leaders. Also, we will explore healthcare informatics and the impact it has had on the healthcare system.

Patient falls is one of the commonest events within the healthcare facilities that affect the safety of the patients. Preventing falls among patients requires various methods. Recognition, evaluation, and preventing of patient falls are great challenges for healthcare workers in providing a safe environment in any healthcare setting. Hospitals have come together to understand the contributing factors of falls, and to decrease their occurrence and resulting injuries or death. Risk of falls among patients is considered as a safety indicator in healthcare institutions due to this. Falls and related injuries have consistently been associated with the quality of nursing care and are included as a nursing-quality indicator

With over three million nurses in the United States nurses play an important role in healthcare today. As the future of health care changes the nurses’ role will change as well. In 2008, The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) combined partnership and put together a committee to assess nursing practices and make recommendations for the future transformations in the health care system. This report was released in 2010 and included four key components in which three will be discussed in this paper.

Falls in an acute care setting lead the list of injury related deaths and deaths in the elderly. “A fall is defined as any event which patients are found on the floor (observed or unobserved) or an unplanned lowering of the patient to the floor by staff or visitors” (Kalisch, Tschannen, and Lee, 2012, p. 6). Medicare and Medicaid changes in 2008 list falls as one of the 10 hospital acquired conditions for which hospitals will no longer be reimbursed because falls are considered preventable conditions. Joint Commission accredited hospitals are required to assess for falls risk and implement falls prevention measures.

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

Health care systems are reporting and monitoring quality of care indicator data with increasing regularity.

As a competent registered nurse, my career goal is to become a healthcare quality improvement leader, a position that would enhance my commitment in promoting patient safety. I not only believe in enhancing the capacity of other care providers, but also in improving the quality of the healing environment for the benefit of both patients and their care providers. This means not only promoting collaboration with the multidisciplinary teams, but also building the necessary healing partnerships with our patients. To enhance the quality of the healing environment, I aspire to continue analyzing researches for evidence based practices and advocating for their actualization. I will continue focusing my time and energy in encouraging other nurses to improve their skills through formal education, so they can empower themselves as advocates of quality improvement for the benefit of their patients and coworkers.

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

Quality is one of the most essential elements of healthcare. As stated by the Agency of Health Research and Quality, “Everyday, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function” (Agency of Health Research and Quality, 2014). Improvements have become vital to the success of health care organizations and in the Healthcare Quality Book, it is explained that quality in the U.S. healthcare system is not at the standard that it should be (Ransom, Joshi, Nash & Ransom, 2008). Although this has been a reoccurring issue, attempts to fix the insufficiency have been less successful than expected.