The And Quality And Safety Education

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

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).

Was QSEN discussed in your nursing program? I graduated from Washington Hospital School of Nursing in 2006. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses was established in 2005 (QSEN,2017). I cannot recall the QSEN being discussed in my nursing program.

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.

The WGU nursing program helped me in developing my professional definition of quality and safety by enlightening my understanding of root cause analysis, and system failures. The IHI course was an eye opener in my understanding of quality improvement, and the processes required to enhance safety and quality improvement. The courses that really assisted me in my definition include, the Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership, the Leadership and Professional Image, and Professional Roles and Values; and the Evidence-Based Practice and Applied Nursing Research.

Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) was developed with the purpose of providing professional nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the health care systems within which they work (QSEN, 2014). However, since its implementation and integration in nursing education, studies show little progress in improving quality and safety in health care delivery (Dolansky & Moore, 2013). The purpose of this article critique is to evaluate the cause analysis and recommendations made by the authors.

As popular as the ADN is today, there is a huge momentum to encourage nurses to receive their BSN instead of an ADN. Nurses that are already entering the workforce at the BSN level are not only more skilled at following and understanding evidenced based practice, but they are also more prepared to go on to school to complete their masters or doctorate degrees. In the changing face of healthcare, more nurses with advanced degrees will be needed to provide primary care as in the role of nurse practitioners. APRNs are going to be in higher demand in community care, public health nursing, evidence based practice, research, and leadership. Shortages of nurses in these positions create a “barrier to advancing the profession and improving the delivery of care to patients” (IOM, 2010, p. 170). Shortages of APRNs and the increasing need for nurse practitioners to provide primary care is why the IOM is recommending to increase the amount of BSN educated nurses entering the workforce to 80% and to double the number of doctorate nurses by 2020 (IOM, 2010, p. 173) The goal to increase the nursing workforce to 80% BSN educated nurses and double the amount of nurses with doctorate degrees is a formidable goal, but increasingly necessary. Patients are becoming more complex inside and outside of the hospital setting with chronic multiple comorbidities. BSN educated nurses are not only better prepared to care for these

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).

With an ever-increasing body of knowledge in the field of nursing, more education is being required to enter the field of nursing. Many healthcare institutions are raising the educational requirements in order to become employed or maintain employment in their facilities. Healthcare organizations are transitioning to hiring registered nurses (RN) who have a higher level of education, such as, a graduate from a Baccalaureate Degree Nursing (BSN) program. The goal of these institutions is to have nurses with a broader array of skills that can meet the growing demands of our patient population. BSN prepared nurses are recognized for their well-rounded skills in critical thinking, management, case management and health promotion versus Associate Degree nurses (ADN)/Diploma nurses that focus on direct patient care.

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

They determined that patients needing surgery have a "substantial survival advantage" (Aiken, Clark, Cheung, Sloan, & Silber, 2003) if treated in hospitals with higher ratios of nurses educated at the baccalaureate degree level. They too determined through this research that the more nurses holding BSN degrees help decrease the risk of patients dying and the ability to determine the patient is in distress. This research provides the evidence that nurses with a BSN degree have a better comprehension in their ability to formulate nursing diagnoses and evaluate nursing interventions. (Giger & Davidhizar, 1990) BSN degree nurses also demonstrate improved professional integration and research/evaluation skills. (The Future of Nursing:Leading Change, Advancing Health, 2012)

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

“Throughout the last decade, policymakers and practice leaders have recognized that education makes a difference” (Impact of Education, n.d.). Hospitals are also trending towards preferred hiring of bachelors prepared nurses for their workforce. Even national organizations are jumping on the bandwagon requiring “all nurse managers and nurse leaders to hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing by 2013” (Impact of Education, n.d.), likewise the Institute of Medicine has also recommended that all hospitals have at least 80% of their nursing staff with a BSN or higher by the year 2020 (Impact of Education, n.d.).

There are only five years left before the 2020 Recommendation to increase the number of registered nurses with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from 40% to 80%, would take effect. Nurses, who have no BSN credentials and are not yet enrolled in any educational program, are aware of the employers’ preference for BSN prepared nurses. Cognizant of the financial implication of enrolling in a BSN program, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that

In the article “What Do Nurses Really Do?”, Suzanne Gordon explores what nurses truly do. She concludes that nurses “save lives, prevent complications, prevent suffering, and save money” (Gordon 2006). Nurses provide care for their patients in the physical and emotional sense. Emotionally caring for a patient and being sensitive to his or her needs result from interacting with patients while performing the skills and using the knowledge that nurses learned in school. Nurses grow in their skills, knowledge, and attitudes through practice. Quality and safety education for nursing incorporates competencies that all nurses must use in their practice. These nursing competencies include evidence-based nursing practice, quality improvement, safety, teamwork and collaboration, patient-centered care, and informatics.