NURS4020-Improving Quality and Patient Safety

For this assessment, you will develop a 3-5 page paper that examines a safety quality issue in a health care setting. You will analyze the issue and examine potential evidence-based and best-practice solutions from the literature as well as the role of nurses and other stakeholders in addressing the issue.

Health care organizations and professionals strive to create safe environments for patients; however, due to the complexity of the health care system, maintaining safety can be a challenge. Since nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals, a great deal of responsibility falls in the hands of practicing nurses. Quality improvement (QI) measures and safety improvement plans are effective interventions to reduce medical errors and sentinel events such as medication errors, falls, infections, and deaths. A 2000 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report indicated that almost one million people are harmed annually in the United States, (Kohn et al., 2000) and 210,000–440,000 die as a result of medical errors (Allen, 2013).

The role of the baccalaureate nurse includes identifying and explaining specific patient risk factors, incorporating evidence-based solutions to improving patient safety and coordinating care. A solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of safety organizations such as Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and The Joint Commission and its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program is vital to practicing nurses with regard to providing and promoting safe and effective patient care.

You are encouraged to complete the Identifying Safety Risks and Solutions activity. This activity offers an opportunity to review a case study and practice identifying safety risks and possible solutions. We have found that learners who complete course activities and review resources are more successful with first submissions. Completing course activities is also a way to demonstrate course engagement. You may also choose to use the scenario in the activity as the basis for your assessment.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

1.Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative.

a.Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety related to a specific patient safety risk and reduce costs.

2.Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks.

a.Explain factors leading to a specific patient safety risk.

3.Competency 3: Explain the nurse’s role in coordinating care to enhance quality and reduce costs.

a.Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs.

b.Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements.

4.Competency 4: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.

a.Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using current APA style.

Consider the hospital-acquired conditions that are not reimbursed under Medicare/Medicaid, some of which are specific safety issues such as infections, falls, medication errors, and other concerns that could have been prevented or alleviated with the use of evidence-based guidelines.

Choose a specific condition of interest and incorporate evidence-based strategies to support communication and ensure safe and effective care.   

For this assessment, consider using one of the following approaches:

5.Expand on the scenario presented in Vila Health: Identifying Patient Safety Concerns and analyze a quality improvement (QI) initiative.

6.Analyze a current issue in clinical practice and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative in the health care setting.

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address safety risk. This will be within the specific context of patient safety risks at a health care setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in health care settings from organizations such as QSEN and the IOM. Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures currently in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote safety in the context of your chosen health care setting.

Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you know what is needed for a distinguished score.

a.Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk. 

b.Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety related to a specific patient-safety risk and reduce costs.

c.Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs. 

d.Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements. 

e.Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style