Overview
For this assignment, please complete the questions below.
Quality improvement Scenario
As a recently promoted nurse leader, you learn that your organization is preparing for an accreditation site visit. Knowing your unit will be surveyed by The Joint Commission, you begin investigating the accreditation process. You understand that Quality Improvement (QI) is an essential component in measuring the quality of care and will be evaluated during the accreditation process. One of your primary responsibilities as a nurse leader is to educate your team about the QI process. In order to provide essential information to your team, you must first fully educate yourself. Drawing on your readings, your professional experiences, and resources within your current place of employment, please consider the following questions.
Questions
Choose a QI model from your readings or from your professional experience. What are the components of the model? For example, the PDCA Cycle is commonly used in health care settings. The components of the PDCA model are Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDSA: Plan Do Study Act).
- Using your actual clinical experiences, and assuming the role of nurse manager, select 2 areas of clinical practice to evaluate as indicators of providing quality care (examples: skin integrity or patient admission process).
- What data will you use to measure your quality indicators? For example, if you are measuring client nutritional status on an oncology unit, a nurse manager might collect data such as daily weights, lab values, skin turgor, patient surveys, etc. You might also collaborate inter- professionally with the Nutritional Support staff to gain additional information.
Include your rationale for selecting the quality indicators chosen. Why are they important measurements in your clinical setting? Would interprofessional collaboration with other services be appropriate/helpful in collecting your data?
- How will the data be used by you and your team to improve the quality of client care delivered on your unit? Using the example in Question 3, you learn from patient surveys that there are many complaints about limited food choices, and lab values reveal lowered protein levels. As nurse manager, you work collaboratively with your team and the Nutritional Support staff to institute a “Meals on Demand” program. You also develop an educational program for clients and families on the importance of protein for wound healing and maintaining energy
- As nurse manager, how will you lead your team in evaluating the effectiveness of your quality improvement interventions selected in Question 4? Examples of evaluation include patient satisfaction surveys, national benchmarks, standards of care, etc. How will you motivate your staff and gain their cooperation and participation with your QI plan?