Chamberlain College of Nursing NR-531 Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Organization.SLMC has a continuous commitment to delivering the highest quality care by addressing crucial issues such as patient safety technology and expanding services to meet community needs.
Chamberlain College of Nursing NR-531 Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Organization.SLMC has a continuous commitment to delivering the highest quality care by addressing crucial issues such as patient safety technology and expanding services to meet community needs.
Quality Control (graded)
SLMC has a continuous commitment to delivering the highest quality care by addressing crucial issues such as patient safety technology and expanding services to meet community needs. As the nurse administrator you determine an audit of elder-patient readmissions would be helpful data to be collected. Discuss some of the information you would include on this tool and how you would proceed with this project.
Introduction
As we begin this weeks lesson we will focus on quality standards and controls for the nurse administrator.
Quality Management
As the nurse leader within a healthcare organization the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2010) Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice is one resource it is beneficial to become familiar with; it offers guidance and a foundation for nursing leadership practice.
A standard is a level of excellence predetermined by a set authority and is typically objective measureable and achievable (Marquis & Huston 2015). There are a variety of standards and the organization determines which standards will be adopted to support and guide the care provided.
Various tools can assist the nurse leader to manage the quality within a facility. One example of quality monitoring is an audit on a select outcome process or structure issue. The outcome audit is generally conducted to determine the result of a designated nursing intervention and indicates the general quality of care. Some examples include the mortality rate or length of stay for a particular organization (Marquis & Huston 2015).
When monitoring a process outcome typically a task is reviewed to determine if documentation exists to support that it was completed. Checking a patient chart to determine if a patient received discharge instructions or if the patients medications were reconciled at discharge are two examples of a process outcome.
Some structure-outcome elements are determined by accreditation or licensing bodies; for example there may be set criteria for staffing ratios and staffing mix on a particular area that must be followed. Documentation of schedules should reflect this outcome element.
To ensure the highest level of care provided quality controls should be an ongoing process and not simply a reaction to an event. When an unforeseen event occurs some organizations will conduct a root-cause analysis (RCA) with all the departments involved to help determine the cause of the event. After the cause of an event is determined recommendations and oftentimes policy or other changes will be implemented to hopefully prevent a repeat of a similar event. As the nurse leader participation on this committee is highly recommended to reinforce your support of quality within the organization.
Quality Control
Various quality-control measures exist in organizations to monitor and measure set quality standards or benchmarks. As the nurse leader the designated person must be held accountable for a specific measure and ensure continued monitoring and follow-up occurs to maintain quality standards. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (1994) healthcare quality is the degree that health services for individuals and populations align with the desired health outcomes. However oftentimes the definition of healthcare quality may differ between patients and healthcare providers. It can be a challenge to the nurse leader to help facilitate a common understanding of healthcare quality for all persons involved in a situation.
In an effort to support quality improvement the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Health (IHI) fund various initiatives around the country to support quality-improvement projects (Marquis & Huston 2015).
Quality control provides employees feedback about the care they provide to their patients. Quality-control information and data is used by other entities for quality monitoring. Once a set standard or criterion is established and the information to be collected or monitored is determined education needs to occur so employees are aware of the standard process and expectations for their role in the standard. After a designated amount of time if employees are not following the set process corrective action may be taken. These corrective-action steps must be clearly outlined in writing for personnel.
Quality Patient Care
Various models to promote and improve quality patient care may be utilized within healthcare organizations. Two quality-improvement models include total quality management (TQM) and the Toyota Production System (TPS) (Marquis & Huston 2015). The focus of quality improvement is an ongoing attempt to continuously improve quality.
As a nurse leader it is important to be familiar with various monitoring agencies involved with your organization. In 1984 The Joint Commissiona nonprofit independent organization that accredits healthcare organizations and programs in the United Statesmandated quality controls must be in place to promote assurance of quality patient care. In addition the core-measures program and the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) have been implemented by The Joint Commission to promote improvements in patient care and safety within healthcare settings (Marquis & Huston 2015).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also set standards for measuring quality healthcare. Process changes in required reporting monitoring and reimbursement information for various agencies can have an impact on organizations in a variety of ways that may affect the organizational processes structures and outcomes.
Some additional influences on healthcare quality and safety include Six Sigma and the Leapfrog Group. The IOM (2001) released a report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health Care System in the 21st Century and stated goals to assist with improving quality and safety in healthcare environments. The plethora of quality-and-safety resources available can be overwhelming. However developing a strategic approach with ongoing monitoring reporting follow-up and reevaluation can be helpful once a process has been implemented to ensure targets and goals are being met.
Executive Summary
As we discussed last week the nurse leader may need to communicate with the team for a multitude of reasons. After a visit by an accrediting or other agency an overview of the lengthy report is helpful to share information to persons who may not have time to read the whole lengthy report. An executive summary is a written nonverbal means of communication used to share concise information related to a specific topic. This summary provides an overview to determine if the reader would like to read the entire document. There are specific elements an executive summary should include; however it is essential the summary explains these three points: why the document was written your recommendations and conclusions and any financial considerations; only include the most significant points to support the stated conclusions (Roussel 2013). Examples of executive summaries are provided in your textbook.
Summary