Assessment 1enhancing quality and safety

For this assessment, you will develop a 3-5 page paper that examines a safety quality issue pertaining to medication administration 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.

Introduction

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.

Demonstration of Proficiency

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

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

· Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs.

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

· Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration.

· Competency 4: Explain the nurse’s role in coordinating care to enhance quality and reduce costs.

· Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.

· Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration.

· Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.

· Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling.

· Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.

References

Allen, M. (2013). How many die from medical mistakes in U.S. hospitals? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/20/224507654/how-many-die-from-medical-mistakes-in-u-s-hospitals.

Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M. S. (Eds.). (2000).  To err is human: Building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Professional Context

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for implementing quality improvement (QI) and patient safety measures in health care settings. Effective quality improvement measures result in systemic and organizational changes, ultimately leading to the development of a patient safety culture.

Scenario

Consider a previous experience or hypothetical situation pertaining to medication errors, and consider how the error could have been prevented or alleviated with the use of evidence-based guidelines.

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

For this assessment:

· Analyze a current issue or experience in clinical practice surrounding a medication administration safety risk and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative in the health care setting.

Instructions

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address a medication administration 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 surrounding medication administration, 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 medication administration 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.

· Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration.

· Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs.

· Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.

· Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with medication administration.

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

Additional requirements

· Length of submission: 3–5 pages, plus title and reference pages.

· Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.

· APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style.

Enhancing Quality and Safety Scoring Guide

Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs.

Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.

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

Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling.

Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.

NURS-8002C

LINKING AREAS OF FOCUS INTO FUTURE PLANS FOR THE DNP

· Points 100

· In obtaining your DNP degree at Walden, you will complete a practicum/field experience and Doctoral Project. Both of these program-of-study milestones are directly aligned to the achievement of the AACN DNP Essentials.

· The focus of your Doctoral Project will be on a quality improvement project that you would advocate for to address a nursing practice gap or organizational need.

· In this first course, you will begin to consider the type of Doctoral Projects you might be interested in pursuing for completion of your DNP degree. Similarly, the clinical hours you will complete in your practicum/field experience will also align to the achievement of certain competencies as defined in the AACN  DNP Essentials. Consider how alignment between your future plans in completing your practicum/field experience and your Doctoral Project will represent alignment to the DNP Essentials.

· For this Assignment, reflect on the Discussion Forum from Week 4 and think about how the completion of your Doctoral Project and practicum/field experience demonstrates alignment to the AACN DNP Essentials.

TO PREPARE:

· Review the Discussion Forum from Week 4.

· Review the AACN  DNP Essentials document in the Learning Resources and reflect on how the completion of your Doctoral Project and the completion of a practicum/field experience may align to these Essentials.

· Select at least 3 AACN DNP Essentials to focus on for this Assignment.

THE ASSIGNMENT: (2–3 PAGES)

· Describe the 3 AACN DNP Essentials that most align to the completion of a Doctoral Project. Be specific. Note: This is in general terms, not in relation to a particular quality improvement or organizational goal.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references.

3 AACN DNP Essentials to focus on for this Assignment

1.Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking

2. Essential V: Health Care Policy for Advocacy in Health Care

3. Essential VII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving the Nation’s Health

Essential VIII: Advanced Nursing Practice (I HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED THIS REQUIRENMENT)

TO PREPARE

· Refer to the “Population-Focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies” found in the Week 1 Learning Resources and consider the quality measures or indicators advanced nursing practice nurses must possess in your specialty of interest.

· Refer to your “Clinical Skills Self-Assessment Form” you submitted in Week 1 and consider your strengths and opportunities for improvement.

· Refer to your Patient Log of the patient activities you have experienced in your practicum experience and reflect on your observations and experiences.

In 450–500 words, address the following:

Learning From Experiences 

· Revisit the goals and objectives from your Practicum Experience Plan. Explain the degree to which you achieved each during the practicum experience.

· Reflect on the three most challenging patients you encountered during the practicum experience. What was most challenging about each?

· What did you learn from this experience?

· What resources were available?

· What evidence-based practice did you use for the patients?

· What would you do differently?

· How are you managing patient flow and volume?

Communicating and Feedback 

· Reflect on how you might improve your skills and knowledge and how to communicate those efforts to your Preceptor.

· Answer the questions: How am I doing? What is missing?

· Reflect on the formal and informal feedback you received from your Preceptor.