Select one nursing-sensitive quality indicator to use as the focus for this assessment.
After you select one of the Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators below, return to the courseroom to review the detailed instructions and complete your assessment.
• Incidence of Hospital-Acquired Infections – Outcome.
• Patient Falls Without Injury – Process.
• Restraint Use Duration – Process and Outcome.
• Staffing Levels – Structure.
• Nursing Care Hours Per Patient Day by Registered Nurses With a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (BSN) Degree – Structure.
Next, imagine you are a member of a Quality Improvement Council at any type of health care system, whether acute, ambulatory, home health, managed care, et cetera. Your Council has identified that newly hired nurses would benefit from comprehensive training on the importance of nursing-sensitive quality indicators. The Council would like the training to address how this information is collected and disseminated across the organization. It would also like the training to describe the role nurses have in accurate reporting and high-quality results.
The Council indicates a recording is preferable to a written fact sheet due to the popularity of audio blogs. In this way, new hires can listen to the tutorial on their own time using their phone or other device.
As a result of this need, you offer to create an audio tutorial orienting new hires to these topics. You know that you will need a script to guide your audio recording. You also plan to incorporate into your script the insights you learned from conducting an interview with an authority on quality monitoring and the use of technology to collect and report quality indicator data.
You determine that you will cover the following topics in your audio tutorial script:
Introduction: Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicator
• What is the National Database of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators?
• What are nursing-sensitive quality indicators?
• Which particular quality indicator did you select to address in your tutorial?
• Why is this quality indicator important to monitor?
o Be sure to address the impact of this indicator on the quality of care and patient safety.
• Why do new nurses need to be familiar with this particular quality indicator when providing patient care?
Full Answer Section
The National Database of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators (NDNQI) is a comprehensive resource that provides a standardized set of measures to assess the quality of nursing care. The NDNQI is maintained by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and includes over 30 NSQIs that cover a wide range of nursing care processes and outcomes.
What are nursing-sensitive quality indicators?
NSQIs are measures of nursing care that are directly influenced by the actions of nurses. These indicators reflect the quality of care that patients receive from nurses and provide valuable insights into areas where nursing practice can be improved.
Which particular quality indicator did you select to address in your tutorial?
For this tutorial, we will focus on the nursing-sensitive quality indicator of "Patient Falls Without Injury." This indicator measures the incidence of falls among patients who do not sustain any injuries.
Why is this quality indicator important to monitor?
Patient falls are a significant safety concern in healthcare settings. Falls can lead to serious injuries, including fractures, head trauma, and even death. Monitoring the incidence of patient falls allows healthcare providers to identify and address potential risk factors and implement interventions to prevent falls.
Impact of this Indicator on the Quality of Care and Patient Safety
The occurrence of patient falls directly reflects the quality of care provided by nurses. Nurses play a crucial role in preventing falls by assessing patients' fall risk, implementing fall prevention strategies, and providing appropriate supervision and assistance to patients at risk of falling.
Why do new nurses need to be familiar with this particular quality indicator when providing patient care?
New nurses need to be familiar with NSQIs, including patient falls without injury, to provide safe and high-quality care. Understanding the importance of these indicators and their role in measuring nursing care quality empowers new nurses to contribute to patient safety and positive patient outcomes.
Insights from an Interview with an Authority on Quality Monitoring
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview an expert on quality monitoring and the use of technology to collect and report quality indicator data. Here are some key insights from our conversation:
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Technology has revolutionized the way we collect and analyze quality indicator data. Electronic health records (EHRs) and other data systems provide valuable sources of information for tracking and measuring NSQIs.
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Real-time data analytics allow healthcare providers to identify trends and patterns in NSQI data, enabling them to proactively address potential issues and improve patient care.
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Nurses play a critical role in ensuring the accuracy and completeness of quality indicator data. Their involvement in data collection and reporting is essential for maintaining reliable and meaningful data.
Conclusion
NSQIs are essential tools for measuring the quality of nursing care and identifying areas for improvement. As new nurses, understanding the importance of NSQIs and their role in ensuring patient safety is crucial for providing high-quality care. By embracing technology and engaging in data-driven decision-making, nurses can contribute to a culture of continuous quality improvement in healthcare.