Assignment: Quality Indicators Discussion
Assignment: Quality Indicators Discussion
How do you define quality in the context of health care and nursing practice? Some nurses define quality as effective interdisciplinary teamwork that leads to improved patient health outcomes, whereas hospital administrators define quality as appropriately delegated responsibilities, task completion, and effective patient flow. Quality is a hotly debated topic due to its subjective nature.
Standards have been developed to establish consistency and provide guidance in the effort to define quality in health care. The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) describes nursing-sensitive indicators such as measurement scales for the quality of nurse professionals and the quality of services provided by nurses to patients. In this week’s Discussion, you evaluate the quality determinants based on the NDNQI indicators and their theoretical underpinnings. You apply nursing-sensitive indicators to your current situation and evaluate how each definition of quality contributes to the overall concept of quality.
To get ready:
Examine the NDNQI indicators that emphasize quality in the Learning Resources. Concentrate on the indicators that are relevant to
your practice setting.
Consider the early quality improvement theories and philosophies that influenced the development of those quality indicators.
Locate at least two scholarly research articles in the Walden Library that discuss how quality indicators influence your practice setting.
Choose one definition of quality from any peer-reviewed source that resonates with your thoughts on quality.
Post a cohesive scholarly response by Day 3 that addresses the following:
Determine two nurse-sensitive quality indicators related to patient care and examine the impact of early quality improvement theories and philosophies on the development of those indicators. Choose nurse sensitive indicators that do not relate to staffing levels for this exercise.
Find and cite at least two nursing research articles that you found, and then assess how these indicators affect a practice setting.
Read some of your coworkers’ responses.
By Day 7, you should have responded to two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
Pose a probing question that is supported by additional background information, evidence, or research.
Share an insight gained from reading your coworkers’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide fresh perspectives.
Use readings from the classroom or your own Walden Library research to offer and support an alternative viewpoint.
Use your own experience and additional research to validate an idea.
Make a recommendation based on additional evidence gathered from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Expand on your colleagues’ posts by offering additional insights or opposing viewpoints based on readings and evidence.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the replies to your first post. Take note of what you learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.
Make sure to include specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources as well as any additional sources in your work.
To post your response, click the Reply button below.
You should proofread your paper. However, do not rely solely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part, and your grade will suffer as a result. Papers with a high number of misspelled words and grammatical errors will be penalized. Before submitting your paper, go over it in silence and then aloud, and make any necessary changes. It is often beneficial to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Uncorrected mistakes are preferable to handwritten corrections.