The Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing Science Research Paper

Quality and Sustainability Paper

Introduction

Quality and safety are paramount for patients experiencing illness and seeking treatment. The role of the nurse is complex, requiring effectiveness, efficiency, compassion, and understanding. Some aspects of nursing science involve research and use of evidence-based practice to provide the high quality and safety standards patients deserve. How are quality and safety measures adopted and implemented? This essays aims to look at the role quality and safety play in nursing science using a contemporary example, and seeing how real world strategies aim to test and assess standards of care to deliver the positive health outcomes patients need. By delving into real-world application of quality and safety measures, one can determine the process from cultivation of concepts, implementation, and assessment.

Quality measures in nursing science

Often a good way to understand if a patient is experiencing a high quality of care is through patient outcomes and patient opinions on their experience during treatment. One study examined the effects of a more person-centered quality of care and saw a strong association with higher quality of care. “…the relatives’ experiences of a more person?centered climate were associated with higher ratings of the quality of care. A person?centered climate of safety had the strongest unique association with the quality of care…” (Lood et al., 2019, p. 1). Such results advance the understanding of the correlation between quality of care and person?centeredness nursing homes. The positive health outcomes from those that participated in the study as perceived by relatives, demonstrated person?centered climate facets of hospitality and safety have a major role in the quality of care. It stands to suggest focusing on the holistic approach to patient can serve to improve patient outcomes and thus, quality of care.

Often quality of care and safety go hand-in-hand. High quality of care can be seen through lower mortality. “Patients cared for in hospitals where a high proportion of RNs reported excellent quality of care (the highest third of hospitals) had 23% lower odds of 30-day inpatient mortality” (Smeds-Alenius, Tishelman, Lindqvist, Runesdotter, & McHugh, 2016, p. 117). Nurses who make sure patients take their medications, advise them on after-hospital routines, and educate on options for lifestyle changes, can lead to improvement in mortality rates. Higher quality of care often means committing one’s self to providing a comprehensive and effective protocol that allows patients a chance to improve on their health outcomes.

When nurses engage in unhealthy practices like unfinished care, it can lead to negative health outcomes, lending to the correlation of quality of care and safety. “Unfinished care is a significant problem in acute care hospitals internationally. Prioritization strategies of nurses leave patients vulnerable to unmet educational, emotional, and psychological needs” (Jones, Hamilton, & Murry, 2015, p. 1121). For example, if nurses forget to check patient charts and administer the wrong medication, this can lead to adverse health problems or even death. Even simple periodic checks to see if patients have fallen…

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…promote a safe environment and high quality patient care. One study detailed how health care professionals viewed their competency in these areas and saw competency in error analysis, but not decision support technology. “…based on their own evaluations, health care professionals were competent regarding their safety skills. In particular, they were competent in the sub-scale areas of error analysis (mean = 3.09) and in avoiding threats to patient safety” (Brasait?, Kaunonen, Martink?nas, Mockien?, & Suominen, 2016, p. 250). These key insights may provide basis for further improvement and capacity to assess program outcomes regarding patient safety and quality of care.

Conclusion

In conclusion, nursing science involves use of evidence-based practice to promote a positive environment for the patient. Research leads to development of potential safety and quality measures that are then tested and implemented to see if theory matches expectation and promotes a positive practical application. During the final phase, assessment, measures are checked for effectiveness and ease of implementation. Should the measure pass through these phases, it then becomes a standard of care for a hospital, area, so forth. Quality and safety are key parts of nursing science. Patients require a lot of time and dedication in order to experience positive health outcomes. From simple actions like turning a patient to avoid bed sores, or administering medication, all these things contribute to a patient’s overall recovery. Safety is a big aspect to nursing science as patients could easily acquire nosocomial infections and experience falls. Without measures…