The nurse's position in between the patient and the health care agency provides a unique platform for viewing and addressing quality-care issues. Nurses can gain personal feedback from their patients, who may trust them more and speak with greater openness. They can also work collaboratively with their colleagues to create strategies to improve patient care.
Recall how nurses can use data to improve patient safety and quality-care delivery. In NURS 4005, you analyzed a Dashboard to determine nursing practice improvements. This week, you reviewed the importance of and focus on patient quality and safety.
The following data are shared by the unit manager with her staff at a recent staff meeting. There has been a higher than acceptable level of patient falls on the telemetry unit in the last 4 months. The distribution of falls is found in the excel data base located under the application assignment tab. Information about the unit also includes the following:
The average age of the patients is 72.4 years old, and every patient has a cardiac diagnosis.
The majority (68%) of the patients are women.
Recently, 1 FTE of nursing assistants were moved from the night shift (11P-7A) to the evening shift (3P-11P).
The rooms on this unit are all private.
94% of the patients are on diuretics.
12% of the patients have secondary diagnoses of confusion or disorientation.
In a 3-5 page paper, respond to the following:
Describe some possible interpretations of the data related to the patient fall rate on the telemetry unit.
Discuss the quality management process you would follow to improve patient fall rates on the unit.
What change management strategies would you incorporate in your quality improvement plan?
What leadership characteristics are needed to assist in improving the patient fall rates?
Application Rubric:The Role of the Leader in Evaluating Data to Improve Quality and Safety Paper
For this Application Assignment, write a 3- to 4-page paper analyzing the importance of data evaluation and interpretation to improve patient quality and safety. Use a minimum of three references from the professional nursing literature in the assigned course readings and other references in the Walden Library. If they are relevant, you may use one or two professional websites in addition to the literature references. Use the following guidelines and evaluation criteria to guide your assessment.
Overview-
Begin this project with a brief paragraph that provides an overview of the assignment and its purpose. There is no separate heading for this paragraph; the heading for this paragraph is the same as the title of the paper. This paragraph will be about 2-3 sentences. The last sentence in this paragraph is a sentence that begins "The purpose of this paper is to . . ."
Data Overview-
Describe some possible interpretations of the data related to the patient fall rate on the telemetry unit. Summarize the statistics and demographics of your patients. This section will be 3-4 paragraphs.
Quality Improvement Plan-
Discuss the quality management process you would follow to improve patient fall rates on the unit. Also, discuss the change management strategies you would incorporate in your quality improvement plan. This section will be 3-4 paragraphs.
Leadership Characteristics-
Explain the leadership characteristics needed to assist in improving the patient fall rates. This section will be 2-3 paragraphs.
Summary-
End the paper with a 1-paragraph summary of the importance of a solution to the identified practice-based problem that is based on evidence and a 1-paragraph summary of the main points of the paper.
Format/style
Proofread the paper as described in the tips for success in this course and correct any typos, grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, or APA format errors before submitting your paper in the Dropbox. Up to 40 points can be deducted from the grade for this assignment for these types of errors, or for not using at least the minimum number of required references.