The Role of the Leader in Evaluating Data to Improve Quality and Safety Paper

Course Media:Leadership Competencies in Nursing and Healthcare

• “Impacting Quality and Safety Through Leadership,” featuring Dr. Kenneth J. Rempher, Dr. Karen Drenkard, Dr. Margaret L. McClure, Dr. Louis Rubino, and Maria Manna

Required Readings

Course Text:Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing(8th ed.)

• Chapter 6, “Managing and Improving Quality”

Course Text:Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses: Interpretation and ApplicationRetrieved fromhttp://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/limited/ANA.htm

Articles:

• Blegen, M. A. (2006). Patient safety in hospital acute care units.Annual Review of Nursing Research,24, 103-125.
• Bolton, L. B., & Goodenough, A. (2003). A magnet nursing service approach to nursing’s role in quality improvement.Nursing Administration Quarterly,27(4), 344-354.
• Conerly, C. (2007). Strategies to increase reporting of near misses and adverse events.Journal of Nursing Care Quality,22(2), 102-106.
• Gantz, N. R., Sorenson, L., & Howard, R. L. (2003). A collaborative perspective on nursing leadership in quality improvement: The foundation for outcomes management and patient/staff safety in health care environments.Nursing Administration Quarterly,27(4), 324-329.
• Lachman, V. (2009). Ethics, law, and policy. Practical use of the nursing Code of Ethics: Part I.MEDSURG Nursing,18(1), 55-57.
• Lachman, V. (2009). Practical use of the nursing Code of Ethics: Part II.MEDSURG Nursing,18(3), 191-194.
• Wachter, R. M., & Pronovost, P. J. (2009). Balancing “no blame” with accountability in patient safety.The New England Journal of Medicine,361, 1401-1406.
• Wurster, J. (2007). What role can nurse leaders play in reducing the incidence of pressure sores?Nursing Economic$,25(5), 267-269.

Website:

• American Society for Quality (n.d.)Cause analysis tools: Fishbone diagram. Retrieved fromhttp://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/cause-analysis-tools/overview/fishbone.html

Optional Resources are listed in the Week 5 Learning Resources.

Respond to the questions below:

• What’s wrong with Renee’s approach to medication errors?
• What first steps would you take to change the culture?
• How do you think the ANA Code of Ethics applies, or does not apply, to this situation?

Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.
Post your response byDay 3of this week. Respond byDay 7to at leasttwocolleagues’ postings. See the Week 5 Discussion area for details.

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 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 outlined below. Information about the unit also includes:

• 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?

Review the table and chart presented in the online classroom.

Post your response to this Discussion byDay 5. Respond to at leasttwocolleagues’ postings byDay 7

This week your instructor wants you to identify one quality or safety issue in your setting that will be addressed by the Leadership Change Project.

Please respond the following:

• What data did you use to identify the quality or safety issue?
• How will the Leadership Change Project address the quality and safety issue?

The Practicum Experience Time Log due byDay 7ofWeek 6.