Paper Example on Improving Quality & Safety in Nursing Practice

Introduction

In nursing practice, quality and safety are about dedication to ensuring adherence to the highest performance standards. The current healthcare environment presents two major inspirations; the improving nurse to patient ratios and older adults presenting high levels of acuities. With such inspirations, it becomes easy to manage or become satisfied in meeting time constraints.

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One example of quality and safety standards observed in the face-paced environments includes simple practices such as ensuring hand hygiene when visiting and exiting patient rooms. Another example involves taking time to confirm at least two patient identifiers before administering medications. Such practices are more likely to be ignored unless members of the healthcare team continuously remind themselves and encourage each other to prioritize the patients' needs and healthcare concerns.

My definition of quality and safety in healthcare also continues to change after analyzing my performance as an ER, as well as where these principles can be compromised. Some of the factors that may lead to a compromise of quality and safety could include time constraints, expedience, poor examples from peers, or other factors that can be present in a face-paced, high-pressure working environment. My definition has continued to evolve by analyzing how I practice as an ER nurse and areas where safety and quality can be compromised due to time constraints, expedience, poor examples from peers, and any other number of circumstances that can arise in a face-paced, often high-pressure work environment.

The Value of Understanding the Quality and Safety Principles

My definition of quality and safety in healthcare has been based and refined throughout my career path in the RN and BSN at Walden University through a variety of tasks and course materials. Such materials have allowed me to visualize how quality and safety principles fit in my present practice. Having gained knowledge about these principles during nursing school has enabled me to have a strong foundation and framework to grow my career in nursing. Nonetheless, the quality and safety principles are just mental perceptions until they are put into a real working environment where an individual is licensed and takes responsibility for their patients.

Other than the analysis of historical figures, the definition for quality and safety will be crucial in analyzing the functions and relevance of multiple professional and regulatory bodies that positively impact the delivery of quality and safe healthcare. Some of these bodies include the State Board of Nursing, the American Nurses Association (ANA), the Food and Drug Administration, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Some of the topics covered in my studies include patient/family-based care, quality improvement, patient safety, professional leadership, and population health. Such courses have developed the foundation and framework that will guide my future studies, professional development, and continuing education objectives.

Conclusion

Throughout my education journey as a healthcare professional, I have developed a more comprehensive understanding of the Nursing Practice Act for the state of Georgia (where I am licensed to practice), license renewal criteria, and the ANA Code of Ethics. I believe that an understanding of these principles will help me apply them to maintain high standards of the safety and quality in real healthcare practice. By understanding the principles of quality and safety, I will able to utilize them in the emergency department at a suburban hospital in Atlanta, where my task involves going in and out in multiple patients’ rooms during my entire shifts. Therefore, I will u

The purpose of this paper is to describe my understanding of the quality and safety in ensuring high performance standards in the provision of healthcare.