Assignment: Issues in Nursing Education
Assignment: Issues in Nursing Education
Over a decade ago, the Institute of Medicine recommended the essence of improving the healthcare system in the US. However, only a slight improvement in the safety and quality of healthcare has been reported since then (Dolansky & Moore, 2013). Consequently, the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) was created as an initiative to impart safety and quality competencies in the nursing education. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore QSEN competencies in nursing education. The paper will advance the argument that QSEN is a positive step in nursing education.
Contribution of QSEN in Nursing Education
QSEN has contributed positively in the nursing education and it remains a key priority of all nursing education levels. Notably, despite the implementation of thorough evaluations and process improvement endeavors, alarming rates of patient harm are still reported in the health care. However, the introduction of QSEN has played a crucial role in providing a blueprint to transform nursing education by incorporating six competencies (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2017). These competencies include patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. The above competencies prepare the nurses with competencies that are critical in continuous quality and safety improvement in the health care system. In turn, sustained association with activities that emphasizes on the new concepts linked to quality improvement and patient safety is crucial in forming a strong foundation for the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that is needed in the current nursing practice. Overall, the fundamental positive contribution of QSEN is sustained effort to address the challenge facing health care system by preparing nurses to have the best knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) to always enhance the healthcare system quality and safety.
Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS: Assignment: Issues in Nursing Education
Evidence-Based Practice
The chosen QSEN competency is evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP connotes a meticulous, problem-solving strategy in
clinical practice that uses the best evidence from reliable studies, clinician’s expertise, and patient values and preferences to make decisions on patient care (Rousseau & Gunia, 2016). The impact of EBP is evident across nursing practice, science, and education. In nursing practice, EBP quality improvement has ensured safe, effective, and efficient care. Essentially, the implementation of EBP is beneficial to both nurses and patients. For nurses, EBP provides scientific research for informed decisions. Besides, it helps nurses to be updated about emerging medical protocols for patients’ care. For patients, EBP requires that nurses must include patients in their care plan. As a result, patients get opportunity to take active roles in their healthcare (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2017). Overall, EBP is important in healthcare by improving patient outcomes and also help the organizations to reduce expenses through abolition of outdated practices.
While integrating EBP competency into nursing curriculum, it is recommended to weave it into the entire curriculum. Essentially, developing EBP competency involves many areas including statistics, informatics literacy, and research methodology to provide essential foundation for further learning. As such, it is difficult for EBP competency to realize substantial results after brief short course. Instead, Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2014), there is need to introduce EBP teaching early in the nursing education and its concepts be incorporated throughout the nursing program to foster connection of multiple levels of EBP required knowledge to satisfy the needs of future practice. On the other hand, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities connotes list of special qualifications and personal traits that are needed for specific a job. They can be readily measured using a performance-based assessment testing.
Write a 500-1000 word paper, adhering to APA format on the following topic, using at least five references synthesized into your discussion:
Many nursing schools are revising their curriculum to integrate QSEN competencies. The intent of this initiative is to improve both quality and safety of care in nursing graduates. Visit the QSEN website at www.qsen.org. Share your thoughts on whether you think that this initiative is a positive step in nursing education. Then, select ONE of the competencies. Describe it, and explain how you might integrate this competency into the nursing curriculum. Would you create a stand-alone course, or would you weave it into the entire curriculum? Describe how you might assess student achievement of knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to this competency.