Letter to the Editor: The Essential Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing

Letter to the Editor

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Email Address]

Date:

Editor
Nursing Journal Name
[Journal Address]

Dear Editor,

RE: The Essential Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing

I am writing to advocate for the integration of Essential V: Quality and Safety in nursing education and practice. For increased improvement of the healthcare system worldwide, this letter aims to emphasize the need to accord priority to the quality and safety of patients through the leadership of nurses: Letter to the Editor: The Essential Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing.

This is because Essential V is instrumental in protecting patients from adverse outcomes that are otherwise avoidable and in guaranteeing that patients receive quality healthcare services without discrimination. This letter outlines how Essential V is an essential aspect of nursing practice and how it aligns with the ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, QSEN competencies, and health equity.

The Critical Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing Practice

Quality and safety are foundational pillars of nursing practice that directly influence patient outcomes. An inconclusive study by Rodziewicz et al. (2024) demonstrates that adverse medical events that can be avoided cause numerous fatalities and complications yearly, including medication errors, diagnostic errors, and healthcare-associated scenarios. One of the risks is minimized by the nurses who practice evidence-based approaches coupled with practicing safety measures in performing their duties. Essential V: Quality and Safety provide the necessary knowledge and skills that allow a nurse to practically apply recommended practices that would increase patient safety, decrease adverse occurrences, and promote the optimal quality of care.

A personal experience from my practice highlights the impact of these safety protocols. For example, with support from a pharmacist, a nurse practitioner realized that there were some inconsistencies regarding certain medications in the prescribed amount and prevented the patient from receiving the wrong dosage. This form of active approach, which was based on Essential V, was beneficial in preventing potential harm and additionally placed tremendous importance on the safety checks in order to enhance patient care outcomes. These incidents demonstrate the ways in which Essential V can help nurses be effective in protecting patients and creating a culture of safety within different facilities.

Integration with ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice

The ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice are essential frameworks that define professional nursing responsibilities and expectations. Essential V: Quality and Safety reflect these standards with regard to the roles of the nurses in providing safe, competent, and legal care. The ANA’s Standards of Professional Performance stipulates that nurses must engage in activities that emphasize patient safety and the best delivery of health care (Ernstmeyer & Christman, 2021). In this element, nursing education in Essential V points out the significance of these key aspects, safety measures, and ethical practice, as well as promoting patient safety.

Infusing Essential V into the delivery of nursing care allows nurses not only to adhere to professional standards but also to become proactive in championing change for quality improvement in the healthcare arena. Quality and safe staff nurses are knowledgeable on quality and safety practices and have the ability to evaluate the patient’s care processes, analyze for improvement, and contribute to the development of practical solutions with the interdisciplinary team. This integration is essential in order to meet various professional responsibilities, as well as keep their patient safe and act ethically in a dynamic healthcare climate.

Linking Essential V to QSEN Competencies

The QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses) competencies are useful for helping students learn about six major domains: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. These competencies are closely related to Essential V and equip nurses with the means to safely and effectively care for their patients.

Among the ten competency themes in QSEN, safety competency aims to improve personnel and system effectiveness in order to minimize risks to patients. According to Essential V, nurses are supposed to acquire behaviors that do not harm advertising medication administration rights and ensure safety audits (AlRatrout et al., 2025). Incorporating Essential V in the education curriculum helps nurses develop critical thinking in identifying potential risks and preventing adverse impacts.

Besides, the patient-centered care competency requires that safety measures be put in place that are geared toward the patients’ needs. This means patients whose care is anchored on the Essential V principles are safer, have their individual needs considered, and receive sufficient care to meet their needs. Essential V of the ACEN accreditation standards and QSEN competencies are vital in enhancing the understanding of patient-centeredness and outcomes focus in nursing.

Addressing Health Equity Through Quality and Safety

Health equity remains one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare today. The differences in healthcare accessibility, as well as the outcomes, are caused by social factors like race, class, and geography. Essential V: Quality and Safety are significant for the necessity of providing the required quality of care to every patient regardless of their background.

These disparities are amenable to being addressed by nurses as patient proxies due to their role in enhancing the quality and safety of care, especially amongst vulnerable populations. For instance, culturally appropriate care that is espoused by various quality improvement measures guarantees that patients from diverse backgrounds are given care that is sensitive to their cultural and social backgrounds. Through the use of Essential V in improving nursing education, nurses are equipped to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves and are able to ensure that everyone in society is given equal quality services.

In my experience, I have seen how focusing on quality and safety can reduce disparities in healthcare. Standards in the management of chronic diseases in a community health setting also enabled improvement in patient status, in particular among patients of low-income backgrounds who often could not access consistent care. This kind of approach, primarily based on the ideas of Essential V, not only enhanced the results of health activities but also positively influenced the movement towards equality in healthcare.

Advocacy for Change: A Call to Action

Considering the significance of Essential V: Quality and Safety in transforming the practice and the quality of patient outcomes, it is important for nursing education to remain focused on these values. It is critical that advanced nursing students possess the competencies and knowledge to apply safety measures, minimize adverse outcomes, and champion change that leads to high-quality client care.

I advocate for increased integration of Essential V into nursing curricula, with a focus on quality improvement, patient safety protocols, and cultural competency. Also, more resources should be allocated to quality improvement, safety education among healthcare workers, and nurses’ projects to reinforce the safety culture. To support these efforts, nurses should assume leadership and oversight responsibility for maintaining patient safety as an organizational priority across clinical practice.

In addition, policymakers should provide financial resources for the development of more studies regarding patient safety and quality by practicing nurses. When leadership supports research and practices in line with the evidence, the community can progress toward better patient outcomes and identify and decrease the harm that happens in our current facilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Essential V: Quality and Safety is an essential part of the nursing practice that improves patient outcomes, eliminates mistakes, and safeguards the welfare of the patients. When used in conjunction with the ANA Scope and Standards and QSEN Competencies, Essential V supports nurses in offering care that is safe, quality, sustainable, and non-discriminatory. It is, therefore, crucial that Essential V becomes a focus in nursing education, practice, and policy to maintain the protection of health systems’ efficiency for the benefit of all.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

References

AlRatrout, S., Abu Khader, I., ALBashtawy, M., Asia, M., Alkhawaldeh, A., & Bani Hani, S. (2025). The impact of The Quality and Safety Education (QSEN) program on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of junior nurses. PLOS ONE, 20(1), e0317448. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317448

Ernstmeyer, K., & Christman, E. (2021). Scope of practice. National Library of Medicine; Chippewa Valley Technical College. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK591808/

Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., Vaqar, S., & Hipskind, J. E. (2024, February 12). Medical error reduction and prevention. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/

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Week 9 letter to editor–topic picked • Essential V: Quality and Safety

Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is intended to allow the student to show evidence of the following course objectives:

• Examine social determinants of health and health equality
• Compare how nurses improve health care access and quality
• Examine the professional well-being of nurses and research opportunities
• Synthesize ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, AACN Essentials, and QSEN Competencies to assure accountability for care outcomes

Description:
Advocacy is essential for the advanced practice nurse. One of the ways to advocate and share your message is through a letter to the editor. To develop a strong letter to the editor, include your personal experiences, take a stand and advocate for your position, and end with recommendations or a call to action.

The student will submit a 4-5 page APA letter to the editor for a nursing journal that will argue why the chosen Essential is imperative to include in current practice (4-5 pages, not including title page and reference pages).

1. Write the letter to the editor for a nursing journal through the lens of your selected Essentials of advanced level education in Nursing topic (I-IX).
2. Research and read 3 nursing articles related to the selected Essential – the articles must be cited within the letter to the editor.
3. Discuss and integrate the selected advanced level Essential with ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice and QSEN Competencies.

NSG 5110 Essentials Presentation and Letter to Editor Instructions  (Attached)

Letter to the Editor: The Essential Role of Quality and Safety in Nursing

Requirements
This assignment needs to be submitted following APA format (title page, headings, reference page, etc.). The 4-5 page number count does not include the title page and reference pages.