Quality Competency

Nursing practice depends on quality and safety standards, which appear in Essentials 5 and 6 from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) framework. The frameworks assure that advanced practice nurses provide patient-centered, high-value care in highly complex healthcare environments. This paper will discuss the importance of Essentials 5 and 6, their contribution to patient care, and how the advanced practice nurse could assist in improving safety and quality using interprofessional partnerships: Quality Competency.

Importance of Quality and Safety as Essentials and QSEN Modules

Quality and safety are stressed in the AACN Essentials and QSEN modules because they are at the heart of the effort to minimize mistakes and enhance outcomes. While Essential 5 has placed its emphasis on health policy, advocacy, and quality improvement, Essential 6 places great emphasis on interprofessional collaboration to accomplish positive patient results (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2024). The QSEN competencies endow nurses with the means through which they implement evidence-based practices and point to the gaps in care, as Sherwood et al. (2023) noted.

For instance, root cause analysis application ensures the system vulnerabilities are identified and mitigated. In addition, Rodziewicz et al. (2024) note that preventable mistakes are among the highest concerns today, with thousands losing their lives to safety lapses annually. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a compelling case exists for change. The framework embeds the competencies of quality and safety into the Essentials and QSEN modules so that they are presented as absolute imperatives for both practice and education.

Impact of Essentials 5 and 6 on Patient Care and Emphasis on Safety

Essentials 5 and 6 make a big difference in patient care by promoting evidence-based practices and collaboration among disciplines. Essential 5 prepares the nurse to lead quality improvement efforts and promotes safer systems (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2024). For example, this competency is directly applied when standardized protocols for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are implemented.

On the other hand, Essential 6 highlights teamwork and communication, which are critical to coordinated care and error prevention. For example, interdisciplinary rounds encourage shared decision-making and thus reduce errors in communication.

Notably, safety remains a priority in advanced nursing practice, given complicated healthcare systems, progressive technology, and patients’ increased acuity. Besides the issues that add to complications in healthcare safety, fatigue and miscommunication also require sustained emphasis on safety. Safety is dynamic; it requires awareness, adaptation, and unending refinement.

Linking Essentials 5 and 6 and the Role of Interprofessional Partnerships

These two essentials go hand in hand, given that quality improvement rests upon effective interprofessional collaboration. Poor partnerships may put patient safety at risk through communication breakdowns and resultant mistakes. According to Blazin et al. (2020), inadequate handoffs have been repeatedly identified as one of the significant causes of sentinel events. Advanced practice nurses contribute much to this essential: they should ensure that care delivery is not only smooth but safe.

As an advanced practice nurse, I will ensure these competencies are translated into clinical practice through leadership and advocacy. This involves active participation in quality improvement projects, promoting interprofessional education, and encouraging staff toward a patient-centered approach. I will also advocate for simulation-based training to enhance team communication during high-stakes situations, such as cardiac arrests.

Strategies to Ensure Staff Competency

I will be working on this via workshops and webinars on best practices as part of professional development to keep staff updated on quality and safety competencies. Accountability within the culture will be established using dashboards regarding safety metrics that will assist in showing the areas where staff have improved and where improvements remain needed. Participation in the Magnet Recognition Program is an initiative in which people understand the goals related to quality and safety.

Besides, regular debriefing after an adverse event or near miss will create a learning culture whereby staff is empowered to identify and address errors without fear of punishment. By prioritizing these strategies, I can support the ongoing delivery of high standards of care according to the AACN and QSEN frameworks.

Conclusion

The Essentials 5 and 6 and the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses material teach advanced practice nurses how to provide safe patient outcomes at top quality levels. The Essentials’ main requirement is the power of teams to enhance patient results. As such, nurse leaders must create an environment that values safety and learning to make quality and safety the main focus of healthcare delivery.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2024). AACN Essentials. aacnnursing.org. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Essentials

Blazin, L. J., Sitthi-Amorn, J., Hoffman, J. M., & Burlison, J. D. (2020). Improving patient handoffs and transitions through adaptation and implementation of I-PASS across multiple handoff settings. Pediatric Quality & Safety, 5(4), e323. https://doi.org/10.1097/pq9.0000000000000323

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/

Sherwood, G., Jones, C. B., Conklin, J. L., & Dodd, A. (2023). Quality and safety education for nurses: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 55(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12876

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Write a 2 APA page (not including title page and reference pages) paper focusing on the importance of Essentials 5 and 6 and QSEN Safety and Quality Improvement for nursing practice. Answer the following questions in your paper:

• Why are quality and safety important enough to be considered Essentials AND a QSEN module?
• How do these Essentials have an impact on patient care? Why should we still have to emphasize “safety” in advanced practice nursing?
• How are the two Essentials (5 & 6) linked? Do poor interprofessional partnerships affect patient safety?
• What will be your role in ensuring that these competencies are incorporated into clinical practice and/or upheld by the staff? What can you do to ensure that your staff stays updated on competencies?
• Incorporate a minimum of 3 supporting academic peer-reviewed sources (journal articles)
  

  Quality Competency

Requirements

• This assignment needs to be submitted following APA format (title page, headings, reference page, etc.). The 2-3 page paper number count does not include the title page and reference pages. Citations from References that are synthesized from the assigned article, course text, evidence-based and peer-reviewed research articles, and other credible sources are required. A minimum of 3 resources are used. References must be current within 5 years. AACN competencies and sub-competencies must be clearly stated and appropriately applied.
• This assignment will be submitted below through Canvas and automatically run through TurnItIn. Please click here for more information on TurnItIn: TurnItIn Resources Course faculty monitor for the compliance of citations with Turnitin evaluation of the assignment during the course session.

NOTE: Evidence of plagiarism will result in a score of 0 for this assignment. Repeat offenses of plagiarism will result in more significant repercussions per the South College student handbook.