DNP Prepared Nurse Competencies Response

RESPONSE

Response

At my organization, my top leader in quality happens to be the ‘Vice President - Quality.’ In essence, this is a role that is largely concerned with the promotion of an organization-wide culture of quality and safety. The person occupying this role is largely charged with the role of leading performance and quality improvement efforts with the intention of not only ensuring positive patient outcomes, but also minimizing unwanted system costs that emanate from deviations from desired outcomes. The holder of this particular role actively and closely collaborates with others including, but not limited to peers as well as positions reporting to him.

The present holder of the role has a Doctorate of Health Sciences (DHSc). It should however be noted that he has in the past served in similar roles and has the relevant experience in quality management. In her previous job, he served as ‘Director of Quality Improvement’ for a regional healthcare institution.

I have noted that there is huge variability in terms of the credentials desired for those serving in top quality management/improvement positions. However, almost all of the said positions require a Master’s degree (at a minimum) in Medicine or Healthcare. Further, I have also established that most of the said positions in this case call for significant experience in the realms of outcome, safety, as well as quality. 5-10 years of experience appears to be the bare minimum.

However, in my opinion, a DNP-prepared nurse is still uniquely qualified and positioned to champion safety and quality efforts. This is more so the case given their approach to clinical practice is largely system-based – i.e. owing to their superior competencies and capabilities in as far as leadership and organizational skills are concerned. Further, the fact that this role calls for collaborative efforts means that a DNP-prepared nurse would be an ideal candidate. Indeed, in the words of Beauvais (2018), a DNP-prepared nurse serving in a leadership position tends to “focus on collaborative work for common goals… engage interprofessional teams to improve policies and procedures that affect patients as well as clinician practice” (202).