Healthcare and Nursing Practice Quality and Safety

QUALITY AND SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE AND NURSING PRACTICE

Quality and Safety in Healthcare and Nursing Practice

Quality and safety are of great relevance in nursing practice. To a large extent, the promotion of quality and safety results in improved patient outcomes. Mitchael (2008) points out that quality and safety practices come in handy on multiple fronts, i.e. in efforts to prevent falls and medical errors. The said practices could involve the ability of nurses to integrate and coordinate various aspects in the field of nursing. However, it would be prudent to note that there are various factors in nursing practice that impede quality and safety. DNP-prepared nurses play an important role in promoting quality and safety in healthcare. This essay will highlight experiences with quality and safety and the role that DNP-prepared nurses play in ensuring quality and safety in the delivery of services in nursing and healthcare.

One of the experiences associated with the quality of care in nursing practice happens to be nurse staffing. To begin with, it is important to note that nurse staffing can affect the delivery of quality patient care and thus the overall patient outcomes (Malliaris et al, 2021). More specifically, according to Malliaris et al. (2021), fewer staff in nursing practice lead to heavier workload among the few existing nurses - leading to poor delivery of care. Essentially, human factors like fatigue determine the quality of care that nurses provide. Staffing levels also influences the systems in which nurses work in. For instance, when there are few nurses in acute care hospitals, the said nurses will have issues related to heavier workload. Essentially, nurses may experience a wide range of negative factors including burnout, needle stick injuries, and back injuries (Malliaris et al, 2021). This is more so the case given that faced by low staffing levels, healthcare institutions may call upon available nurses to work overtime, leading to fatigue. As a result, the said nurses may not be in a position to offer quality services to their patients. To a large extent, such nurses exhibit poor concentration and judgment, and inability to focus on crucial tasks (Malliaris et al, 2021). Therefore, patients in such settings are denied access to competent and quality care, which could affect their path to recovery.

To ensure positive patient outcomes, it is worthwhile noting that DNP-prepared nurses have a role to play in efforts to support quality and safety in nursing practice. One of the factors that leads to poor staffing in healthcare institutions happens to be inadequate skills on the part of nurses. When nurses lack the skills and capabilities to effectively perform their roles, their probability of quitting and pursuing other opportunities increases. Essentially, nurses who are confident of their ability to promote positive patient outcomes are likely to enjoy their roles and are more motivated and driven. DNP-prepared nurses are equipped with skills and capabilities needed for effective performance in contemporary healthcare settings. For instance, according to Tenhunen et al. (n. d), DNP-prepared nurses are equipped with skills to implement evidence-based practices in nursing practice. Essentially, DNP-prepared nurses are equipped with skills to disseminate, translate, and evaluate research in their practice. Therefore, Tenhunen et al (n. d) suggests that DNP-prepared nurses can utilize and deploy the said skills directly into practice – especially in relation to the promotion of safety and quality of care. DNP-prepared nurses are also equipped with crucial leadership skills that enable them to have a positive impact on the work environment and relate well with colleagues and other stakeholders. They are also in a better position to positively influence colleagues and peers by sharing their knowledge and skills. In addition to promoting quality and safety, this results in the creation of a motivated and vibrant nursing workforce that is less likely to quit.