Nurse/Patient Empowerment

Week 4: Nurse/Patient Empowerment in Practice

Introduction

As a registered nurse, you have the power to influence change in patient outcomes. An important aspect of influencing change is identifying areas that need improvement. This is done primarily through measurement of data. There are several different measures to gather data within organizations as well as on a national scale. Some of these measurements include core measures, standards, best practices, evidence-based practices, and the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). These support mechanisms have also been discussed as a means for helping nurses to deliver quality care and improve patient safety. Each measurement essentially focuses on providing care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.

Although there are several different measurements, NDNQI data is used in the process of attaining Magnet Recognition. Magnet Recognition is the highest honor a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence and high-quality patient care. The nurse-specific measures presented in the NDNQI help inform nursing staffs and their organizations of areas where nursing practices can be improved and where nursing practice efforts are producing positive clinical outcomes. Nurses must be directly involved in developing and implementing action plans based on the data presented by the NDNQI.

This week, you will explore the importance of nurse empowerment in effecting change and how action plans are created based on the results of the NDNQI as presented on a dashboard. You will also consider how nurses advocate for patients’ rights, even when that means supporting a patient whose personal choices may have negative health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate strategies to empower both the nurse and the patient to improve quality of care
• Analyze the use of National Database of Nursing Quality Indictors for nurse empowerment in practice
• Analyze nurse empowerment in relation to use of quality improvement data for practice
• Analyze practice experiences for patient or nurse empowerment
• Analyze quality improvement dashboards for nursing plans

Note: The Assignment related to these Learning Objectives is introduced this week and submitted in Week 5.

Photo Credit: [Eva Katalin Kondoros]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Brown, D. S., Aydin, C. E., & Donaldson, N. (2008). Quartile dashboards: Translating large data sets into performance improvement priorities. Journal of Healthcare Quality, 30(6), 18–30. doi: 10.1111/j.1945-1474.2008.tb01166.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

 

Typically, references should be within five to seven years of publication. However, this publication is considered a classical research reference pertaining to quality improvement and the use of data sets.

Cole, C., Wellard, S., & Mummery, J. (2014). Problematising autonomy and advocacy in nursing. Nursing Ethics, 21(5), 576–582. doi: 10.1177/0969733013511362

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Garrard, L., Boyle, D. K., Simon, M., Dunton, N., & Gajewski, B. (2016). Reliability and validity of the NDNQI® injury falls measure. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 38(1), 111–128. doi: 10.1177/019394591454281

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.