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Copyright 2014 American Nephrology Nurses' Association
Sherwood, G., & Zomorodi, M. (2014). A new mindset for quality and safety: The QSEN competencies redefine nurses' roles in practice. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 41(1), 15-22, 72. Retrieved from http://www.prolibraries.com/anna/?select=session& sessionID=2965
Preventable errors are a major issue in health care. The complexity of health care requires interactions among numerous providers for any patient multiple times a day. Nurses are the constant presence with patients and have an important role in coordinating the contributions of the myriad of caregivers. Nurses are also the last line of defense. Increasingly, it is recognized that nurses need to be better prepared with quality and safety competencies to have a leading role in making our healthcare system safer. This article presents evidence related to quality and safety, describes the six core competencies from the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project for integration in nursing practice, describes a practice based on inquiry and engagement, and presents a toolkit for developing a new mindset based on new quality and safety science.
Key Words: Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), quality improvement, patient safety.
Goal
To provide an overview of the role quality and safety competencies have in making our healthcare system safer via the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses project.
Objectives
1. Identify the evidence driving the imperative to improve healthcare outcomes.
2. Describe applications in practice of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for the six competencies defined by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project.
3. Discuss the changes in roles and responsibilities for nurses when applying the six QSEN competencies.
Improving the quality and safety of our healthcare system is the most pressing issue of our time. Since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) revealed the magnitude of quality and safety outcomes in its report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (IOM, 2000), there has been a growing series of efforts for improvements, including changes to health professions education. In 2003, the IOM called for a new framework that would prepare all health professionals with six core competencies to be able to deliver patient-centered care through teamwork and collaboration, with evidence-based care from continuous quality improvement, with a mindset for safety and employing informatics. These...