Organizational Readiness for Quality Improvement in Nursing Practice

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The state of organizational readiness for quality improvement in nursing practice nursing is a profession of continuous professional development. Quality improvement plays an important role in the profession, and this knowledge and skill are required in order to practice nursing competently. Nurses who wish to develop their quality improvement skills need reliable sources that teach them how to improve care plans, implement evidence-based practices, and engage patients in their own care by becoming more involved with self-care. This article provides recommendations for educators on the best methods for teaching healthcare students about quality improvement and what resources are needed for students working with other disciplines, as well as any potential barriers.

Organizational readiness refers to the relationship between people, systems, performance measurement, and processes. An effective organizational readiness will improve the quality of care, improve productivity, and reduce costs. In order to improve health care systems, the utilization of quality improvement is necessary. It allows hospitals to provide evidence-based practice with a focus on patients’ needs. Furthermore, it provides the foundation for high-performance healthcare organizations through strategies that will enable them to measure progress, address problems and continually improves performance (Lubis & Hanum, 2020).

It is critical that healthcare organizations develop a culture of quality improvement in an effort to enhance healthcare delivery efforts. Achieving a culture based on quality improvement requires support from all levels within an organization, which in return will benefit the patient by creating better outcomes and experiences (Chatterjee et al., 2018).

One leadership strategy present in this organization is integrating it in vertical and horizontal directions. Vertical integration is done by building an organizational team dedicated to quality improvement initiatives, while horizontal integration creates a culture that promotes a connection with the employees (Chatterjee et al., 2018). This organization needs to establish a committee of administrators, nurses and physicians which will work together to provide quality improvement in this specific organization.

The factors for the success of vertical and horizontal integration are: The healthcare professionals’ knowledge about themselves and others needs to be enhanced. The healthcare professionals are accountable for knowing their role ensures quality performance. They are coordinating team meetings that communicate personal observation and information about barriers associated with this particular hospital—having a meeting at least once a month where the results of quality improvement interventions are discussed.

Another leadership strategy present in this organization is to know their role. This strategy is required in order to improve quality performance. The healthcare professionals are also required to take initiative and set standards for the organization. They are also creating a culture that promotes a connection with the employees so that they are willing to offer their best efforts to achieve the goals of this organization (Chatterjee et al., 2018).

The organizational culture in this organization is vital for quality improvement. They recommend that the organization be built upon a healthy culture that values collaboration, problem-solving, continuous and effective improvement, openness to new ideas, flexibility and innovation. They also recommend that leadership establish a committee or task force devoted to quality improvement. The committee should be made up of nurses, administrators and physicians, and innovative thought leaders in the field of quality improvement (Lubis & Hanum, 2020). The organizational design is vital for success because it can create an environment with open communication between all levels of the organization where everyone is involved with everyone else.

This article aimed to describe the state of organizational readiness for quality improvement in nursing practice and how it can be improved. Quality improvement is an essential skill for effective nursing practice and therefore is recommended within curricula. The authors suggested that the organization’s leadership would be best served by having a committee or task force devoted to quality. Each department establishes a similar internal structure to facilitate improvement. They also recommend collaboration with students, including pre-service students, and incorporating quality improvement into clinical simulation time.

References

Chatterjee, R., Suy, R., Yen, Y., & Chhay, L. (2018). Literature review on leadership in healthcare management. J Soc Sci Stud, 5(1), 38-47.

Lubis, F. R., & Hanum, F. (2020, December). Organizational culture. In 2nd Yogyakarta international conference on educational management/administration and pedagogy (YICEMAP 2019). Atlantis Press (pp. 88-91).