MSN CLASS- Scorinh guide attached
Write an analysis, 4-5 pages in length, of the gap between current and desired performance, with respect to the provision of safe, high-quality patient care.
Introduction
Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
As a nurse leader, you must be able to assess your organization’s ability to deliver safe, high-quality patient care. In so doing, you may be required to perform a gap analysis of a quality or safety issue as the first step in improving outcomes. Failure to meet benchmarks for safe and effective patient care can have reimbursement, regulatory, and legal consequences.
This assessment provides an opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to successfully implement changes that improve patient outcomes by:
- Evaluating the current culture of an organization.
- Performing an outcomes gap analysis.
- Determining what changes are needed to bridge the gap.
- Examining current thinking on this topic contained in the literature.
Quality and safety are everyone’s responsibility as a team of interprofessional care delivery partners. Together we develop policies that support quality and safe care delivery. As part of the interprofessional team, nurses are leaders in care and thus are responsible and accountable for leading and providing safe quality care.
Health care delivery is structured around evidenced-based information. Quality is defined by exploring proven, evidenced-based information. After reviewing and defining evidenced-based information, the interprofessional team applies this knowledge to assess the organization’s or the practice setting’s ability to provide evidenced-based care delivery. When a gap in care is identified, it is important to propose an evidenced-based change and to execute a plan for improved care.
Your quality and safety gap analysis will provide the basis for the remaining assessments in this course.
Preparation
As a nurse leader, you are fully aware of the hazardous nature of health care and that organizations must continually seek to improve the quality and safety of the care they provide to patients. For this assessment, you will identify a systemic problem in your organization, practice setting, or area of interest associated with adverse quality and safety outcomes (for example, an increase in the incidence of falls or medical errors) and analyze the gap between current and desired performance.
Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center’s Writing Support page.
As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.
Culture and process contribute to our ability to develop and sustain quality and safety in a health care organization. By exploring these topics, you can analyze where you may have gaps in practice that affect outcomes. In addition, organizations must create benchmarks for outcomes to determine whether they are meeting quality and safety goals.
- What does your organization measure, related to quality and safety, and why?
- Are there certain aspects of your organization’s culture and processes that support or hinder quality and safety?
- Is the organization meeting outcome measurement benchmarks?
- If not, how might you address those gaps in performance? What system could be developed to support a change to close a particular gap?
The following resources are required to complete the assessment.
APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX]. Use this for your gap analysis.
Requirements
​Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Quality and Safety Gap Analysis Scoring Guide. Be sure that your written analysis addresses each point, at a minimum. You may also want to read the Quality and Safety Gap Analysis Scoring Guide and Guiding Questions: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis [DOCX] to better understand how each criterion will be assessed.
Conducting the Analysis
- Identify a systemic problem in your organization, practice setting, or area of interest that contributes to adverse quality and safety outcomes.
- Propose specific practice changes that will improve quality and safety outcomes and bridge the gap between current and desired performance.
- Prioritize proposed practice changes.
- Determine how proposed practice changes will foster a culture of quality and safety.
- Determine how a particular organizational culture or hierarchy might affect quality and safety outcomes.
- Justify necessary changes with respect to functions, processes, or behaviors, specific to your organization.
Writing and Supporting Evidence
- Communicate analysis data and information clearly and accurately, using correct grammar and mechanics.
- Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
Additional Requirements
Format your document using APA style.
- Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX]. Be sure to include:
- A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
- A running head on all pages.
- Appropriate section headings.
- Properly-formatted citations and references.
- Your analysis should be 4–5 pages in length, not including the title page and reference page.
Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your gap analysis to your ePortfolio.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
- Competency 1: Analyze quality and safety outcomes from an administrative and systems perspective.
- Identify a systemic problem in an organization related to adverse quality and safety outcomes.
- Propose specific practice changes within an organization that will improve quality and safety outcomes and bridge the gap between current and desired performance.
- Prioritize proposed practice changes.
- Competency 2: Determine how outcome measures promote quality and safety processes within an organization.
- Determine how proposed practice changes will foster a culture of quality and safety.
- Competency 3: Determine how specific organizational functions, policies, processes, procedures, norms, and behaviors can be used to build reliable and high-performing organizations.
- Determine how a particular organizational culture or hierarchy might affect or contribute to adverse quality and safety outcomes.
- Justify necessary changes to particular organizational functions, processes, and behaviors that correct or mitigate adverse quality and safety outcomes.
- Competency 5: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
- Communicate analysis data and information clearly and accurately, using correct grammar and mechanics.
- Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Healthcare organizations should provide safe, high-quality patient care. However, adverse quality and safety outcomes are common in healthcare systems. Nurse leaders must assess their organization’s ability to deliver safe, high-quality patient care and bridge the gap between current and desired performance. This assessment provides an opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to successfully implement changes that improve patient outcomes. This paper will analyze the gap between current and desired performance with respect to the provision of safe, high-quality patient care.
Analysis:
Current Problem: The systemic problem that the medical organization faces is the high incidence of pressure sores among bedridden patients. Pressure sores are a major problem that contributes to adverse quality and patient safety outcomes. They affect the patient’s quality of life and increase the risk of infection.
Proposed Changes: The organization should implement specific practice changes that will improve quality and safety outcomes and bridge the gap between current and desired performance. The first practice change would be to assess patient risks for pressure sores upon admission and throughout their stay. Secondly, ensuring that patients are positioned and re-positioned as per guidelines. Finally, the organization should provide staff with education and training on recognizing and dealing with pressure sores in a timely manner.
Prioritizing Changes: Prioritizing changes is essential to ensure effective implementation. The first priority change would be to assess the patient risks since it’s an essential part of prevention strategy. Educating staff and re-aligning their position as per guidelines are also essential changes.
Culture of Quality and Safety: The primary goal in creating a culture of quality and safety is to create an environment where prevention of unwanted incidents is encouraged. Implementing changes should ensure that adverse outcomes are decreased, the patients are treated with dignity, and optimal patient-centered care is provided.
Organizational Culture & Hierarchy: A particular organizational culture or hierarchy might affect or contribute to adverse quality and safety outcomes. The hierarchy plays a vital role since it impacts the standard operating procedures and delegation of tasks. Therefore, any new practice change should align with the organization’s hierarchy and pose minimum disruption.
Justifying necessary changes: The changes proposed aim to mitigate the adverse quality and safety outcome. Assessment on patient risks would enable early identification and timely intervention of pressure sores. Hence, this strategy will help mitigate adverse quality and safety outcomes.
Supporting Evidence: The proposed changes in patient assessments and daily repositioning have been cited in several scientific journals as effective practices that reduce the incidence of pressure sores substantially.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it’s critical to attempt to bridge the gap between current and desired performance with respect to the provision of safe, high-quality patient care. The assessment in this paper identifies a systemic problem of pressure sores, proposes changes to mitigate adverse outcomes, and justifies necessary organizational changes. It’s essential to prioritize changes, foster a culture of quality and safety, and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
