Nursing Practice Standards
QSEN - 4
Quality
and Safety Education
for Nurses
Nicole Chambers, Angela Helder,
Kim Karwowski, Maggie Siler
Ferris State University
What is the practice standard of
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
(QSEN)?
According to the QSEN website:
• The overall goal of this initiative is to educate all nurse's with
the knowledge and abilities "to continuously improve the
quality and safety of the healthcare systems within which they
work".
•
It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• The long term goal is to reshape nursing's outlook on the
development of the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes
(KSA's) regarding quality and safety competencies.
• It is meant to improve competencies regarding: patient
centered care, teamwork, collaboration, evidence based
practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.
(Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, 2011)
The four initiatives on which QSEN is based are described below by the
Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing:
1. Defined quality and safety competencies for nursing and propose
targets for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA's) to be developed
in nursing pre-licensure programs for each competency: patientcentered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice,
quality improvement, safety, and informatics.
2. They also completed a national survey of baccalaureate program leaders
and a state survey of associate degree educators to assess beliefs about the
extent to which the competencies are included in current curricula, the
level of satisfaction with student competency achievement, and the level of
faculty expertise in teaching the competencies.
3. QSEN partnered with representatives of organizations that represent
advanced practice nurses and drafted (in press) proposed knowledge,
skills, and attitude targets for graduate education.
4. Funded work with 15 pilot schools who committed to active engagement
in curricular change to incorporate quality and safety competencies.
(Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve
University, 2010).
Who Created Quality and Safety for Nurses (QSEN)?
• QSEN was developed from a Robert Wood Johnson foundation
grant.
• The Grant has three phases. Each of the phases has a team of
professionals that assist with the research and development of
the phases initiative.
• Linda Cronenwett and Gwen Sherwood are the principal
investigators for phases I and II
• Phase III led by Linda Cronenwett and Geraldine P. Bednash
Who Created Quality and Safety for Nurses (QSEN)?
(continued)
• "Linda Cronenwett PH.D., F.A.A.N. dean at University of North
Carolona at Chapel Hill School of Nursing"(QSEN, 2011)
• "Gwen Sherwood, PH.D., RN, F.A.A.N., Associate dean for
Academic Affairs and Professor University North CarolinaChapel Hill School of Nursing" (QSEN, 2011)
• "Geraldine P. Bednash, PH.D. F.A.A.N. is the excutive director
at the American Association of College of Nursing" (QSEN,
2011)
Why was QSEN created?
• The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project
was launched with a $590,000 grant in 2005.
• The initial grant was used for evaluating and enhancing
nursing curriculum involving safety and nursing
issues(eHow.com, 2011).
Why was QSEN created?
(continued)
There were three phases to the grant:
• Phase I: defined six competencies crucial to
health care quality and safety
- Patient-centered care giving
- Collaboration
- Teamwork
- Quality improvement
- Evidence-based practice
- Safety
• Phase II: nursing schools integrated the six competencies into their
curriculum
-- Courses were refined and QSEN concepts were incorporated into clinical, lab
and classroom settings.
-- Continuing education courses for nurses included QSEN competencies
• Phase III: developed ways for student assessment and aided faculty
experts to spread QSEN through nursing education.
-- Incorporated into textbooks and licensing exams
-- Certification and accreditation requirements and continuing education
standards were formulated
How long has QSEN been around?
QSEN began as an initiative in October, 2005 to correlate with
the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Health Professions
Education report recommendation for transforming nursing
education through curricula that support learning of the quality
and safety competencies.
• First phase of QSEN ended in early 2007: resulted in the determination of 6
learning objectives for quality and safety competencies, but the nursing
faculties lacked the knowledge of fundamental concepts related to the
competencies, how to identify, develop, assess, and implement the ideas.
• Q
SEN Phase II launched April 2007 and ran through October 2008: 15 pilot
nursing schools were selected who were ready to design curricula and test
teaching strategies to support quality and safety competency development
among their nursing students.
How long has QSEN been around? Continued
• QSEN Phase III was funded in November 2008: Plans were to continue
working, evaluating, and sharing the six IOM/QSEN competencies, working
with faculty expertise development, and to create mechanisms to sustain
changes.
QSEN provides guidelines for nursing practice competencies. It is a nursing
practice standard that is continually evolving and shapes the practice of current
and future nurses.
The 2012 Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) National Forum will
take place in Tuscon, Arizona from May 30 at 1 pm through June 1, 2012 at 12
pm. Further details are available at: http://www.qsen.org/conferences/2012/
Sources: http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.libcat.ferris.edu/science/article/pii/S0029655409001778
http://www.qsen.org/overview.php
Want to learn more?
Introduction to the QSEN Competencies: A Self-Paced
Tutorial:
https://evolve.elsevier.com/cs/Satellite/Article/Introduction+to+the+QSEN+Compete
ncies+A+SelfPaced+Tutorial?cid=700000001286413&Audience=Faculty
Nicole Chambers RN
In my current practice of neonatal intensive care nursing (NICU) QSEN
influences my practice every day. We have multiple protocols that we are
required to know and follow. We also have yearly competencies that are
required by our institution. Every new nurse to the NICU is required to
complete a program called Didactic. This program is a 12 week
long program that is taught by the nurse practitioners. They discuss each
system in the neonate and go through an assessment.
Our newest initiative is relationship based care RBC. Monthly
meeting are conducted to discuss ways we can improve this area. I am also
part of a program called The Inpatient Satisfaction Team. The Idea of this
team is to improve patients stay while in the hospital. The team
incorporates many disciplines in all departments as well as management to
improve care throught out the institution.
Angela Helder, RN
I am a recent graduate of an ADN program and just began my nursing
career about two months ago working in the area of Women's
Health/OB/GYN in a medical office. QSEN practice standards play an
important role in the office setting.
Some examples include:
• Completion of an orientation program with required competency testing.
• Specific phone protocols put into place for the triage nurses.
• Nurses performing NST's (Non Stress Tests) are required to have taken
a Fetal Monitoring Class offered through the hospital as continuing
education.
Paying attention to detail, staying up to date with the current evidencebased practice and advocating for patients are all a part of quality nursing
care.
Kim Karwowski, RN
In my current practice area of cardiovascular, the QSEN practice standards
influence my nursing practice in numerous ways:
• Our unit uses Situation, Background, Assessment, & Recommendation
or SBAR communication strategies for discussions with and calls to
physicians.
• Ongoing educational requirements for our unit include SHLIO or
online learning modules.
• We have mandatory yearly competency cruises, which consist of a skills
review and competency validation requirement held on the unit, off site
for skill stations, and online quizzes.
• Our unit requires current basic and advanced cardiac life support (BLS
and ACLS).
• It is encouraged to attend progressive care classes and to pass the exam
for certification. Our unit cares for patients with Left and BiVentricular Assist Device and the hospital is undergoing certification
for heart transplants and there are additional required mandatory
classes to care for the machines and patients.
• The change of current methods are driven by evidence based
practices.
Maggie Siler RN, CCRN, RCIS
In my current practice area of the cardiac catheterization laboratory
the QSEN nursing standard influences my practice in a number of
ways. We have a large assortment of coronary and peripheral
interventional equipment for which we are held highly accountable to
knowing detailed application and use. There are x-ray safety and vascular
access competencies to name a few! Also included are hospital wide
competencies such as critical care skills and safety days to ensure our
knowledge of more general topics.
One of the more recent quality initiatives we have started is
Relationship Based Care (RBC). My hospital is a magnet institution which
includes a clinical ladder. Both require ongoing education and quality
engagement.
I am also part of our regional STEMI committee and am beginning my
service learning project involving public education on that topic.
References
Cronenwett, L., Sherwood, G., Gelmon, S., (2009). Quality and safety
education. Nursing Outlook, 57 (6), 304-312.
doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2009.09.004
eHow health. Quality & Safety Education in Nursing. (2011).
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7392552_quality-safety-educationnursing.html
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (2010).
http://fpb.case.edu/QualSafe/qsen.shtm
Quality and Safety Education for Nurses. (2011).
http://www.qsen.org/about_qsen.php