Introduction
In the modern world, technology plays a more and more significant role, and many human manual jobs become substituted by robots that assist other people in their professional activities. Due to that fact, there is a constant change in the requirements set by employers towards competencies in many professions. Nursing is one of those professional fields where one must enhance their professional qualities and acquire new skills. It is paramount to lead continuous research in the sphere of quality improvement to allow nurses to stay competitive and continue to uphold and advance the quality of care.
The Role of Quality Improvement in Nursing Practice
The future of nursing changes rapidly due to the fact that new practices emerge and become applied faster than before (Sprayberry, 2014). For instance, a few decades ago, drug admission had to be done by hand, and the dosage had to be meticulously calculated. Now automatic drug delivery systems allow nurses to save time and significantly minimize the possibility of errors. Therefore, nowadays nurses have to enlarge their professional skill set to be able to not only perform all hospital procedures manually but also know how to handle intricate machinery. This example illustrates only one change in the nursing practice but in reality, such advancements and shifts happen more often, and nurses need to be aware of the most significant and promising developments in their sphere (Hood, 2013). Continuous improvement is necessary not only to stay competitive as a professional but also to deliver a higher quality of care to patients. It is also noteworthy to mention that nurses are the face of a clinic because they work directly with patients. Based on how skilled and professional they are, client satisfaction with the provided services may rise, which can positively influence the image of a medical facility. Thus, the essential role of quality improvement cannot be stressed more.
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills Required for Quality Improvement
To facilitate the process of quality improvement nurses need to exercise a wide range of practices and have certain crucial skills. To be able to constantly adapt to the changing environment, nursing professionals may find it beneficial to utilize evidence-based practice methods. Building the argumentation for their decisions on the last theoretical and practical advancements in nursing science allow facilitating the process of continuous growth. In addition, an interprofessional exchange could also be a vital factor that could positively influence the process of quality improvement. It could prove valuable to learn from general practitioners, pediatricians, cardiologists, surgeons, and other colleagues to develop one’s own competencies such as stress-resistance, patient handling, leadership, and many others. Another vital skill that can improve the quality of the nursing practice is the implementation of research skills such as effective information searching and structuring, various types of analysis, ability to juxtapose data and draw conclusions. All these skills can help nursing specialists to adequately process large volumes of information and transform it into specific practical knowledge.
Conclusion
All things considered, in the modern-day clinical setting, there is an urgent need for constant quality improvement among nurses. To be able to adapt to the massive amount of new technologies, practices, scientific data, and findings nurses need to utilize evidence-based methods of practice, be active participants of inter-professional exchange, and possess a range of scientific competencies that allow processing sizable amounts of information. Continuous professional quality improvement could potentially result in better services delivered to patients, which will ensure their satisfaction and overall health condition.
References
Hood, D. L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Wiliams & Wilkins.
Sprayberry, L. (2014). A response to the transformation of America’s health care: Direct-care nurses bring FLOWERS™ to the bedside. Medsurg Nursing, 23(2), 123-130.