It is exceptionally important for new hires to navigate the intricacies of quality management and improvement, both of which are integral to the operations of any healthcare organization. The National Database of Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators is a national database which provides in-depth reports of nursing-sensitive quality indicators in an effort to assess nursing care at the unit level. Nursing-sensitive quality indicators are the criteria used to measure certain aspects of patient care and outcomes that are affected by the nursing practice. According to Oner et al. (2021), these indicators can be considered valid tools since they have such characteristics as “objective assessment, improvement of clinical practice, evaluation of nursing care quality and performance” (p. 1006). This tutorial will address nurse turnover as an important staffing quality indicator.
It is crucial to measure turnover since it has a direct impact on operational and managerial processes, revenue, and quality of patient care. High turnover rates lead to nurse shortages, which, in turn, causes the quality of care to decrease (Lockhart, 2020). New hires have to be aware of this particular indicator as increased contingent staff expenses it can lead to may directly affect their ability to meet patient needs and ensure high-quality medical care while balancing it with personal life.
Data on nurse turnover can be collected via multiple sources. The organization uses a combination of sources to report on unit-level nurse turnover rates by accessing human resource department electronic records and individual unit records. As confirmed by some of the senior staff members, data is then verified using past values, the expertise of nurse managers, and data entries of other departments. Following data submission, insights are compiled into quarterly and annual reports. Then, they are shared with the senior staff and further disseminated by department heads and nursing leaders through a series of meetings dedicated to evaluation and quality management. Since accurate documentation of nursing care quality and outcomes play a pivotal role in maintaining and improving the quality of patient care, nurses have a direct responsibility to provide detailed and precise information to compile such reports (Oldland et al., 2020). To support high-quality reporting, nurses have to ensure individual and team content validity.
References
Lockhart, L. (2020). Strategies to reduce nursing turnover. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 18(2), 56. Web.
Oldland, E., Botti, M., Hutchinson, A. M., & Redley, B. (2020). A framework of nurses’ responsibilities for quality healthcare — Exploration of content validity. Collegian, 27(2), 150-163. Web.
Oner, B., Zengul, F. D., Oner, N., Ivankova, N. V., Karadag, A., & Patrician, P. A. (2020). Nursing-sensitive indicators for nursing care: A systematic review. Nursing Open, 1-18. Web.