(Solved) Assessment 1: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis | Homework Solution

Assessment 1 Instructions: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

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: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

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, Quality and Safety Gap Analysis 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. Quality and Safety Gap Analysis 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, Quality and Safety Gap Analysis 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: Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

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. Get Needs Assessment Matrix Help!! Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

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. Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

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.

SCORING GUIDE

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

Guiding Questions

Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

This document is designed to give you questions to consider and additional guidance to help you successfully complete the Quality and Safety Gap Analysis assessment. You may find it useful to use this document as a pre-writing exercise, an outlining tool, or as a final check to ensure that you have sufficiently addressed all the grading criteria for this assessment. This document is a resource to help you complete the assessment. Do not turn in this document as your assessment submission.

Conducting the Gap Analysis

Criterion.

Identify a systemic problem in your organization, practice setting, or area of interest that contributes to adverse quality and safety outcomes.

• What is the nature and extent of the problem?
• How does this problem contribute to adverse quality and safety outcomes?
• What are the consequences of not addressing the problem?

Propose specific practice changes that will improve quality and safety outcomes and bridge the gap between current and desired performance.

• What is the performance gap? How does it relate to quality and a safety concerns?
• Why will your proposed changes result in improved outcomes?

Prioritize proposed practice changes.

• Which changes are most important in relation to quality and safety and organizational outcomes?
• What are your reasons or criteria for determining the order of priority? How does your rationale relate organization’s strategic plan? Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

Determine how proposed practice changes will foster a culture of quality and safety.

• What effects will your proposed changes have on attitudes and behaviors within your practice setting?
• As you think about the current culture in the organization, what is most complex about initiating a change?

Determine how a particular organizational culture and hierarchy might affect quality and safety outcomes.

• What are the defining characteristics of the culture, hierarchy and leadership?
• How might the culture or hierarchy shape either positive or negative outcomes?

Justify necessary changes with respect to functions, processes, or behaviors, specific to your organization.

• For example, consider such functions, processes, and behaviors as leadership practices, communications, quality processes, financial management, safety and risk management, interprofessional collaboration, strategic planning, using the best available evidence, and questioning the status quo on all levels.
• What is theoretical or evidenced-based information supports the proposed changes?
• Why are these changes necessary? Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
• How will each change correct or mitigate adverse quality and safety outcomes?

Writing, Supporting Evidence, and APA Style

Communicate analysis data and information clearly and accurately, using correct grammar and mechanics.

• Be clear and concise in your analysis.
• Express your main points and conclusions coherently. Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
• Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your analysis.

Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support your assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

• Integrate relevant evidence from 3–4 scholarly or professional sources.

Submission Reminders

• Have you adequately addressed a systemic problem that adversely affects quality and safety outcomes?
• Have you proposed specific practice changes that will effectively close performance gaps?
• Have you prioritized proposed practice changes and justified the order of priority?
• Have you determined how your proposed changes will affect attitudes and behaviors within your practice setting?
• Are you confident in your rationale for proposing necessary changes in organizational functions, processes, or behaviors? Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
• Are your claims and conclusions well supported by 3–4 sources of credible evidence?
• Is your analysis properly formatted and 4–5 pages in length, including the title page and reference page?
• Have you proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract the audience and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your presentation?