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Carolyn 500: One quality improvement strategy to improve health was the implementation of isolation precautions. The policy requires use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) specific to the condition of a patient. For example, a nurse treating a patient with Clostridium-difficile (C. diff) would be required a to wear gloves, gown, face mask, shoe covers, and face shield. In addition, the nurse must use soap and water after having contact with the patient. Hand sanitizer is no longer acceptable even if the gloves werent soiled. Prevention of disease is focused on averting exposure; treating the host to enhance resistance; and minimize factors in the environment which might advance the disease progression (McEwen et al., 2019). Like PPE the implementation of negative pressure rooms where the air is contained from the rest of the facility has proven effective. This practice has made significant strides for conditions such as tuberculosis. As evidence-based practice yields new findings, the protocols change to meet the need. The leader benefits from staff following safety measures. According to the Achievement Motivation Theory, the leader is more concerned with achievement than with related rewards (McEwen et al., 2019). When staff follow protocol such as isolation precautions, the risk for contamination to others is reduced or eliminated. The result is more patients and staff have been kept safe. Both the leader and the follower will have satisfaction in knowing they have fostered quality patient care.
Maria 500: An example of a quality improvement strategy used to improve health is the use of health information technology such as barcode scanners and automated medication dispensers to prevent medication errors and patient safety. This strategy has been applied in my current practice for many years now. These systems are intended to prevent medication errors by ensuring that the right patient receives the right medication at the right time (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017, pp. 1175). It acts as a double verifier. The medication dispenser helps us pull the correct medications due at a particular time and assists in making sure we have gotten the medication for the right patient. Electronic drug cabinets store medication at the point of care with controlled dispensing and tracking of medication distribution (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017, pp. 1176). According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality improvement seeks to standardize processes and structure to reduce variation, achieve predictable results, and improve outcomes for patients, healthcare systems, and organizations (CMS, 2021). Quality improvement strategies enhance leadership by helping people be accountable, preventing negative outcomes beforehand, and a transition is made from inspection-based management to process improvement (McEwen & Wills, 2017, pp. 401). QI improves the system with the involvement of all employees, meaning everyone is involved in the mission and vision of the company (McEwen & Wills, 2017, pp. 399). QI helps in self-improvement and increases education within the company. It also helps to put everyone in the organization to work to accomplish the transformation (McEwen & Wills, 2017, pp. 400).
Jeong 500/D2: After reviewed the library guides on APA, it was interesting to learn that earlier versions of APA format required only one space after each sentence, the new edition now recommends two spaces and that the reference section must be double spaced, which I always did but truthfully, wasn’t sure if a requirement. Also, I learned that always, the in-text citations have the author’s name followed by the date of publication only.
Examples of in-text citation you used when you were paraphrasing and one you used when you were directly quoting.
When used in practice, Orem’s idea of self-care may be used to assess patient circumstances, identify their requirements, guarantee good communication, resolve identified issues, and evaluate the process’s effectiveness (Drevenhorn, 2018). A nurse’s role may be somewhat compensatory, supportive, or instructive, depending on the patient’s requirements. For instance, if a patient’s health is not jeopardized severely but preventative measures are important, Orem’s theory advises that a nurse should assist and educate rather than adopt a compensatory care paradigm. The distinctive aspect of Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort is its emphasis on the importance of comfort in nursing practices. Per the theory, the immediate goal of nursing practices is to provide comfort. Nursing is defined by the Theory of Comfort as the act of evaluating and satisfying a patient’s unique comfort needs via the formulation and execution of nursing care plans and the assessment of the patient’s comfort. Kolcaba’s nursing paradigm entails assessing a patient’s comfort requirements, developing and executing suitable procedures to satisfy those criteria, and periodically reassessing comfort levels (Ali, 2018).
Olga 500/D2: After reviewing the WCU Library guides on APA, I learned how to cite the In Text Citations: Secondary Sources. It has been difficult for me to know exactly how to cite two authors in the same in-text citation. For example: You should cite Welch et al. (2011) before Raphan and Friedman with only Raphan and Friedman appearing in the reference list if you read a work by Raphan and Friedman (2014) that cites Welch et al. (2011) but you are unable to read the original Welch et al. (2011) work. Also, I realized how plagiarism can occur easily. It is crucial to cite the source in the correct way and rephrase the information in the writers own words properly to avoid plagiarism. An example of a directly quoted in-text citation is, According to Nightingale, nurses must accurately observe their patients and communicate with doctors about their conditions in a timely manner. She clarified that nurses should exercise critical thought when providing care for patients and take suitable and required measures to aid in their recovery (McEwen, 2017, p.132). An example of a paraphrase in-text citation. Polk’s middle-range resilience theory served as the foundation for this investigation (Lee et. al. 2017)
