Health Care and Quality Improvement Analysis 2022

Running head: HEALTH CARE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT 1
Health Care and Quality Improvement
Name
Institution

HEALTH CARE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT 2
As healthcare systems advance to provide quality and safe care that is affordable, the
role of nurses in leading the advancement processes cannot go unnoticed. Nurses are the heart
of healthcare because they are at the frontline in delivering healthcare; hence, in addition to
having adequate knowledge in their specialty, they should possess relevant leadership skills
and display competence in using supportive tools. Hence, while aiming to improve and
enhance quality management, the current paper discusses the skills that nurses should possess
and tools that they should use to attain the desired outputs and effects.
First, it is important for nurses to possess critical thinking skills, which are needed to
make important decisions to solve the ever-emerging challenges, for example in the context
of bedside care. Quality bedside care requires nurses to explore more and apply analytical
skills to filter options and ultimately pick the best solution. Nonetheless, these critical
thinking skills are enhanced by an open-mind through which a nurse can gather as much
detail to aid in making sound and best decisions. The decisions made by nurse leaders should
yield outputs bound to benefit the entire healthcare fraternity, and the converse should not be
the case. Critical thinking skills are well-augmented by interpersonal skills that facilitate
sharing of ideas and experiences (Al-Dossary, 2016). Using a distinct quality management
mode as a guide is important to ensure that the nurse is in line with evidence-based quality
improvement protocols, for example, root cause analysis or plan-do-study-act [PDSA] cycles
(Hughes, 2008; McGrath, 2018).
The nurse leader does not work in isolation because he or she requires the input of
fellow workmates to achieve the outlined goals and objectives in the context of quality
management; hence, interpersonal skills are also imperative. Interpersonal skills encompass
the ability to communicate effectively and mobilize fellow workmates to cooperate and
collaborate in executing planned activities. In the instance of bedside care, the nurse leader is
meant to ensure that patients attain the best possible quality care characterized by a short