The Future of Gynecology in 2020, Research Paper Example

Nurses must demonstrate a high level of support and guidance towards the development of new methods to improve quality of care and outcomes for their patients. Within the practice environment, this must occur on a gradual basis but must be implemented with a specific timeframe in place to ensure that the process is effective.  This ensures that nurses are focused on improving patient care quality under the parameters that they are given to achieve greater outcomes for their patients.

Changes within the specialty area of obstetrics and gynecology requires an emphasis on improvements in areas such as cost efficiency, alleviating nursing shortages, addressing changes to the female demographic, and evaluating chronic conditions in the context of this specialty area, along with improvements in education and training (Lagrew & Jenkins, 2014; Sepulveda & Varaklis, 2012). The following discussion will address a change improvement program involving patient safety that is of critical importance in identifying gaps that may exist that could pose a threat or risk to patients under specific conditions. Most importantly, patient safety must be identified as a change improvement process that will have a lasting impact on adverse events and other conditions that will impact patients at a positive level (Wagner et.al, 2011).

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In an obstetrics and gynecology practice, it is important for patients to be protected from unnecessary risk and harm at all times; therefore, a “culture of safety” must be addressed in order to bridge any gaps in research and in supporting a concept of care that will have a positive impact on patient outcomes: “Creating a culture of safety is a complex process requiring a long-term approach that changes behaviors, practices, and relationships. This process involves changes for both the individual practitioner as well as the healthcare team” (Wagner et.al, 2011, p. 1). In this context, it is observed that there must be a greater understanding of the context of patient care and treatment that will impact an organization’s emphasis on quality of care and treatment from a nursing perspective (Wagner et.al, 2011). This culture of safety must be supported by the entire team in order to alleviate any gaps in quality and in order to identify a method that will enable the nursing staff to collaborate and communicate more effectively to promote a culture of safety to minimize patient risk on a continuous basis (Wagner et.al, 2011). This process also requires nurses to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in a variety of areas that will positively impact the organization and provide the obstetrics and gynecology team with the tools to identify weaknesses in the practice model and to be proactive in recognizing areas where additional needs must be addressed (Wagner et.al, 2011).

The process of change in quality improvement must adhere to a specific set of steps in order to accomplish the intended objectives in the anticipated timeframe. Therefore, these steps must include the following: 1) A discussion of the chosen strategy and change initiative among nursing staff, including a timeframe for implementation; 2) Expanded chart review and monitoring to minimize errors and improve quality of care; 3) Promoting a culture of safety to improve morale and open discussion among nurses; and 4) Recognizing the need to address the parameters of safety on a continuous basis to improve gaps in quality and overall outcomes.

Chart review and monitoring is a critical component of this change improvement process, as it aims to better understand how a nursing team is able to administer care plans that will have a positive and lasting impact on quality at all times. There must be a specific emphasis on the growth of the practice environment to ensure that charts are completed in an accurate manner and so nurses are able to monitor these charts for errors that may have an impact on patient safety and in saving a patient from unnecessary risk from time to time (Wagner et.al, 2011). This is an important reminder of the need for nurses to actively communicate and to share information that will have a lasting impact on outcomes for their patients, and will reflect the importance of evaluating patients so that they are able to effectively recover from their condition (Wagner et.al, 2011). It is believed that nurses must work on their communication skills as part of this process and to be more effective in sharing ideas that may positively impact the nursing environment in a manner that is consistent with achieving the necessary results in quality (Wagner et.al, 2011).

From an advanced practice nursing perspective, there must be a greater emphasis on the creation of an environment that promotes a culture of safety, along with other tools that will create new opportunities for nurses to grow and thrive within their roles. A culture of safety must serve as a critical priority for nurses in the obstetrics and gynecology field because it will have an impact on their ability to work with patients and to treat them with a high level of support and guidance to meet their needs during the prenatal and postpartum phases. When this type of culture is present, there are greater opportunities for nurses to contribute to the practice environment and to be successful in evaluating how current practices have evolved to ensure that patient care quality is consistent and appropriate for the patient population in question. Within this field, a level of specificity is required that will demonstrate a high degree of support and guidance in meeting patient care needs, while also recognizing the value of patient safety in supporting new ideas to ensure that an organization is prepared to manage change throughout the healthcare field, while also maintaining efficiency at a high level to ensure that patient care quality is preserved for this patient population on a continuous basis.

Developing a culture of safety must represent a means of recognizing how to overcome adversity within the nursing unit and in supporting an environment that supports high level quality patient care and treatment that will positively impact the population that is served. This process is instrumental in the development of new ideas and approaches that will improve outcomes and that will demonstrate a high level of value for patients who require this type of treatment. When nurses are on the same page in regards to the administration of care to their patients, this supports their understanding of a patient care dynamic that will have a lasting impact on their ability to administer care and treatment that is at a high level and that supports continuous improvement for this patient population.

Finally, the proposed quality improvement change initiative must demonstrate an acceptance of the different areas where DNP-prepared nurses are required to contribute at a high level to accommodate change and improve the culture of safety. This must be effective in aiming towards a set of solutions that will identify specific leadership roles to direct the initiative, while also requiring leaders to empower staff nurses to participate at a high level at all times. This will facilitate their commitment to the initiative and to be effective in working towards a set of solutions that will have a lasting impact on the desired culture of safety that has been identified for implementation.

Conclusion

The development of an advanced practice solution to ensure that patient care quality is achieved in the obstetrics and gynecology field represents an opportunity to develop new directives to facilitate an effective response to change that will have a positive impact on patient care quality. It is important to identify areas where cost efficiencies are also observed that will improve outcomes for female patients, while also recognizing the areas where the face the most level of risk. Patient safety must be of the utmost priority to an organization and must provide an opportunity to examine its core strengths and other areas where there are opportunities for growth that will positively impact the team and its patients. This process and a culture of safety must be achieved and must be consistent in order to further support the goals and objectives of the nursing unit as it moves forward to minimize errors, to recognize areas of patient risk, and to be proactive in working in a collaborative manner to improve outcomes for patients on a regular basis.

References

Lagrew, D. C., & Jenkins, T. R. (2014). The future of obstetrics/gynecology in 2020: a clearer vision. Why is change needed?. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 211(5), 470-474.

Pettker, C. M., Thung, S. F., Raab, C. A., Donohue, K. P., Copel, J. A., Lockwood, C. J., & Funai, E. F. (2011). A comprehensive obstetrics patient safety program improves safety climate and culture. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 204(3), 216-e1.

Sepulveda, D., & Varaklis, K. (2012). Implementing a multifaceted quality-improvement curriculum in an obstetrics-gynecology resident continuity-clinic setting: a 4-year experience. Journal of graduate medical education, 4(2), 237-241.

Wagner, B., Meirowitz, N., Shah, J., Nanda, D., Reggio, L., Cohen, P., … & Abrams, K. J. (2012). Comprehensive perinatal safety initiative to reduce adverse obstetric events. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 34(1), 6-15.