The QSEN Competencies include implementation of quality improvement strategies, evidence-based practice, patient safety, integration of informatics into patient care and health management, patient centeredness in care ...

Approximately 7.8 million patients over age 20 are diagnosed every year with Type Two Diabetes (DMII) in the United States. Eighty-six million Americans aged 20 and over are at risk for developing DMII due to pre-diabetic ...

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients are at risk for not having their pain recognized. When nurses do not have adequate knowledge and tools to help determine if an AD patient is experiencing pain this often results in ignored ...

There is currently a nationwide campaign to address human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment. The emergency department (ED) is a significant venue in the HIV prevention and treatment campaign. The quality ...

Introduction Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. yet studies show that nurses lack the knowledge and skills to screen and counsel smokers.  This study focuses on improving smoking cessation ...

Falls are among the most common and serious problems facing older adult patients living in nursing homes. The focus of this project was to implement an hourly rounding fall prevention protocol in a nursing home that provides ...

Purpose: The clinical nurse specialist (CNS) mentored a unit based staff nurse as Champion of Performance Improvement through nursing’s shared governance council. Significance: Within shared governance, nurses are empowered to make decisions about practice, quality, and development. A staff nurse, acting as a unit based champion, can role-model effective decision making affecting clinical practice and patient outcomes. Performance improvement is one area that benefits from staff nurse participation. CNSs can be instrumental in developing staff nurse knowledge of and skills in performance improvement. Background: The CNS identified within the shared governance structure at a large, public hospital that identification and development of a unit based champion was one method to advance practice. A staff nurse, serving as a unit champion, is expected to act as a practice leader for improved patient outcomes. Performance improvement was an area selected for the unit champion initiative. Description: The CNS initiated a mentored experience for a medical-surgical staff nurse Champion of Performance Improvement. Teaching and coaching were the primary strategies. The staff nurse champion learned to describe problem significance, review evidence, identify needed changes, establish goals aligned with organizational mission, determine methods for evaluation, and mobilize resources.  Expected outcomes for the mentored experience included collecting and analyzing data; collaborating to identify resources; designing strategies to improve outcomes using feedback to reinforce practice changes and disseminating results of performance improvement to stakeholders at unit and organizational levels. Outcome: Three performance improvement projects were implemented by the staff nurse Champion for Performance Improvement under the mentorship of the CNS. The staff nurse evaluated the mentored experience as most valuable in developing knowledge and skills for conducting unit based performance improvement. The shared governance structure was pleased with the mentoring experience provided by the CNS. Interpretation: CNS mentorship of a staff nurse was a successful strategy for developing a Champion for Performance Improvement. Implications: CNS competencies in teaching, coaching and mentoring can support the professional development of a staff nurse and can contribute to overall shared governance initiatives to empower nursing staff....