NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures – Step-by-Step Guide

The first step before starting to write the NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures, it is essential to understand the requirements of the assignment. The first step is to read the assignment prompt carefully to identify the topic, the length and format requirements. You should go through the rubric provided so that you can understand what is needed to score the maximum points for each part of the assignment. 

It is also important to identify the audience of the paper and its purpose so that it can help you determine the tone and style to use throughout. You can then create a timeline to help you complete each stage of the paper, such as conducting research, writing the paper, and revising it to avoid last-minute stress before the deadline. After identifying the formatting style to be applied to the paper, such as APA, you should review its use, such as writing citations and referencing the resources used. You should also review how to format the title page and the headings in the paper.

How to Research and Prepare for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

The next step in preparing for your paper is to conduct research and identify the best sources to use to support your arguments. Identify the list of keywords from your topic using different combinations. The first step is to visit the university library and search through its database using the important keywords related to your topic. You can also find books, peer-reviewed articles, and credible sources for your topic from PubMed, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. Ensure that you select the references that have been published in the last words and go through each to check for credibility. Ensure that you obtain the references in the required format, for example, in APA, so that you can save time when creating the final reference list. 

You can also group the references according to their themes that align with the outline of the paper. Go through each reference for its content and summarize the key concepts, arguments and findings for each source. You can write down your reflections on how each reference connects to the topic you are researching about. After the above steps, you can develop a strong thesis that is clear, concise and arguable. Next you should create a detailed outline of the paper so that it can help you to create headings and subheadings to be used in the paper. Ensure that you plan what point will go into each paragraph.

How to Write the Introduction for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

The introduction of the paper is the most crucial part as it helps to provide the context of your work, and will determine if the reader will be interested to read through to the end. You should start with a hook, which will help capture the reader’s attention. You should contextualize the topic by offering the reader a concise overview of the topic you are writing about so that they may understand its importance. You should state what you aim to achieve with the paper. The last part of the introduction should be your thesis statement, which provides the main argument of the paper.

How to Write the Body for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

The body of the paper helps you to present your arguments and evidence to support your claims. You can use headings and subheadings developed in the paper’s outline to guide you on how to organize the body. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence to help the reader know what point you will be discussing in that paragraph. Support your claims using the evidence conducted from the research, ensure that you cite each source properly using in-text citations. You should analyze the evidence presented and explain its significance and how it connects to the thesis statement. You should maintain a logical flow between each paragraph by using transition words and a flow of ideas.

How to Write the In-text Citations for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

In-text citations help the reader to give credit to the authors of the references they have used in their works. All ideas that have been borrowed from references, any statistics and direct quotes must be referenced properly. The name and date of publication of the paper should be included when writing an in-text citation. For example, in APA, after stating the information, you can put an in-text citation after the end of the sentence, such as (Smith, 2021). If you are quoting directly from a source, include the page number in the citation, for example (Smith, 2021, p. 15). Remember to also include a corresponding reference list at the end of your paper that provides full details of each source cited in your text. An example paragraph highlighting the use of in-text citations is as below:

The integration of technology in nursing practice has significantly transformed patient care and improved health outcomes. According to Smith (2021), the use of electronic health records (EHRs) has streamlined communication among healthcare providers, allowing for more coordinated and efficient care delivery. Furthermore, Johnson and Brown (2020) highlight that telehealth services have expanded access to care, particularly for patients in rural areas, thereby reducing barriers to treatment.

How to Write the Conclusion for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

When writing the conclusion of the paper, start by restarting your thesis, which helps remind the reader what your paper is about. Summarize the key points of the paper, by restating them. Discuss the implications of your findings and your arguments. End with a call to action that leaves a lasting impact on the reader or recommendations.

How to Format the Reference List for NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures 

The reference helps provide the reader with the complete details of the sources you cited in the paper. The reference list should start with the title “References” on a new page. It should be aligned center and bolded, in sentence sentence care. The references should be organized in an ascending order alphabetically and each should have a hanging indent. If a source has no author, it should be alphabetized by the title of the work, ignoring any initial articles such as “A,” “An,” or “The.” If you have multiple works by the same author, list them in chronological order, starting with the earliest publication. 

Each reference entry should include specific elements depending on the type of source. For books, include the author’s last name, first initial, publication year in parentheses, the title of the book in italics, the edition (if applicable), and the publisher’s name. For journal articles, include the author’s last name, first initial, publication year in parentheses, the title of the article (not italicized), the title of the journal in italics, the volume number in italics, the issue number in parentheses (if applicable), and the page range of the article. For online sources, include the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or the URL at the end of the reference. An example reference list is as follows:

References

Johnson, L. M., & Brown, R. T. (2020). The role of telehealth in improving patient outcomes. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 35(2), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000456

Smith, J. A. (2021). The impact of technology on nursing practice. Health Press.

NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures Instructions

In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, consider the outcome and process measures that can be used for CQI. Include the following in your essay:

1. At least two process measures that can be used for CQI.
2. At least one outcome measure that can be used for CQI.
3. A description of why each measure was chosen.
4. An explanation of how data would be collected for each (how each will be measured).
5. An explanation of how success would be determined.
6. One or two data-driven, cost-effective solutions to this challenge.

Use a minimum of three peer-reviewed scholarly references as evidence.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. Have a look at NUR 630 Topic 6 DQ 1.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competency:

MSN Leadership in Health Care Systems

6.5: Generate data-driven, cost-effective solutions to organizational challenges.

NUR 630 Topic 5 Benchmark – Outcome and Process Measures Example

Continuous quality improvement is an essential aspect of healthcare that entails incremental progressive improvement of care processes, hence quality and safe patient care. CQI focuses on improving operations, outcomes, processes, environment, and policies. These interventions help healthcare facilities improve efficiency, reduce resource wastage, and improve employee and patient satisfaction. These interventions must also be evaluated to determine if they are effectively implemented and if they achieve the results they are thought to achieve. Process and outcome measure measures are significant to continuous quality improvement and are the focus of this essay.

Two Process Measures in Continuous Quality Improvement

 Process measures are specific and evidence-based measures that streamline the processes, whereas outcome measures look at the project’s product. The problem/ process/ service of interest informs them. The problem of interest is surgical complications in the facility, which is to contain and lead to high-quality patient care with better patient outcomes and care quality.

Essential and selected process measures in preventing surgical complications include the selection, timing, and administration of antimicrobial prophylaxis and hair removal techniques used. These process outcomes can be used to control the process of surgical site infection prevention. Researchers argue that process measures are more significant than outcome measures because they directly influence outcomes by ensuring that recommended best practices are implemented as planned (Tanner & Melen, 2021).

Antimicrobial prophylaxis selection, timing, and administration are crucial to surgical site infection prevention. This process measure was selected because the importance of prophylactic medications has been long recognized and appreciated. In some cases and surgery types (such as open-heart surgeries and all clean-contaminated), prophylaxis antibiotics are routinely administered to protect patients from infections. Prophylactic antibiotics have different potency, which is significant to infection prevention.

Branch-Elliman et al. (2019) note that the medications selected are informed by the risk associated with the surgical intervention. Depending on hospital policy, the prophylactic medications are administered before or during surgery. Evidence-based best practices and government agency recommendations show that administering antimicrobial prophylaxis 30-60 minutes before incisions is associated with the best results (de Jong et al., 2021). In addition, antimicrobials with fast infusion time are considered for quality patient outcomes.

For this process measure, the type of prophylactic antimicrobial medication used will be recorded for each surgery. The timing and administration will also be collected for each surgery. Surgical site infection for each case will also be corrected and analyzed individually and collectively. The prophylactic antibiotics and their outcomes, use versus disuse of prophylactic medications. The data generated will show which medications have the least or most significant infection risks,

Bashaw and Keister (2019) note that perioperative hair removal practices are vital predictors of surgical site infections, and hair removal practice used affects the infection rates. Human hair harbors bacteria and also obstructs operation site view. Their removal practices are thus significant to the prevention of infection.

Changing the hair removal techniques can thus significantly affect the rate of SSIs. According to Tanner and Melen (2019), clippers or depilatory cream use is associated with lower SSI rates than other hair removal practices. Razor-mediated hair removal practice is associated with the highest number of medication errors. Thus, a significant process measure is the number of surgical procedures utilizing clippers or depilatory cream compared to other methods.

For this process measure, data collection will be the percentage of surgeries that utilized clippers compared to those that used razors. This process measure will also help understand how the interprofessional teams in the surgical room perceive surgical site infection prevention practices and their significance. An increased percentage of hair clippers use will significant process success on the road to preventing surgical site infections. The surgical information for all surgeries should thus include the hair removal technique to ensure these best practices are implemented are recommended for quality patient outcomes.

Outcome Measures Selected

Surgical complications are essential to mortalities and the quality and safety of patient issues. The interest is increased complications rate in surgeries. Most surgeries are life-saving interventions that target improving the health of individuals with a life-threatening illness. Complications, particularly infections, increase mortality rates and healthcare costs, hence their significance to the population. The outcome measures for significant to continuous quality improvement care are surgical site infection rates, readmission rates, and mortality rates following surgery.

Surgical Site Infection Rates (SSI rate)

More than 10 million patients undergo surgery annually, contributing to about a quarter of all hospital stays. The selected outcome measure of interest is the surgical site infection rate due to its significance in care quality, safety, and healthcare costs. The CDC (n.d.) defines surgical site infections as “infections related to operative procedures occurring near the surgical incision that occur within 30 days of surgery of 90 days post prosthetic insertion.” The surgical site infection rates reflect effective perioperative infection prevention measures.

Surgical site infection prevention measures include pre-op showers with antiseptic soaps, intact skin cleansing, prophylactic drug administration, hair removal method, and glucose monitoring in surgeries. These processes, among others healthcare professionals, prevent surgical site infections. According to Sieldelman et al. (2023), surgical site infections are vital culprits in inpatient mortalities, morbidity, prolonged hospital stay, and healthcare costs. SSIs can be severe and difficult to treat, leading to poor quality outcomes, poor patient satisfaction, and decreased perceived quality measures ().

Data collection for this measure is quite elaborate. The healthcare providers keep data on all surgical interventions/ procedures and evaluate patients to determine those who developed infections (Bashaw & Keister, 2021). The number of individuals who developed surgical site infections within 30 days post-op is then compared to those who did not. The ratio is then converted into a percentage and monitored over time. Surgical site infections are not a one-time prevention intervention. They require continuous monitoring and evaluation because each new surgery or left step could lead to significant problems in care outcomes, hence the measure’s significance.

Success Determination

When evaluating process and outcome measures, goals and 0objectives are significant. Institutions can determine success using internally or externally generated benchmarks. The local healthcare facility’s target has a surgical site infection rate below 4%. Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the third most common nosocomial infections after catheter-acquired urinary tract infections and central line-associated bloodstream infections (Ekanem et al., 2021).

SSIs are most common in obstetric and gynecological surgeries, primarily due to a large number of these surgery types. An SSI rate below 5% could be considered significant/successful, considering the national average is 16% (Strobel et al., 2021). Revaluating the value each year could help the institution continually improve its preventive processes hence quality patient outcomes. In addition, rates above 90% in clippers use, appropriate prophylactic use, medication selection, and optimal administration timing (within 60 minutes of incision) would indicate success in the continuous quality improvement process.

Cost-Effective Solutions to This Challenge

Surgical site infections are a significant healthcare issue that must be addressed to ensure quality patient outcomes and enhance patient safety. Healthcare data and patient outcomes often drive improvements. According to current literature, staff education is an effective intervention in managing this problem (Ariyo et al., 2019). Theatre staff must be reminded of the significance of surgical site infections and the means to prevent them.

Another intervention is surveillance tools for risk identification and management. The tools are derived from the national agencies’ guidelines for surgical site infection prevention (CDC, n.d.). Wall et al. (2022) note that the tool uses electronic health records data to alert the care providers of patient risks, allowing them to intervene and prevent infections. The tool helps protect vulnerable populations and thus reduces the overall surgical site infection rates.

Patients with immunocompromise and other risk factors such as diabetes should be monitored using a checklist, and the risks mitigated, as the agency recommends for healthcare research and quality (Wall et al., 2022). The surveillance tool is digital and cost-effective because no additional costs are used in collection and data analysis for risk identification.

Conclusion

Process and outcome measures are significant to project monitoring and evaluation. In continuous quality improvement, measures are collected more than once over time, and the goal is to produce sustainable change that leads to quality improvement in healthcare. Given the rising surgical complication rates in healthcare facilities, the focus is on surgical site infections. The interest is to ensure low surgical site infection rates and associated mortalities. Process outcomes such as selection, timing, and administration of prophylactic antimicrobials and hair removal best practices are significant to surgical site infection rates and continuous quality improvement in the facility.

References

Ariyo, P., Zayed, B., Riese, V., Anton, B., Latif, A., Kilpatrick, C., Allegranzi, B., & Berenholtz, S. (2019). Implementation strategies to reduce surgical site infections: a systematic review. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 40(3), 287-300. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2018.355

Bashaw, M. A., & Keister, K. J. (2019). Perioperative strategies for surgical site infection prevention. Aorn journal, 109(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1002/aorn.12451

Branch-Elliman, W., O’Brien, W., Strymish, J., Itani, K., Wyatt, C., & Gupta, K. (2019). Association of duration and type of surgical prophylaxis with antimicrobial-associated adverse events. JAMA surgery, 154(7), 590-598. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0569

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (n.d.). Surgical Site Infections (SSI): Infection Control. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/ssi/index.html

de Jonge, S. W., Boldingh, Q. J., Koch, A. H., Daniels, L., de Vries, E. N., Spijkerman, I. J., Wim A., Gino K., Marce;, D., Markus, H., & Boermeester, M. A. (2021). Timing of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis and surgical site infection: TAPAS, an observational cohort study. Annals of Surgery, 274(4), e308-e314. https://doi.org/10.1097/sla.0000000000003634

Ekanem, E. E., Oniya, O., Saleh, H., & Konje, J. C. (2021). Surgical site infection in obstetrics and gynecology: prevention and management. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, 23(2), 124-137.https://doi.org/10.1111/tog.12730

Strobel, R. M., Leonhardt, M., Förster, F., Neumann, K., Lobbes, L. A., Seifarth, C., Lee, L. D., Schinei, C. H. W., Kamphe=ues, C., Weuxler, B., Kreis, M. E., & Lauscher, J. C. (2022). The impact of surgical site infection—a cost analysis. Langenbeck’s Archives of Surgery, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-021-02346-y

Tanner, J., & Melen, K. (2021). Preoperative hair removal to reduce surgical site infection. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (8). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004122.pub5

Wall, R. T., Datta, S., Dexter, F., Ghyasi, N., Robinson, A. D., Persons, D., Boling, K. A., McCloud, C. A., Krisanda, E. K., Gordon, B. M., Koff, M. D., Yeager, M. P., Brown, J., Wong, C. A., & Loftus, R. W. (2022). Effectiveness and feasibility of an evidence-based intraoperative infection control program targeting improved basic measures: a post-implementation prospective case-cohort study. Journal of clinical anesthesia, 77, 110632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinane.2021.110632