Exercise Instructions

Quality Improvement Initiative Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative Project Description: You are an advanced practice nurse (APN) leader at a local non-profit community hospital, St. Mary’s General Hospital (this is a created hospital system and not meant to be associated with any real hospital system). You have been approached by your Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) as a leader to create and develop a hospital-wide initiative promoting Quality Improvement among nurses. This paper will focus on implementing a hospital wide QI initiative. Please follow the specific grading rubric below as this outline how you will be graded. The first section generally outlines the assignment and may provide some additional guidance on points that need additional clarification for the student above what is described in the grading rubric. 

1. Develop a hospital-wide initiative that promotes QIengagement and skill development by nurses. The nurse leader is expected to befamiliar with QI process and what is needed to ensure successful engagement bynurses within the facility. This assignment requires that students be familiarwith concepts that have been introduced at the undergraduate level such asquality improvement and leadership styles and approaches. The difference at thegraduate level is active engagement in learning rather than passive learning andwill require the student to evaluate, analyze and develop the concepts learnedat the undergraduate level. The introduction and conclusion sections areclearly outlined in the grading rubric below (refer to the grading rubric).Each section of the paper is expected to be well supported by the literature,evidence, best practice and research. This means that students are expected tointegrate multiple literature sources and not rely on one source to inform themajority or even a large part of the paper. Minimally the paper should includeat least 12 references but will likely include more. I check references soplease make sure that the references align and are actually used to support thestatements and viewpoints that you are making in the paper otherwise they failto be ‘supporting’ evidence to back these statements and are therefore opinionand have no place in an academic graduate level paper.

2. Few key points.

3. Review and follow the grading rubric andmake sure that you are meeting each of the points outlined in the gradingrubric; failure to do so results in lower grade. The vaguer and morenon-specific the student is in the paper the lower the grade. The reason forthis is that vagueness suggests failure to understand the concept in the paper.Clear and detailed is not synonymous with lengthy, actually detailed andsuccinct is the preferable approach because being both too brief and failing toprovide an adequate understanding of the concepts will suggest lack ofunderstanding and too lengthy and writing as much as possible hoping that youhit upon something that matches the grading rubric criteria is also failure tounderstand the concepts. Do not submit vague and nonspecific information oryour grade will reflect failure to demonstrate understanding. Failure to followthe grading rubric will result in a non-passing grade and you have 1opportunity to submit assignments in this class, refer to the syllabus forgrading policy and submissions guidelines.

4. For instance, the background and significancesection outline clearly the following in the grading rubric: Identifiesand describes quality improvement (QI); its importance to healthcarefacilities, patients, and stakeholders. How this links QI to all levels ofnursing practice and specifically it’s importance to nurse leaders. What is thefirst step the nurse leader needs to take to fulfill the task assigned by theCNO with a detailed rationale that provides information about the specifictools and measures, interpretation, and application of the findings to guidethe nurse leader’s decision making about the QI initiative. This suggeststhat you are looking for a specific first step that involves a tool or measure,so that is hinting and suggesting the student should be familiar with how QI knowledge,skills and engagement are determined by a nurse leader.

5. St. Mary’s General Hospital Mission, Vision &Strategic Development Plan are provided for you along with this assignmentin Blackboard under the Assignments Tab. Please make sure that you are usingthe provided document to complete the assignment when the syllabus asks thatyou align the QI initiative with St. Mary’s mission, vision and strategic plan.

This assignment is to be submitted as an essay- with an introduction, questions developed at the graduate level, and a conclusion to summarize

and synthesize key points. APA must be strictly followed. The page requirement for this project will be a MINIMUM of 10 pages not counting references and the cover page. 

Rubric: QI Initiative Assignment

a.

Criteria Strong Average Weak Introduction (Introduce the

overall concepts that will be

described in the student’s paper;

not generic to the assignment

outline) (10 pts)

10 pts

Clear and concise

introduction of the concepts

to be presented in the paper

6 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

generic introduction of the

concepts to presented in the

paper

3 pts

Vague, unclear or no

introduction of concepts to be

presented in the paper

Background/Significance

Identifies and describes quality

improvement (QI); its importance

to healthcare facilities, patients,

and stakeholders. How this links

QI to all levels of nursing practice

and specifically it’s importance to

nurse leaders. What is the first step

the nurse leader needs to take to

fulfill the task assigned by the

CNO with a detailed rationale that

provides information about the

specific tools and measures,

interpretation, and application of

the findings to guide the nurse

leader’s decision making about the

QI initiative. The

background/significance needs to

demonstrate a thorough

understanding of existing literature

on the topic with good supporting

literature, evidence, best practice

and research findings. (30 pts)

30 pts

Identifies, describes and

demonstrates a sophisticated

understanding of QI as it

relates to healthcare, patients,

stakeholders, nurses at all

levels of practice and APN

nurse leaders. Correct and

specific identification,

outline, and support for the

first step, tools, measures and

application of findings

needed by the APN leader to

fulfill the QI initiative

provided that is well

supported with evidence and

literature throughout.

20 pts

Identifies, describes, and

demonstrates a good but not

sophisticated understanding of

QI as it relates to healthcare,

patients, stakeholders, nurses at

all levels of practice and APN

nurse leaders. Correct but

somewhat non-specific

identification, outline, and

support for the first step, tools,

measures and application of

findings needed by the APN

leader to fulfill the QI initiative

provided that is mostly but not

fully supported with evidence

and literature throughout.

10 pts

Identifies, describes and

demonstrates an incomplete

and vague understanding of

QI as it relates to healthcare,

patients, stakeholders, nurses

at all levels of practice and

APN nurse leaders. Missing,

incorrect and/or vague

identification, outline, and

support for the first step, tools,

measures, and application of

findings needed by the APN

leader to fulfill the QI

initiative provided that is not

well supported with evidence

and/or literature throughout.

Personal/Profession Leadership

skills

Detailed description of the

personal and professional

leadership skills needed by APN

leader to effectively drive a QI

initiative at St. Mary’s General

Hospital that is grounded and

supported by best practice and

research (focus is on leadership

style, personal and professional

leadership competencies, personal

and professional qualities and

skills to be a successful nurse

leaders at the APN level in QI, and

how the nurse leader as an APN

will attain these needed

competencies that is well

supported by the literature,

evidence and research) (30 pts)

30 pts

Clear, detailed, and

comprehensive description of

the personal leadership style,

professional and personal

leadership competencies, &

personal and professional

qualities and skills necessary

to be a successful nurse

leader at the APN level to

lead the QI initiative. This

section also presents a clear

& comprehensive discussion

of how the APN will assess

needed leadership skills and a

specific plan for attaining

these skills that is well

supported by the literature,

evidence, and research.

20 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague description of the

personal leadership style,

professional and personal

leadership competencies, &

personal and professional

qualities and skills necessary to

be a successful nurse leader at

the APN level to lead the QI

initiative. This section also

presents a somewhat unclear

discussion of how the APN will

assess needed leadership skills

and a specific plan for attaining

these skills that is mostly but

not fully supported with

evidence and literature

throughout.

10 pts

Vague, unclear and/or missing

description of one or more of

the following including

personal leadership style,

professional and personal

leadership competencies, &

personal and professional

qualities and skills necessary

to be a successful nurse leader

at the APN level to lead the QI

initiative. This section also

presents an unclear, vague or

missing discussion of how the

APN will assess needed

leadership skills and vague

and/or unclear or missing plan

for attaining these skills that

fails to be well supported by

the literature throughout

Detailed Plan (Toolkit) for QI

Initiatives

A specific and detailed strategy

and processes of exactly how the

60 pts

Clear, detailed, and

comprehensive strategy

outlining exactly how the

40 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague strategy outlining

generally but not exactly how

20 pts

Vague, unclear or missing

strategy outlining how the

leader plans to develop the QI

Rubric: QI Initiative Assignment

nurse leader plans to develop QI

initiative and skills to guide

frontline nurses to participate in QI

at St. Mary’s to be presented to the

CNO and stakeholders (detailed

description of the processes the

leader will put into place to guide

and educate nurses to successfully

initiate, organize, plan, develop,

and evaluate effective QI projects

at the hospital; a detailed and

specific toolkit/framework to be

used by nurses and that can be

presented to the CNO). This plan

needs to be well supported by

national QI initiatives, tools, best

practice, evidence, and research.

(60 pts)

nurse leader plans to develop

the QI initiative which details

the processes, education,

tools and skills necessary for

nurses to successfully

initiate, plan, develop,

evaluate and share insights

for QI projects at St. Mary’s

that can be presented to the

CNO is provided. This plan

is comprehensively and well

supported by national QI

initiatives, tools, best

practice, evidence and

research.

the leader plans to develop the

QI initiative which details the

processes, education, tools and

skills necessary for nurses to

successfully initiate, plan,

develop, evaluate and share

insights for QI projects at St.

Mary’s that can be presented to

the CNO is provided. This plan

is supported by a national QI

initiative but only somewhat

supported by QI initiatives,

tools, best practice, evidence,

and research.

initiative which fails to detail

the processes, education, tools

and/or skills necessary for

nurses to successfully initiate,

plan, develop, evaluate and

share insights for QI projects

at St. Mary’s that can be

presented to the CNO is

provided. The plan fails or is

not well supported by national

QI initiatives, tools, best

practice, evidence, and

research.

Alignment with Hospital

Strategic Initiative

Detailed description of how the QI

initiative aligns with the St. Mary’s

mission, vision and strategic plan

(see provided document) along

with detailed outline of how the

APN leader plans to measure the

success of the initiative (short- and

long-term goals) this needs to be

aligned with one or more national

QI initiatives and grounded in

nursing’s disciplinary practice.

Supported with evidence and best

practice. (30 pts)

30 pts

Specific, detailed and clear

description of how the QI

initiative aligns with St.

Mary’s mission, vision, and

strategic plan is provided.

There is a detailed outline of

how the APN plans to

measure the success of the QI

initiative (includes both short

& long term goals) that

aligns with one or more

national QI initiative and is

linked to the disciplinary

knowledge of nursing. Well

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence.

20 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague description of how the

QI initiative aligns with St.

Mary’s mission, vision, and

strategic plan is provided.

There is a good but somewhat

vague outline of how the APN

plans to measure the success of

the QI initiative (includes both

short & long term goals) that

aligns with one or more

national QI initiative and is

linked to the disciplinary

knowledge of nursing.

Somewhat but not fully

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence.

10 pts

Vague, unclear or missing

description of how the QI

initiative aligns with St.

Mary’s mission, vision, and

strategic plan is provided.

There is a vague, unclear or

missing outline of how the

APN plans to measure the

success of the QI initiative

(one or both short & long term

goals) that is not aligned with

one or more national QI

initiative and is not linked to

the disciplinary knowledge of

nursing. Fails or not well

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

Nurse Engagement

Describe how the nurse leader

plans to foster nurse engagement

and buy-in for the planned QI

initiative. How would the nurse

leader foster nurse practitioner

(NP) involvement in the QI

initiative? (how does this tie with

NP scope of practice, what role

might these nurses play in a

successful QI initiative). Strong

supporting evidence that ties to

primary sources and scope of

practice provided. There is strong

supporting evidence, literature and

research to support this section.

(30 pts)

30 pts

Clear, detailed and

comprehensive strategy of

how the APN leader will

foster nurse engagement and

buy-in for the planned QI

initiative is provided.

Detailed and comprehensive

strategy for involving the NP

in the QI initiative that is

grounded in NP scope of

practice using both primary

and secondary sources. Well

supported and comprehensive

evidence, literature, and

research provided.

20 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague strategy of how the APN

leader will foster nurse

engagement and buy-in for the

planned QI initiative is

provided. Somewhat vague

strategy for involving the NP in

the QI initiative that may or

may not be grounded in NP

scope of practice using both

primary and secondary sources.

Somewhat but not fully

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

10 pts

Vague, unclear or missing

strategy of how the APN

leader will foster nurse

engagement and buy-in for the

planned QI initiative is

provided. Vague, unclear or

missing strategy for involving

the NP in the QI initiative that

may or may not be grounded

in NP scope of practice using

both primary and secondary

sources. Fails or not well

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

Barriers & Facilitators

Evaluates barriers and facilitators

the APN leader is likely to

30 pts

Clear, detailed and

comprehensive evaluation of

20 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague evaluation of barriers

10 pts

Vague, unclear or missing

evaluation of barriers and/or

Rubric: QI Initiative Assignment

encounter when attempting to

implement this QI initiative and

description of ways the nurse

leader plans to address each of the

barriers that is supported by

literature, evidence and best

practice. Minimally five barriers

should be outlined with specific

leadership strategies to address

these at the personal, professional

and organizational levels) of QI by

nurse leaders. Well supported with

literature, evidence, best practice

and research. (30 pts)

barriers and facilitators likely

to be encountered by the

APN leader implementing the

nursing QI initiative in

practice settings. Specific and

detailed strategies and

examples are provided to

address the main barriers that

demonstrates a

comprehensive understanding

of QI process and the role of

the APN leader. Well

supported and comprehensive

evidence, literature, and

research provided.

and facilitators likely to be

encountered by the APN leader

implementing the nursing QI

initiative in practice settings.

Somewhat specific and vague

strategies and examples

provided to address the main

barriers that mostly but not

comprehensively demonstrates

understanding of QI process

and the role of the APN leader.

Somewhat but not fully

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

facilitators likely to be

encountered by the APN

leader implementing the

nursing QI initiative in

practice settings. Vague,

unclear or missing strategies

and/or examples provided that

fail to demonstrate

understanding of the QI

process and/or role of the APN

leader. Fails or not well

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

Social Leadership

Examine social leadership

principles along with the qualities

necessary for APN leaders in

today’s healthcare environment.

Provides specific examples of how

these qualities will be employed by

the nurse leader to ensure the QI

initiative is successful that is well

supported by the literature, best

practice, research and evidence. .

(30 pts)

30 pts

Comprehensive examination

of principles of social

leadership that fully

integrates these qualities as

they relate to the role of APN

leader in today’s healthcare

environment with specific

and detailed examples of how

these qualities will be used

by the APN leader to

implement the QI initiative.

Well supported and

comprehensive evidence,

literature, and research

provided.

20 pts

Mostly clear but somewhat

vague examination of principles

of social leadership that mostly

but not fully integrates these

qualities as they relate to the

role of APN leader in today’s

healthcare environment.

Somewhat vague or missing

examples of how these qualities

will be used by the APN leader

to implement the QI initiative.

Somewhat but not fully

supported with literature, best

practice, and evidence

10 pts

Vague, unclear, or missing

examination of principles of

social leadership that vaguely

or fails to integrate these

qualities as they relate to the

role of the APN leader in

today’s healthcare

environment. Vague or

missing examples of how

these qualities will be used by

the APN leader to implement

the QI initiative. Fails or not

well supported with literature,

best practice, and evidence

Conclusion/Summary Conclusion

should summarize the main points

made by the student throughout the

paper, this is specific to the

student’s presentation of content

and not to the assignment. This

should not introduce new concepts

but rather should succinctly

summarize the major points as they

are outlined in the paper; it should

not repeat the introduction or the

key headings and not be generic to

any conclusion. (10 pts)

7-10 pts

Summarizes the key points

made throughout the student

paper in a succinct and

comprehensive manner.

Provides appropriate

references and citations to

support concluding

comments.

4-6 pts

Somewhat summarizes the key

points made throughout the

student paper in a mostly clear

but somewhat generic manner

that fails to be entirely

comprehensive for the student’s

content. Somewhat but not fully

supported by references and

citations.

0-3 pts

Vague and unclear summary

of the key points made

throughout the student paper

that provides a generic rather

than specific and

comprehensive summary of

the student’s co