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For this professional development exercise, submit a 1500 – 2000 word paper. Two resources outside of your text should be used for this assignment.

Identify three legislative priorities related to the provision of home health and hospice services. Provide an overview of each issue and discuss how they affect the home care and hospice industry from the perspectives of cost, quality, or access.

Select two clients you observed or counseled this week during a family therapy session. Note: The two clients you select must have attended the same family session. Do not select the same family you selected for Week 2.

Then, address in your Practicum Journal the following:

• Using the Group Therapy Progress Note in this week’s Learning Resources, document the family session.
• Describe each client (without violating HIPAA regulations) and identify any pertinent history or medical information, including prescribed medications.
• Using the DSM-5, explain and justify your diagnosis for each client.
• Explain whether solution-focused or cognitive behavioral therapy would be more effective with this family. Include expected outcomes based on these therapeutic approaches.
• Explain any legal and/or ethical implications related to counseling each client.
• Support your approach with evidence-based literature.

Overview

Prepare an 8–10-page data analysis and quality improvement initiative proposal based on a health issue of professional interest to you. The audience for your analysis and proposal is the nursing staff and the interprofessional team who will implement the initiative.

“A basic principle of quality measurement is: If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2013).

Health care providers are on an endless quest to improve both care quality and patient safety. This unwavering commitment requires hospitals and care givers to increase their attention and adherence to treatment protocols to improve patient outcomes. Health informatics, along with new and improved technologies and procedures, are at the core of virtually all quality improvement initiatives. The data gathered by providers, along with process improvement models and recognized quality benchmarks, are all part of a collaborative, continuing effort. As such, it is essential that professional nurses are able to correctly interpret, and effectively communicate information revealed on dashboards that display critical care metrics.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 2: Plan quality improvement initiatives in response to routine data surveillance.
  • Outline a QI initiative proposal based on a selected health issue and supporting data analysis.
• Competency 3: Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures.
  • Analyze data to identify a health care issue or area of concern.
• Competency 4: Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work-life quality.
  • Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work-life quality.
• Competency 5: Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
  • Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
  • Communicate evaluation and analysis in a professional and effective manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Reference

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2013). Preventing falls in hospitals. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/hospital/fallpxtoolkit/fallpxtk5.html#tiptop

Assessment Instructions

Preparation

In this assessment, you will propose a quality improvement (QI) initiative proposal based on a health issue of professional interest to you. The QI initiative proposal will be based on an analysis of dashboard metrics from a health care facility. You have one of two options:

Option 1

If you have access to dashboard metrics related to a QI initiative proposal of interest to you:

• Analyze data from the health care facility to identify a health care issue or area of concern. You will need access to reports and data related to care quality and patient safety. If you work in hospital setting, contact the quality management department to obtain the data you need.
• You will need to identify basic information about the health care setting, size, and specific type of care delivery related to the topic that you identify. You are expected to abide by HIPAA compliance standards.

Option 2

If you do not have access to a dashboard or metrics related to a QI initiative proposal:

• You may use the hospital data set provided in the media piece titled Vila Health: Data Analysis. You will analyze the data to identify a health care issue or area of concern.
• You will follow the same instructions and provide the same deliverables as your peers who select Option 1.

Instructions

Analyze dashboard metrics related to the selected issue.

• Provide the selected data set in the proposal.
  • Assess the stability of processes or outcomes.
  • Delineate any problematic variations or performance failures.
• Evaluate QI initiatives on the selected health issue with existing quality indicators from other facilities, government agencies, and non-governmental bodies on quality improvement.
  • Analyze challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization and the interprofessional team.
• Outline a QI initiative proposal based on the selected health issue and data analysis.
  • Identify target areas for improvement.
  • Define what processes can be modified to improve outcomes.
  • Propose strategies to improve quality.
  • Define interprofessional roles and responsibilities as they relate to the QI initiative.
  • Provide recommendations for effective communication strategies for the interprofessional team to ensure the success of the QI initiative. Briefly reflect on the impact of the proposed initiative on work-life quality of the nursing staff and interprofessional team.
• Integrate relevant sources to support arguments, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Note: Remember, you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version of your analysis for this assessment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time for receiving feedback, if you plan on using this free service.

The numbered points below correspond to grading criteria in the scoring guide. The bullets below each grading criterion further delineate tasks to fulfill the assessment requirements. Be sure that your Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation addresses all of the content below. You may also want to read the scoring guide to better understand the performance levels that relate to each grading criterion.

1. Analyze data to identify a health care issue or area of concern.
   • Identify the type of data you are analyzing (from your institution or from the media piece).
   • Discuss why the data matters, what it is telling you, and what is missing.
   • Analyze dashboard metrics and provide the data set in the proposal.
   • Present dashboard metrics related to the selected issue.
   • Delineate any problematic variations or performance failures.
   • Assess the stability of processes or outcomes.
   • Evaluate the quality of the data and what can be learned from it.
   • Identify trends, outcome measures and information needed to calculate specific rates.
   • Analyze what metrics indicate opportunities for quality improvement.
2. Outline a QI initiative proposal based on a selected health issue and supporting data analysis.
   • Identify benchmarks aligned to existing QI initiatives set by local, state, or federal health care policies or laws.
   • Identify existing QI initiatives related to the selected issue, and explain why they are insufficient.
   • Identify target areas for improvement, and define what processes can be modified to improve outcomes.
   • Propose evidence-based strategies to improve quality.
   • Evaluate QI initiatives on the selected health issue with existing quality indicators from other facilities, government agencies, and non-governmental bodies on quality improvement.
   • Analyze challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization and the interprofessional team.
3. Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work-life quality.
   • Define interprofessional roles and responsibilities as they relate to the data and the QI initiative.
   • Explain how you would you make sure that all relevant roles are fully engaged in this effort.
   • Explain what non-nursing concepts would you incorporate into the initiative?
   • Identify how outcomes to measure the effect of the intervention affect the interprofessional team.
   • Briefly reflect on the impact of the proposed initiative on work-life quality of the nursing staff and interprofessional team. Describe how work-life quality is improved or enriched by the initiative.
4. Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
   • Identify the kind of interprofessional communication strategies that will be effective to promote and ensure the success of this performance improvement plan or quality improvement initiative.
   • In addition to writing, identify communication models (like CUS, SBAR) that you would include in your initiative proposal.
5. Communicate evaluation and analysis in a professional and effective manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
6. Integrate relevant sources to support arguments, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Submission Requirements

• Length of submission: 8–10 double-spaced, typed pages, not including title and reference page.
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of five sources (no older than seven years, unless seminal work) of scholarly, peer-reviewed, or professional evidence that support your evaluation, recommendations, and plans.

Note: Faculty may use the Writing Feedback Tool when grading this assessment. The Writing Feedback Tool is designed to provide you with guidance and resources to develop your writing based on five core skills. You will find writing feedback in the Scoring Guide for the assessment, once your work has been evaluated.

 Answer the following in one paragraph:

What is your favorite book and why? 

Please review the substantive posting requirements posted in the forum and announcements: When you post responses to your peers the response needs to be “substantive” to receive credit. Substantive posting criteria includes: Acknowledge what your peer stated (agree or disagree). Include additional information. End the post with an open-ended follow up question. This is important to encourage further discussion.

Cite and reference the article in APA format for this assignment.

**Please include one question along with post for peer to answer****

1. What competitor information categories are useful in competitor analysis? Are these categories appropriate for health care organizations? How can these information categories provide focus for information gathering and strategic decision making?
2. Why is it important to clearly define the service area? How does managed care penetration affect service area definition?

Professional Development: 

Conduct a service area competitor analysis within your community. Keep it fairly small in scope (i.e. laser hair removal business, extended care facility for ventilator-dependant patients, etc.) so that it is manageable. Begin by introducing the macro issues (general and health care) and then use this outline as an initial guide:

1. Specify the Service Category
2. Delineate the Service Area.
   1. General
   2. Economic
   3. Demographic
   4. Psychographic
   5. Health Status
3. Perform a Service Area Structure Analysis
   1. Threat of New Entrants
   2. Intensity of Rivalry
   3. Threat of Substitutes
   4. Power of Customers
   5. Power of Suppliers
4. Do a Competitor Analysis/Identify Service Category Critical Success Factors
   1. Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses
   2. Critical Success Factors
   3. Strategic Groups
   4. Map Competitors
   5. Likely Responses of Competitors
5. Identify and Map Strategic Groups
6. Provide a Synthesis.

• Using the Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Template document that you began to work on in Module 1 and have continued expanding throughout this course, you will develop a curriculum vitae (CV) in Part 5 based on your current education and professional background.

Note: Add your work for this Assignment to the original document you began in the Module 1 Assignment, which was built from the Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Template.

See attachment

why do you think the issues presented in this chapter persist in today’s workforce culture?

Workforce Culture Issues

Workforce culture is a significant aspect of the nursing profession. It is determined by the leadership, including the approach involved in managing the working environment. Culture is an effective strategy in nursing that either reinforces or undermines professional competence.  Cultural competence among nurses enhances communication among nurses and patients with diverse backgrounds (Rittle, 2015). A positive workforce culture enhances staff satisfaction and engagement, influences patient safety, along with attracting the right talent.

The nursing profession experiences a shortage in its workforce, an aspect that interferes with its capacity to deliver services effectively. A workforce culture that promotes career growth and supports employee roles by offering a favorable environment with the required tools is likely to thrive (Davis, White, and Stephenson, 2016). Although technical skills are valuable in nursing, nurses have people-oriented jobs. As such, opportunities for people skills in the workplace are necessary to enhance collaboration, conflict resolution, and empathy. The nursing profession is more aligned with helping people and dealing with their emotions. The hiring process should involve senior nursing staff to facilitate the mentoring of new hires such that new employees benefit from their expertise. Nursing staff with longer service terms will feel their contributions to the organization’s management or leadership is valued.

There are dynamic shifts in the demand for staff in the nursing profession. Nurses are sometimes forced to work long hours, which affects their productivity and morale. The attraction of new talent by advocating for cultural competence is becoming significant in the nursing profession. A positive workforce culture is vital for the overall success of employees, including patient experience (Davis et al., 2016). The increased turnover rates are attributed to poor leadership in the nursing profession, especially when too much focus is drawn towards patient satisfaction and not staff satisfaction. There is an increasing need among nurses to portray competence in service delivery that indicates an understanding of cultural diversity (Rittle, 2015). Therefore, the nursing profession should continually encourage staff engagement and improve their professional experience to give patients the necessary care.

            Workplace culture necessitates improvements, such as clear communication among healthcare stakeholders. A professional relationship is established among administrators, patients, and employees, which improves service delivery and maintains rapport among nursing staff. The nurses also have a convenient way to express their grievances to the administrators. Moreover, concerns about nursing shortage are easily addressed because of the transparency in making decisions and sharing information. Nurses have diverse beliefs and approaches towards patient satisfaction and safety, which healthcare organizations can support through clear and consistent engagement (Rittle, 2015). The organizational commitment to make employees feel valued improves care quality and builds a desirable workforce characterized by competence and better services.

  A workforce culture that promotes inclusion entitles nurses to valuable practice and learning. However, limited acceptance in the workplace hinders the efficiency of nurses in healthcare facilities. The discrimination based on gender, color, and sexual orientation lowers the performance of nurses due to low morale and unequal opportunities to progress in their careers. An inclusive environment in nursing promotes learning and helps attain positive patient outcomes (Davis et al., 2016). Nurses should, therefore, learn in environments that support professional practice, facilitate best patient outcomes and influence workplace culture. Moreover, positive attitudes and rewards create a positive work culture, resulting from superior management style and effective leadership.

References

 Davis, K., White, S., & Stephenson, M. (2016). The Influence of Workplace Culture on Nurses’ Learning Experiences: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 14(6), 274-346.

Rittle, C. (2015). Multicultural Nursing: Providing Better Employee Care. Workplace Health & Safety, 63(12), 532-538.

• Incorporate professional values, attitudes, and expectations regarding ageism when caring for the older adult.
• Outline the importance of advocating for older adults in management of their care.

Your supervisor provided some valuable feedback in response to your outline! They are excited to see the PowerPoint slideshow you are creating for your topic’s in-service training. Having developed a number of presentations for in-services, your supervisor offered the following advice:

“When developing a slideshow, it’s important to be mindful of how you layout your content. For an in-service presentation, the slides should present key points, be arranged logically, without extraneous information contributing to a cluttered look. The audience should get a lot of the content from listening to what you say, not just from reading the slides. Using the Speaker Notes feature in PowerPoint is a great way to include relevant details that you want to provide without overloading the slides.”

Your supervisor wants you to work from your outline and prepare a visually appealing PowerPoint slideshow for the in-service presentation. They said it should:

1. Have a title slide.
2. Contain 6-10 content slides pertaining to the important content areas for your presentation topic.
3. Use the Speaker Notes feature in PowerPoint to reduce the amount of text that appears on the slides. (The Speaker Notes will contain the text that will guide what you say while presenting the slides.)
4. Be written using proper spelling/grammar.
5. Cite at least 2 credible references and present the sources in APA format on a References slide.

For information about creating PowerPoint presentations or adding Speaker Notes, consult the resources below.

• Writing Guide: PowerPoints
• PowerPoint FAQ
• PowerPoint & APA: citing sources and creating reference lists in PPT presentations
• How do I add Speaker Notes to my PowerPoint presentation slides?