University of Phoenix Uses AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit to Improve Nursing Coursework

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On September 24, 2021, University of Phoenix released a statement explaining its use of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Quality Indicators (QI) Toolkit as part of its graduate nursing program. Showing enormous potential as an educational resource, the Toolkit featured in the assessment of the University of Phoenix Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program.

A Closer Look: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s QI Toolkit

Part of the federal government’s executive branch, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) operates to “enhance the health and well-being of all Americans.” To coalesce its efforts to improve the U.S. healthcare system, the HHS established its Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 1989.

Today, the AHRQ is the chief federal agency tasked with boosting patient safety and overall quality of care within the U.S. healthcare system. According to its guiding organizational profile, the AHRQ “develops the knowledge, tools and data needed to improve the healthcare system and help Americans, healthcare professionals and policymakers make informed health decisions.”

To better accomplish these goals, the AHRQ developed its Quality Indicators (QI) Toolkit for hospital administrators and clinical caregivers. QI are specific measures of healthcare quality that are both standardized and evidence based. Hospitals can use QI to quantify and analyze individual patient outcomes and overall clinical function.

The QI in the AHRQ Toolkit concentrate on aspects of hospital quality and safety performance that cover three key areas:

• Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs): 18 indicators of safety-related adverse events following hospital surgeries, therapeutic procedures and childbirth.
• Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs): 28 measures of quality for adult patients (18 years of age or older), concentrating on characteristics such as hospital procedure volume, both procedure-specific and condition-specific inpatient mortality and procedure utilization in terms of underuse, overuse and misuse.
• Pediatric Quality Indicators (PDIs): 16 measures of quality for pediatric healthcare concentrating overall quality of hospital care for patients under 18 years of age and screening for problems that occur during the hospitalization of pediatric patients.

In addition to detailing the above QI, the AHRQ QI Toolkit shows readers how to employ them in conjunction with basic quality improvement principles and processes to create a blueprint for helpful hospital project development. It also includes two case studies of hospitals that have employed the QI Toolkit to great benefit and a presentation template for workplace events that can boost staff engagement in QI-driven improvement efforts.

The AHRQ offers its QI Toolkit free of charge to any hospital interested in applying targeted quality measures and improvement methods. An easy-to-use, how-to guide, the Toolkit takes administrators through every step of the development process from initial critical self-assessment to ongoing performance monitoring. 

Educational Applications of the AHRQ QI Toolkit

University of Phoenix offers an exceptional example of AHRQ QI Toolkit use in an academic setting. The University found the QI Toolkit helpful in the final training stages of advanced nursing student development when it comes to crystallizing a relevant understanding of the quality improvement process and enhancing the development of projects that ensure patient safety and boost overall care quality.

As an integral part of the MSN degree program, the AHRQ QI Toolkit allows University of Phoenix graduate nursing students to progress through each phase and element of the project development process while clearly depicting the ways each part fits into a comprehensive framework. The Toolkit plays an integral role in the final practicum projects of students graduating from the University’s MSN  degree program. “Using the AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit improves Master of Science in Nursing students’ knowledge of the project development process,” said University of Phoenix instructor Pamela S. Card, D.N.P. 

Dr. Card also stressed the ways in which the AHRQ QI Toolkit can serve graduates as they move into various administrative and educational roles: “The Toolkit provides project development tools that assist the students with distinct parts of their quality improvement project, starting with the Stakeholder Analysis and Gap Analysis and moving into the Implementation Plan and Implementation Plan Measurement.”

Since University of Phoenix integrated the AHRQ QI Toolkit into its Master of Science in Nursing program in 2019, faculty have reported significant improvements in the quality of student projects on topics ranging from fall prevention and urinary infection reduction to self-managed cardiac care. Dr. Card specifically praised the Toolkit for helping students address specific aspects of their final nursing practicum projects and delving more deeply into relevant details.

About University of Phoenix

Catering specifically to working adults and other students with busy schedules, University of Phoenix offers flexible scheduling, practical coursework, interactive learning and career services for students and graduates. The University continues to innovate in areas such as incorporating professional standards, guidelines and processes in academics. For more information, visit. www.phoenix.edu. 

The post University of Phoenix Uses AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit to Improve Nursing Coursework appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

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By: Carson Derrow
Title: University of Phoenix Uses AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit to Improve Nursing Coursework
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Published Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2021 07:22:55 +0000