Blog #2. Nursing Education: A Collaborative Effort at Quality Improvement.

Recently, I was allowed to attend a unique meeting of local healthcare organizations, and local colleges in a round-table like discussion on the educational standards of local nursing programs. By the end of this meeting I personally had a new appreciation for all the hard work, and collaborative effort between competitors to improve the nursing education. It was encouraging to witness the inner workings of a mix of competitors coming together in a collaborative, and unbiased effort to improve quality.

The meeting began with the host college touching on nursing program enrollment, graduation rates, and practicum examples for the previous semester. The other colleges in attendance then followed one another with statements of their own institutional figures pertaining to each of their respective nursing programs. After this, the dynamic of the discussion shifted to problems with the curriculum, examination, and real-world training through practicum experiences. Some problems the colleges noted had to deal with practicum training not matching classroom teaching. One college official was very concerned that students are being taught one way, only to be told to practice a different way when integrated with a local organization.

After the college officials had an opportunity to present their observations from the last semester, the local healthcare providers then presented their observations of the nursing students. The most common theme from this side of the table had to deal with students overall lack of professional skill sets. Statements highlighted student’s general lack of understanding how to communicate, failure to act professionally, critical thinking qualities, and lack of basic interpersonal relationship skills. There was little mention of any clinical observations; overall the healthcare providers seemed pleased in that area.

The discussion then shifted to an open discussion for ideas how to improve on the concerns raised by all stakeholders. All the stakeholders agreed on some new approaches that would be tested over the next semester in an effort to improve the aforementioned conditions, and a few others not mentioned.

This meeting was a wonderful opportunity to witness educational, and institutional competitors come together to ensure that the quality of nurses being turned out by the local educational institutions are performing at the highest standards. All the stakeholders understand how critical it is that an open communication exists between all parties because they all expect the best quality of care for their patients. It is my belief that this kind of transparency, and collaboration between competitors will lead to higher quality in the Orlando area.