Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Cheryl Keen

Abstract

The call to better prepare nurses in safety and quality performance resulted from the concern of the Institute of Medicine regarding egregious gaps and errors in U.S. hospitals that resulted in serious injuries and patient deaths. Quality and safety education for nursing (QSEN) competencies were set forth in 2005 to enhance nursing curricula and nursing students' preparation for practice; however, QSEN's integration and implementation have been gradual and inconsistent. This qualitative interpretive study was guided by Senge's principles of the learning organization and Benner's professional development model. Using face-to-face interviews, the perspectives of 9 full-time nursing faculty members at 2 private nursing colleges in the Northeast United States were obtained about QSEN integration into their curriculum. Data analysis employed the use of open in vivo coding, categorizing, and the formation of themes. The results indicated that QSEN integration was perceived as complex and daunting due to faculty's limited knowledge about QSEN, lack of adequate preparation to develop and employ instructional strategies, lack of adequate time to teach, and limited learning opportunities at clinical sites to develop competencies such as teamwork and collaboration and informatics. Meaningful reform in nursing education may occur as leaders engage faculty members in meaningful dialogue to better understand the complexity and challenges of QSEN integration, including faculty members' needs for successful implementation. Nursing students may then be better trained to understand the nature and consequences of human and system errors and appreciate higher standards of care that will result in a decrease in preventable injuries, medication errors, and patient deaths.

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