Six Competencies In Healthcare

The most pressing issue of one’s health care career has and always will be working on improving the quality and safety of our healthcare system. There are six competencies specified in the article provided that will be discussed in this paper. These competencies are patient centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. To comprehend the entirety of QSEN, one must first understand each aspect that contributes to the big picture. Each of these practices will be discussed thoroughly, starting with patient centered care. Patient centered care is described as care given while thinking only about the patient and their beliefs, customs, preferences, values, and needs. As a healthcare
One must demonstrate respect, clear communication, empathy, and will be expected to ask preferences of the patient before administering care. Some examples of preferences may be asking the patient what name they prefer to be called, granting freedom when possible, and allowing them to choose their meals or when they take their medication. In patient centered care, not only should the patient’s opinion matter, one must also look at the family members and include them into the care plan. When a patient’s family is incorporated into the plan, they become allies for safety, thus preventing accidents more often. In addition to the family cooperating, healthcare workers must work together using teamwork and collaboration in order to communicate the patient’s needs. Teamwork and collaboration reduces the chances of an error being performed with medication,
While these six competencies may be competing against one another for the role of ‘most important’, there is no clear say of priority among them. Every single one of these aspects ties together to allow for the best possible outcome of care. While nurses carry the bigger responsibility of knowing drug interactions, high-risk procedures, and fall and choking risks, the patient and their family must be included as a part of the care team. Nurses must know what they can and cannot share with the family in this scenario, according to the laws of HIPAA. Nurses must take into consideration the preferences of the patient and the family members in order to ensure the highest level of care. While the healthcare workers were the ones to go to medical school, one must refrain from letting the patient and the family members out of the care plan because in the end, the nurse did not study to pass the test, they studied for the day they will be the only thing standing between the patient and serious complications or death. “Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription” (Saintsbury,