In nursing, the response from the profession to the call for patient safety and quality has been remarkable.
In an evidence-based handbook for nurses, Hughes highlighted nursing’s contributions to patient safety and quality, evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, improvement in working conditions, and the work environment for nurses, and discussed a number of opportunities for further improvement and research. Furthermore, nurses’ continuing contributions span a broad range of initiatives in practice (e.g. patient advocacy and attentiveness training and nurse-led quality improvement), education (e.g. curriculum changes to target core competencies such as evidence-based practice, informatics, and quality improvement),and research using a number of conceptual and empirical methodologies to explicate, analyze, and synthesize data and to implement and evaluate interventions (e.g. nurse-led clinics, tele-health, and care pathways). In addition, nurse leaders and nursing governing bodies responded with a number of position
papers, revision of policies and Code of Ethics, and accreditation and regulatory initiatives, to demonstrate the profession’s commitment to patient safety and quality. Although there has been some progress, morestill needs to be done.