Graduate registered nurses’ reflections on implementing safety and quality improvement projects

ABSTRACT

Registered nurses are required to be involved in quality improvement activities as part of delivering safe, high-quality care for patients. Graduate registered nurses often have limited knowledge and practical application of quality improvement processes and their link to clinical care. Graduate nurse programs provide ideal opportunities to embed knowledge and practice of quality standards and quality improvement processes and for graduates to utilise reflection as an important tool in learning and practice review. An innovative approach was implemented at an Australian private hospital where registered nurses in a graduate nurse program worked in groups to conduct a quality improvement project relating to one of the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. As part of the project, reflection was used as a strategy for graduates to understand and learn from their experience. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the reflections of 20 graduate registered nurses who conducted a quality improvement project as part of a graduate nurse program were analysed. The results showed that reflection enabled the graduate nurses to better understand their experience of implementing a quality and safety project with a team of peers, including reflecting on their own learning and also reflecting on quality improvement projects and how they can contribute to improved practices at the hospital.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflection
• graduate nurses
• quality improvement
• graduate nurse program
• hospital

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the graduate registered nurses for their participation in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

There was no funding associated with this research.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Rosemary Saunders

Dr. Rosemary Saunders is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University and Research Fellow at Hollywood Private Hospital, Ramsay HealthCare and is an experienced  nursing academic  and nurse researcher.

Emma Arnold

Emma Arnold is a Clinical Nurse Educator and Graduate Program Coordinator at Hollywood Private Hospital, Perth, Western Australia. With a passion for teaching and education Emma has implemented several exciting innovative programs with an emphasis on empowering graduates, enhancing professionalism and teamwork, ensuring graduates are positively contributing to quality and safety in the workplace.

Karla Seaman

Karla Seaman (BA Pharm, MA Clinical Epidemiology) is a Senior Research Officer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University

Anne Green

Anne Green is a UK trained Registered Nurse with 15 years senior clinical experience in Intensive Care Nursing. Anne became a Registered Nurse Teacher in 1997 and is now working as the West Australian Training and Development Manager for Ramsay Health Care and Training Manager at Hollywood Private Hospital.

Karen Gullick

Karen Gullick is the Director Clinical Services at Hollywood Private Hospital. Her nursing career has spanned both public and private healthcare for over 40 years, and she has always enjoyed supporting novice nurses in their growth and development.