Reflection on the Nursing Associates role in improving care quality.

Context Healthcare is a dynamic endeavour which means those providing care work in state of near constant change, be that in relation to the environment in which care is delivered, the nature of care interventions, equipment or drugs used to treat patients, and the pathways and process designed to ensure efficacy in the organisation of care delivery; all of which culminate in the outcome’s patients experience.
Large organisations often have a team of people dedicated to supporting service quality improvement, but even if you work in a place with such a team it would be wrong to think that quality improvement is their sole responsibility. Whilst organisations can facilitate change, Improvements in care quality take place where care is delivered, by the people delivering it.
As W. Edwards Deming said “Quality is everyone’s responsibility” The task It is likely that any reflections you have written previously have focused on a specific situation or incident you encountered at work. Whilst your personal experiences are still a key aspect of how you address this topic, you might also want to think more broadly about the contribution of the ‘Nursing Associates role’ to improving care quality. In reflecting upon the role of Nursing Associates in relation to improving care quality you might consider the following:
 What ‘Improving care quality’ means. What are the key elements of quality? You could use these to structure the body of your essay.
 How do you personally ensure the care you provide (or are part of providing), is safe, effective and leads to a positive patient/client experience?
 How do you/could you support others to improve the quality of the care they provide?
 What impact does the nature of the clinical/care environment and the culture, the ‘attitude’ towards change, have on efforts to improve care quality?
 What contribution can Nursing Associates make as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) in relation to improving care quality? Why is an MDT approach beneficial?
 Wherever you can, illustrate your account with examples from your practice including what was good or not and why; what you might do differently in future. These points are not intended to be either comprehensive or a check list, but simply things worthy of consideration in the preparation of your submission. Note: The assessments requirement that you consider the ‘Nursing Associate role’ brings some flexibility in how you structure your submission, whilst you will probably still reference models of reflection, you may choose to use conventional essay structure (introduction, body/development, conclusion), to organise your work rather than using a reflective model.