Boards of Nursing (BONs) exist in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Similar entities may also exist for different regions. The mission of BONs is the protection of the public through the regulation of nursing practice. BONs put into practice state/region regulations for nurses that, among other things, lay out the requirements for licensure and define the scope of nursing practice in that state/region.

It can be a valuable exercise to compare regulations among various state/regional boards of nursing. Doing so can help share insights that could be useful should there be future changes in a state/region. In addition, nurses may find the need to be licensed in multiple states or regions.

  Post a comparison of at least two APRN board of nursing regulations in your state/region with those of at least one other state/region. Describe how they may differ. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain how the regulations you selected may apply to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) who have legal authority to practice within the full scope of their education and experience. Provide at least one example of how APRNs may adhere to the two regulations you selected. 

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on the mission of state/regional boards of nursing as the protection of the public through the regulation of nursing practice.
• Consider how key regulations may impact nursing practice.
• Review key regulations for nursing practice of your state’s/region’s board of nursing and those of at least one other state/region and select at least two APRN regulations to focus on for this Discussion.

• Prepare an evaluation (5-7 pages) of an existing QI initiative to determine if the initiative is effective.
• Introduction
  Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—various groups talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care. As a result, they must develop their skills in reviewing and evaluating performance reports. They also need to be able to communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives effectively. Patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes mandate collaboration among nursing staff members to ensure the integration of their perspectives in all quality care initiatives.
  Overview

  Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—each group talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Because nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care, it is essential that they develop the proficiency to review, evaluate performance reports, and be able to effectively communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives. The nursing staff’s perspective and the need to collaborate on quality care initiatives are fundamental to patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes.

• Instructions
  Imagine you have been asked to prepare and deliver an analysis of an existing QI initiative at your workplace. The QI initiative you choose to analyze should be related to a specific disease, condition, or public health issue of personal or professional interest to you, or you may use the hospice information provided in the Vila Health: Data Analysis activity in this assessment. The purpose of the report is to assess whether the specific quality indicators point to improved patient safety, quality of care, cost and efficiency goals, and other desired metrics. Your target audience is nurses and other health professionals with specializations or interest in your chosen condition, disease, or public health issue.
  In your report, you will:
  • Analyze a current QI initiative in a health care setting. 
    • Identify what prompted implementation of the QI initiative.
    • Evaluate problems that arose during the initiative or problems that were not addressed.
  • Evaluate the success of a current QI initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures as required to meet national, state, or accreditation requirements. 
    • Identify the core performance measurements related to successful treatment or management of the condition.
    • Evaluate the impact of the quality indicators on the health care facility.
  • Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to the success of actions used in the QI initiative as they relate to functionality and outcomes.
  • Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a current quality initiative.
  • Ensure your analysis conveys purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
  • Be sure to address all of the bullet points. You may also want to read the Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Scoring Guide to better understand the performance levels that relate to each grading criterion. Additionally, be sure to review the Guiding Questions: Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation [DOCX]document for additional clarification about things to consider when creating your assessment.
    Additional Requirements
    Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:
  • Length of submission: A minimum of five but no more than seven double-spaced, typed pages, not including the title page and References section.
  • Number of references: Cite a minimum of four sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your evaluation, recommendations, and plans. Current source material is defined as no older than five years unless it is a seminal work. Review the Nursing Master’s Program (MSN) Library Guidefor guidance.
  • APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style. Review the Evidence and APA section of the Writing Center for guidance.
  • Competencies Measured
    By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
  • Competency 2: Plan quality improvement initiatives in response to routine data surveillance. 
    • Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a quality initiative.
  • Competency 3: Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures. 
    • Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care setting.
    • Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures as required to meet national, state, or accreditation requirements.
  • Competency 4: Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work life quality. 
    • Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to the success of actions utilized in a quality improvement initiative as they relate to functionality and outcomes.
  • Competency 5: Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care. 
    • Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.

PLEASE NOTE:  DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ASSIGNMENT UNTIL YOU’VE WATCHED THE TUTORIAL VIDEO**

For this assignment, watch the video tutorial on how to build an MLA works cited page Links to an external site..  Then, you will create a works cited page with entries from the following PGCC databases:

• Academic OneFile – do a search for a topic you are interested in and select an article for citation
• CQ Researcher – choose from one of the four topics in the updated / featured area of the database’s main page for your citation
• Global Issues in Context – choose from one of the hyperlinks in the categories below the Issues of Interest area, then choose an article to cite
• Opposing Viewpoints – choose from one of the hyperlinks in the categories below the Issues of Interest area, then choose an article to cite
• Proquest – do a search for a topic you are interested in and select an article for citation

This assignment will demonstrate how to take citations from databases and display them accurately in an MLA Works Cited page.

 You are a  preschool director, social worker, or friend. A parent tells you that  their child loves using a smartphone, iPad, or computer games. The  parent is not sure if it is appropriate. How would you respond if the  child is a toddler or a preschooler? Using this scenario provide an  informed response for each age group that is based on the role you  selected (identify which one) and include reasoning for your response  including why or why not this is recommended or developmentally  appropriate for each age citing your resources. 

 You need  to address BOTH age groups in this assignment to demonstrate  understanding the developmental differences. You may use the same  advising “role” for both.