top of page

Strategy Submission

Health Literacy: Incorporating QSEN (Quality and Safety Education in Nursing) Competencies into a Senior Capstone Project and Paper

Author:

Lori Rodriguez

RN PhD

Title:

Associate Professor

Coauthors:

Institution:

San Jose State University

Email:

Competency Categories:

Evidence-Based Practice, Informatics, Patient-Centered Care, Quality Improvement, Safety, Teamwork and Collaboration

Learner Level(s):

Pre-Licensure BSN, RN to BSN

Learner Setting(s):

Clinical Setting

Strategy Type:

Paper Assignments

Learning Objectives:

Integrate understanding of multiple dimensions of patient centered care:
  • patient/family/community preferences, values
  • coordination and integration of care
  • information, communication, and education
  • physical comfort and emotional support
  • involvement of family and friends
  • transition and continuity

Describe how diverse cultural, ethnic and social backgrounds function as sources of patient, family, and community values

Elicit patient values preferences and expressed needs as part of the clinical interview, implentation of care plan and evaluation of care

Communicate patient values, preferences and expressed needs to other members of the health care team

Provide patient centered care with sensitivity and respect for the diversity of human experience

Value seeing health care situations through the patients eyes

This activity has the potential for evaluating many, many of the KSA's

Strategy Overview:

This is an integrative project that requires the student to connect and relate what they have learned throughout the nursing program. The product to be turned in is a paper that is scholarly, evidence based, and experiential. Two parts of the paper are turned in. The first part is scholarly and evidence based and can be turned in by the fourth week of the semester. The second part is experiential and should be turned in by the twelfth week of the semester.
Directions Part 1
  • You will be doing a two part paper/project on Health Literacy integrating the QSEN competencies into your performance and then writing a paper reporting on that project.
  • After reading a minimum of four original research articles, identify and discuss in your paper the best current evidence on health literacy. In the introduction to your paper, define health literacy, explain why health literacy is important in today’s healthcare environment, provide the rationale for ensuring that patients should become more health literate.
  • Identify particular barriers to health literacy that you expect you will encounter in the particular population of patients that you are dealing with i.e. oncology patients,  ICU patients, elder patients, children, etc. This is determined by your clinical assignment and the unit that you are on.
  • When you write, use your own words as much as possible so that you demonstrate that you understand health literacy and how it relates to your patient population. You are encouraged to use cause-effect diagrams and flow charts to help make your discussion more clear.
Directions Part 2
  • Among the patients who you are assigned to this semester, identify a patient with limited health literacy. Using the language of the QSEN (Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes) KSA’s, discuss your interventions  to improve the patient’s  (and perhaps family’s) health literacy . The goal is to show that you improved at least one aspect of this patient’s understanding of their disease management. Do not make it a litany of the entire patient teaching that you did for a patient. (Read Cronenwett, L., Sherwood, G., Barnsteiner, J., Disch, J., Johnson, J., Mitchell, P., and Warren, J. (2007). Quality and safety education for nurses. Nursing Outlook, 55 (3), 122-131 in order to use the language of the QSEN KSA’s or review KSA's on www.qsen.org/ksas_prelicensure.php )
  • Using the terminology and language of health literacy and quality improvement explain how you ensured that the patient’s health literacy improved after your interventions. Minimally, you will have to do a “teach-back” and other creative methods are encouraged to show that you improved the outcomes for this patient by your interventions.
  • Finally, you should conclude the paper with reflection on the project and if you feel that your interventions made a difference to your patient.
  • Format: The paper must be typed in APA format, and grammatically correct with correct punctuation. Length of papers varies depending on the complexity and the clinical situation. Generally, the final papers average around 6-12 pages, with 3-6 pages for the first part and 3-6 for the second part. Use a minimum of 4 references. References are to be annotated, that is, include a short description of each reference (content and value)

Submitted Materials:

Additional Materials:

Evaluation Description
Scoring Rubric



Content

Evidence

Patient Centered

Quality improvement

Safety

Informatics

Exemplary

Demonstrates a superior understanding of health literacy applied to patient (and family) focusing on an appropriate & important learning goal



Displays an analytic attitude in determining the patients barriers to health literacy and the best way to overcome them



Determines a creative and accurate method of determining if learning has occurred

Integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values

Recognizes the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patients' preferences, values, and needs



Demonstrates respect and sensitivity to the patient

Uses objective factual information from the patient to determine if the patient's health literacy has improved



Uses flowcharts, or cause and effect diagrams within the text of the paper to explain and clarify aspects

Describes how the improvement of the patient's health literacy in the area chosen minimizes risk, harm, and prevents future hospital admissions

Explains why information and technology skills are essential for safe patient care

Acceptable

Applies concepts of health literacy focusing on a learning goal

Determines the patient's barriers to HL and ways to overcome them



Uses a teach-back methodology

Integrates current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values

As above

Uses objective factual information from the patient to determine if the patient's health literacy has improved



As above

As above

Unacceptable

(Examples)

Performs traditional patient teaching without determining if the patient understands or learns

Old or faulty evidence

Talks down to patient

No objective or factual information from patient

Does not link health literacy to safety

Does not link health literacy to information

Evaluation Description:

Scoring Rubric

 

Content

Evidence

Patient Centered

Quality improvement

Safety

Informatics

Exemplary

Demonstrates a superior understanding of health literacy applied to patient (and family) focusing on an appropriate & important learning goal

 

Displays an analytic attitude in determining the patients barriers to health literacy and the best way to overcome them

 

Determines a creative and accurate method of determining if learning has occurred

Integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values

Recognizes the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patients' preferences, values, and needs

 

Demonstrates respect and sensitivity to the patient

Uses objective factual information from the patient to determine if the patient's health literacy has improved

 

Uses flowcharts, or cause and effect diagrams within the text of the paper to explain and clarify aspects

Describes how the improvement of the patient's health literacy in the area chosen minimizes risk, harm, and prevents future hospital admissions

Explains why information and technology skills are essential for safe patient care

Acceptable

Applies concepts of health literacy focusing on a learning goal

Determines the patient's barriers to HL and ways to overcome them

 

Uses a teach-back methodology

Integrates  current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values

As above

Uses objective factual information from the patient to determine if the patient's health literacy has improved

 

As above

As above

Unacceptable

(Examples)

Performs traditional patient teaching without determining if the patient understands or learns

Old or faulty evidence

Talks down to patient

No objective or factual information from patient

Does not link health literacy to safety

Does not link health literacy to information

 

bottom of page