Discussion Post NURS 6531 Week One Nurse Practitioner Competencies Quality As we further our education to become advanced practice nurses (APNs), it is crucial that we understand the behaviors or core competencies expected of all APNs. For the purpose of this discussion, I will evaluate the core competency of quality and how I will integrate this behavior into my daily practice. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (2014), outlines the quality competency as continued improvement of practice through the use of the best evidence, evaluation of the influence of safety, access, cost, and quality of health care. Also, the application of skills to encourage a culture of excellence, and the ability to implement interventions …show more content…
It is the job of the APN to apply their skills to promote a culture of excellence. Promoting such a culture involves using all aspects of the quality competency. The Nurse Practitioner is in a unique position as a clinician and manager. According to Carney (2011), clinical managers have the capability to ensure the safe, ethical, and high quality of care due to their professional background, which is firmly grounded in ethical healthcare. Therefore, the APN has a distinct set of skills that will ensure positive patient outcomes. Another contributor to quality care is the use of evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP is an approach to solving issues that integrate the best evidence from well-designed studies from a clinician?s expertise. These studies extrapolate the evidence from patient assessments, preferences, values, and practice data. The findings from these studies yield research that leads to higher quality of care, positive patient outcomes, increased quality of care, and decreased costs (Mazurek, Fineout-Overholt, Gallagher-Ford, & Kaplan, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, APNs are equipped to deliver the same safe, efficient, and high- quality care as physicians. The clinical and professional background of nurses gives them an extraordinary opportunity to change the healthcare landscape and promote cost-effective, compassionate, and patient-centered care for people. In a study performed by Dill, Pankow, Erikson, & Shipman (2013), the patient preferred the APN to physicians due to greater accessibility, more personalized and compassionate care, increased comfort with communication, and past positive