Quality and safety: reflection on the implications for critical care nursing education

Abstract

Safe and high quality health care is underpinned by health care professionals possessing the knowledge, skills and professional attributes which are necessary for their specific clinical speciality and area of practice. Education is crucial as it enables clinicians to learn and put into practice their specialist knowledge, skills and attributes. These elements will be based on clinical standards, which set the agenda for quality and safety in health care. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon how a post-registration, degree-level critical care nursing course provided by an English university facilitates nurses to deliver high quality, safe nursing care for critically ill patients and their families. As a reflective analysis, the process of reflection will be guided and structured according to Rolfe's framework for reflective practice. The reflection is based upon the personal observations and teaching experiences of two university lecturers involved in the delivery of the critical care course. Critical care nursing education can incorporate informed practice, simulation and non-technical skills into post-registration critical-care nursing courses as a way of promoting high-quality, safe clinical practice in the critical care setting. This article provides examples from one course's experience with doing this and ends with specific recommendations for how critical care nursing courses can enhance further the promotion of quality and safety. Educators, mentors and students of post-registration critical care nursing courses are encouraged to explore the relevance of nursing education in promoting safe and high-quality clinical practice.