Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Team Model of Care: A Clinical Overview.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Reports of To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm have called for more interprofessional and coordinated hospital care. For over 20 years, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Units and models of care that disseminate ACE principles have demonstrated outcomes in-line with the IOM goals. The objective of this overview is to provide a concise summary of studies that describe outcomes of ACE models of care published in 1995 or later. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion. Of these, 19 studies were from ACE Units and three were evaluations of ACE Services, or teams that cared for patients on more than one hospital unit. Outcomes from these studies included increased adherence to evidence-based geriatric care processes, improved patient functional status at time of hospital discharge, and reductions in length of stay and costs in patients admitted to ACE models compared to usual care. These outcomes represent value-based care. As interprofessional team models are adopted, training in successful team functioning will also be needed.

Building DNP Essential Skills in Clinical Data Management and Analysis.

Effectively teaching clinical data management and analysis in a doctor of nursing (DNP) program requires attention to developing skills that foster improvement at the bedside. The purpose of this article is to describe a DNP clinical data management and analysis course specific to translation and improvement in practice. The student evaluation scores are high; however, faculty evaluation identifies opportunities to improve translation and application at the point of the scholarly practice project.

Testing for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN): Reflections From Using QSEN as a Framework for RN Orientation.

The use of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies for nursing professional development is in its infancy. QSEN content was incorporated into nursing orientation and tested knowledge gain for three QSEN competencies. Results showed an increase in patient safety knowledge. A difference was noted in knowledge between ADN and BSN nurses for evidence-based practice and quality improvement. The results indicate a need for stronger interventions to build practicing nurses' QSEN competencies.