Implementing the New ANA Standard 8: Culturally Congruent Practice

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is responsible for the contract between society and the nursing profession, including the nursing scope and standards of practice. In 2015, an ANA workgroup produced Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Ed during a time of social change and an increase of culturally and ethnically diverse consumers. Subsequently, a subset of workgroup members and an invited transcultural nursing expert led to the creation of the new Standard 8: Culturally Congruent Practice, describing nursing care that is in agreement with the preferred values, beliefs, worldview, and practices of the healthcare consumer. This article records the history of the revised scope and standards and new Standard 8, the reasoning behind this standard and its impact on nursing practice, education, and research. The article also guides nurses in the application of Standard 8 to nursing practice and offers discussion about implementing culturally congruent practice through the nursing process. We also discuss cultural congruence for the graduate-prepared nurse; offer brief comments related to evaluation of culturally congruent practice using Standard 8 and future research; and conclude with a call to action.

Improving Prediabetes Screenings at Rural Missouri County Health Departments.

With prediabetes criteria expanding in recent years, nurses offering prediabetes screenings require updates to stay abreast of current clinical guidelines. This study looked to improve rural Missouri health department nurses' understanding of prediabetes, improve the identification of prediabetes at participating health departments, and educate the nurses on existing prediabetes guidelines. A convenience sample of twenty-two nurses from seven rural Missouri health departments participated. Nurses completed a demographic questionnaire and a prediabetes knowledge pre-test prior to the intervention. Seven to eight weeks post-intervention, the health department nurses completed the prediabetes post-tests. A single live education session was conducted at each health department. Data from the pre- and post-tests was reviewed within three result categories. The overall, laboratory nursing knowledge, and general nursing knowledge divisions each showed statistically significant improvement with a p < 0.05. This study's post-test improvement in prediabetes knowledge replicates the usefulness of a simple, low cost educational update. Nurses improved the identification of prediabetes laboratory values on post-test data and showed an increase in overall prediabetes knowledge. A single and simple continuing education program is a useful tool for rural health nurses.

Health Information Technology, Patient Safety, and Professional Nursing Care Documentation in Acute Care Settings.

The electronic health record (EHR) is a documentation tool that yields data useful in enhancing patient safety, evaluating care quality, maximizing efficiency, and measuring staffing needs. Although nurses applaud the EHR, they also indicate dissatisfaction with its design and cumbersome electronic processes. This article describes the views of nurses shared by members of the Nursing Practice Committee of the Missouri Nurses Association; it encourages nurses to share their EHR concerns with Information Technology (IT) staff and vendors and to take their place at the table when nursing-related IT decisions are made. In this article, we describe the experiential-reflective reasoning and action model used to understand staff nurses' perspectives, share committee reflections and recommendations for improving both documentation and documentation technology, and conclude by encouraging nurses to develop their documentation and informatics skills. Nursing issues include medication safety, documentation and standards of practice, and EHR efficiency. IT concerns include interoperability, vendors, innovation, nursing voice, education, and collaboration.

[Psychometric properties of Q-DIO, an instrument to measure the quality of documented nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes]. / Testtheoretische Gütekriterien des Q-DIO, eines Instruments zur Messung der Qualität der Dokumentation von Pflegediagnosen, -interventionen und -ergebnissen.

The instrument Q-DIO was developed in the years 2005 till 2006 to measure the quality of documented nursing diagnoses, interventions, and nursing sensitive patient outcomes. Testing psychometric properties of the Q-DIO (Quality of nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes.) was the study aim. Instrument testing included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, item analyses, and an assessment of the objectivity. To render variation in scores, a random strata sample of 60 nursing documentations was drawn. The strata represented 30 nursing documentations with and 30 without application of theory based, standardised nursing language. Internal consistency of the subscale nursing diagnoses as process showed Cronbach's Alpha 0.83 [0.78, 0.88]; nursing diagnoses as product 0.98 [0.94, 0.99]; nursing interventions 0.90 [0.85, 0.94]; and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes 0.99 [0.95, 0.99]. With Cohen's Kappa of 0.95, the intrarater reliability was good. The interrater reliability showed a Kappa of 0.94 [0.90, 0.96]. Item analyses confirmed the fulfilment of criteria for degree of difficulty and discriminative validity of the items. In this study, Q-DIO has shown to be a reliable instrument. It allows measuring the documented quality of nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes with and without implementation of theory based, standardised nursing languages. Studies for further testing of Q-DIO in other settings are recommended. The results implicitly support the use of nursing classifications such as NANDA, NIC and NOC.

Development of an instrument to measure the quality of documented nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes: the Q-DIO.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to report the development stages of an audit instrument to assess standardised nursing language. Because research-based instruments were not available, the instrument Quality of documentation of nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes (Q-DIO) was developed. BACKGROUND: Standardised nursing language such as nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes are being implemented worldwide and will be crucial for the electronic health record. The literature showed a lack of audit instruments to assess the quality of standardised nursing language in nursing documentation. DESIGN: A qualitative design was used for instrument development. METHODS: Criteria were first derived from a theoretical framework and literature reviews. Second, the criteria were operationalized into items and eight experts assessed face and content validity of the Q-DIO. RESULTS: Criteria were developed and operationalized into 29 items. For each item, a three or five point scale was applied. The experts supported content validity and showed 88.25% agreement for the scores assigned to the 29 items of the Q-DIO. CONCLUSIONS: The Q-DIO provides a literature-based audit instrument for nursing documentation. The strength of Q-DIO is its ability to measure the quality of nursing diagnoses and related interventions and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes. Further testing of Q-DIO is recommended. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Based on the results of this study, the Q-DIO provides an audit instrument to be used in clinical practice. Its criteria can set the stage for the electronic nursing documentation in electronic health records.

Implementing nursing diagnostics effectively: cluster randomized trial.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to investigate the effect of guided clinical reasoning. This method was chosen as a follow-up educational measure (refresher) after initial implementation of standardized language. BACKGROUND: Research has demonstrated nurses' need for education in diagnostic reasoning to state and document accurate nursing diagnoses, and to choose effective nursing interventions to attain favourable patient outcomes. METHODS: In a cluster randomized controlled experimental study, nurses from three wards received guided clinical reasoning, an interactive learning method. Three wards, receiving classic case discussions, functioned as control group. Data were collected in 2004-2005. The quality of 225 randomly selected nursing records, containing 444 documented nursing diagnoses, corresponding interventions and outcomes was evaluated by applying 18 Likert-type items with a 0-4 scale of the instrument Quality of Nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes. The effect of guided clinical reasoning was tested against classic case discussions using T-tests and mixed effects model analyses. FINDINGS: The mean scores for nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes increased significantly in the intervention group. Guided clinical reasoning led to higher quality of nursing diagnosis documentation; to aetiology-specific interventions and to enhanced nursing-sensitive patient outcomes. In the control group, the quality was unchanged. CONCLUSION: Guided clinical reasoning supported nurses' abilities to state accurate nursing diagnoses, to select effective nursing interventions and to reach and document favourable patient outcomes. The results support the use of the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, Nursing Interventions Classification and Nursing Outcomes Classification classifications and demonstrate implications for the electronic nursing documentation.

Brief: nursing diagnostic applications derived from National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) draft guidelines and recommendations for laboratory analysis in the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus.

This brief indicates how methods used by the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) in the development of its guidelines and recommendation for the laboratory analysis in the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus may be applied to advance nomenclature, clinical practice, and research development within nursing. Specifically, human response diagnoses require the identification of accurate tests to confirm or reject the diagnoses. Each test needs to be described in terms of its use, rationale, analytical, and emerging considerations. Accurate test development will move nursing nomenclature, clinical practice, and research forward.

Testing the Q-DIO as an instrument to measure the documented quality of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes.

PURPOSE: To describe pilot testing of Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes (Q-DIO), an instrument to measure quality of nursing documentation. DESIGN: Instrument testing was performed using a random, stratified sample of 60 nursing documentations representing hospital nursing with and without implementation of standardized nursing language (30 for both strata) in a Swiss General Acute Hospital. METHODS: Internal consistency and intrarater and interrater reliabilities were tested. Through item analyses, the grades of difficulty and the discrimination validity of items were evaluated. FINDINGS: Internal consistency of nursing diagnoses as process produced Cronbach's alpha .83; nursing diagnoses as product .98; nursing interventions .90; and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes .99. With Kappas of .95, the intrarater and interrater reliabilities were good. Criteria for the grades of difficulty of items and discrimination validity were well met. The results of this study suggest that Q-DIO is a reliable instrument to measure the documentation quality of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes. Further testing of Q-DIO in other settings is recommended.

A dialogue on the future of nursing practice.

PURPOSE: The challenges of health care; its safety, effectiveness, and efficiency; the quality of care; and the outcomes patients experience are issues central to nursing practice. This centrality needs to be affirmed as the profession shapes its practice over the next 50 years. The purpose of this article is to initiate a dialogue on the future of nursing practice. METHODS: The methods used are observation, reflection, dialogue, and proposed actions. FINDINGS: The results of this process are preliminary. They suggest that the establishment of nursing hospitals is a distinct possibility. CONCLUSIONS: This article concludes with a series of arguments for and against this position along with an invitation for your participation in this dialogue. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: The major implications of this article are not "nursing" implications per se but client and patient implications and the future contribution of nursing to improved health and patient care.

A contextual and logical analysis of the clinical doctorate for health practitioners: dilemma, delusion, or de facto?

Growth of the number of practice or clinical doctorates in allied health and nursing is examined from several different points of view. These perspectives are first discussed contextually and then organized according to the dilemmas we face, the delusions we need to address, and the de facto reality we need to acknowledge. The article concludes with an overview of internal and external review practices and interprofessional considerations.

Is it time for a new category of nursing diagnosis?

Professional vigilance, the art of "watching out," is the essence of nursing. Vigilance is the mental process that makes the informed nursing actions of assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation possible and meaningful. Nursing vigilance must be described in our nursing terminology or it risks remaining invisible to others. We propose that the current definition of nursing diagnosis be expanded to include surveillance diagnoses for which the nurse has the responsibility for problem identification and ongoing monitoring. Inclusion of surveillance diagnoses in the NANDA International taxonomy will better reflect the breadth and depth of nursing practice.

Improved quality of nursing documentation: results of a nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes implementation study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of the quality of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes in an acute care hospital following the implementation of an educational program. METHOD: In a pretest-posttest experimental design study, nurses from 12 wards of a Swiss hospital received an educational intervention--an introductory class and consecutive classes, using a case discussion method--to implement nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes. Two sets of 36 randomly selected nursing records were evaluated before and after implementation. The quality of documented nursing diagnoses, interventions, and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes was assessed by 29 Likert-type items with a 0-4 scale instrument, called Quality of Nursing Diagnoses, Interventions, and Outcomes (Q-DIO) and tested using t-tests. FINDINGS: Significant enhancements in the quality of documented nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes were found following the implementation of a planned educational program. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of NANDA, NIC, and NOC (NNN) nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes led to higher quality of nursing diagnosis documentation, etiology-specific nursing interventions, and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Educational measures support nurses to improve documentation of diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes. The Q-DIO is a useful audit tool.

Ethics education in MSN programs: a study of national trends.

The aim of this study was to determine the manner in which master's of science in nursing programs, accredited by either the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, conduct ethics education. A survey method was employed to obtain requisite data. Among the main variables investigated were: the percentage of programs that require a course with formal ethics content; the average number of class hours a program or track dedicates to ethics education; required and actual credentials of instructors who teach ethics; and objectives, topics, teaching methods, and grading methods of required courses with formal ethics content. Results indicated that most programs do not require instructors to have completed formal ethics training. In terms of content, few common trends exist and there are important gaps in clinical ethics topics. Comparisons between school of medicine ethics content reported in the literature and MSN ethics content reported in this study indicate that medical schools are more exacting of their students. The study concludes with a call for the establishment of guidelines or standards relevant to ethics content in MSN curricula in the United States.

Meeting the criteria of a nursing diagnosis classification: Evaluation of ICNP, ICF, NANDA and ZEFP.

BACKGROUND: Few studies described nursing diagnosis classification criteria and how classifications meet these criteria. OBJECTIVES: The purpose was to identify criteria for nursing diagnosis classifications and to assess how these criteria are met by different classifications. DESIGN/METHODS: First, a literature review was conducted (N=50) to identify criteria for nursing diagnoses classifications and to evaluate how these criteria are met by the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP), the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the International Nursing Diagnoses Classification (NANDA), and the Nursing Diagnostic System of the Centre for Nursing Development and Research (ZEFP). Using literature review based general and specific criteria, the principal investigator evaluated each classification, applying a matrix. Second, a convenience sample of 20 nursing experts from different Swiss care institutions answered standardized interview forms, querying current national and international classification state and use. RESULTS: The first general criterion is that a diagnosis classification should describe the knowledge base and subject matter for which the nursing profession is responsible. ICNP) and NANDA meet this goal. The second general criterion is that each class fits within a central concept. The ICF and NANDA are the only two classifications built on conceptually driven classes. The third general classification criterion is that each diagnosis possesses a description, diagnostic criteria, and related etiologies. Although ICF and ICNP describe diagnostic terms, only NANDA fulfils this criterion. The analysis indicated that NANDA fulfilled most of the specific classification criteria in the matrix. The nursing experts considered NANDA to be the best-researched and most widely implemented classification in Switzerland and internationally. CONCLUSIONS: The international literature and the opinion of Swiss expert nurses indicate that-from the perspective of classifying comprehensive nursing diagnoses-NANDA should be recommended for nursing practice and electronic nursing documentation. Study limitations and future research needs are discussed.

[Nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes--application and impact on nursing practice: a systematic literature review]. / Pflegediagnosen, -interventionen und -ergebnisse--Anwendung und Auswirkungen auf die Pflegepraxis: eine systematische Literaturübersicht.

The aim of this paper is to report a systematic literature review on the outcomes of nursing diagnostics. Specifically, it examines effects on documentation of assessment quality; frequency, accuracy and completeness of nursing diagnoses; and on coherence between nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. Escalating health care costs demand the measurement of nursing's contribution to care. Use of standardized terminologies facilitates this measurement. Although several studies evaluated nursing diagnosis documentation and their relationship with interventions and outcomes, a systematic review was lacking. A MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database search (1982-2004) was conducted and enhanced by the addition of primary source and conference proceedings articles. Inclusion criteria were established and applied. Thirty-six articles were selected and subjected to thematic content analysis, then each study was assessed, and a level of evidence and grades of recommendations assigned. Nursing diagnosis use improved the quality of documented patient assessments (n = 14 studies), the identification of commonly occurring diagnoses within similar settings (n = 10), and coherence among nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes (n = 8). Four studies employed a continuing education intervention and found significant improvements in the documentation of diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. However limitations in diagnostic accuracy, reporting of signs/symptoms, and etiology were also reported (14 studies). Despite variable results, the trend indicated that nursing diagnostics improved assessment documentation, the quality of interventions reported, and outcomes attained. The study reveals deficits in reporting of signs/symptoms and etiology. Consequently, staff educational measures to enhance diagnostic accuracy are recommended. The relationships among diagnoses, interventions and outcomes require further evaluation. Studies are needed to determine the relationship between the quality of documentation and practice.

Nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes - application and impact on nursing practice: systematic review.

AIM: This paper reports a systematic review on the outcomes of nursing diagnostics. Specifically, it examines effects on documentation of assessment quality; frequency, accuracy and completeness of nursing diagnoses; and on coherence between nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. BACKGROUND: Escalating healthcare costs demand the measurement of nursing's contribution to care. Use of standardized terminologies facilitates this measurement. Although several studies have evaluated nursing diagnosis documentation and their relationship with interventions and outcomes, a systematic review has not been carried out. METHOD: A Medline, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database search (1982-2004) was conducted and enhanced by the addition of primary source and conference proceeding articles. Inclusion criteria were established and applied. Thirty-six articles were selected and subjected to thematic content analysis; each study was then assessed, and a level of evidence and grades of recommendations assigned. FINDINGS: Nursing diagnosis use improved the quality of documented patient assessments (n = 14 studies), identification of commonly occurring diagnoses within similar settings (n = 10), and coherence among nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes (n = 8). Four studies employed a continuing education intervention and found statistically significant improvements in the documentation of diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. However, limitations in diagnostic accuracy, reporting of signs/symptoms, and aetiology were also reported (14 studies). One meta-analysis of eight trials including 1497 patients showed no evidence that standardized electronic documentation of nursing diagnosis and related interventions led to better nursing outcomes. CONCLUSION: Despite variable results, the trend indicated that nursing diagnostics improved assessment documentation, the quality of interventions reported, and outcomes attained. The study reveals deficits in reporting of signs/symptoms and aetiology. Consequently, staff educational measures to enhance diagnostic accuracy are recommended. The relationships among diagnoses, interventions and outcomes require further evaluation. Studies are needed to determine the relationship between the quality of documentation and practice.

Vigilance: the essence of nursing.

Nursing, perhaps more than any other health care profession, claims caring as fundamental to its practice. Professional vigilance is the essence of caring in nursing. This article uses historical and theoretical bases to define professional vigilance and discuss its components. Two types of nursing diagnoses, central and surveillance, are proposed. Central diagnoses indicate the need for the nurse to plan and implement interventions for the achievement of outcomes. North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA)-approved diagnoses fall in this category. Surveillance diagnoses are those that recognize patient risks that are anticipated by the nurse, who remains ready to act in the event of occurrence. The profession, as a whole, and language developers, in particular, need to expand standardized nursing diagnosis terminology so that the contribution of nurses' vigilance to patient safety may be effectively communicated and documented.

Contexts for the study of the economic influence of nursing diagnoses on patient outcomes.

PURPOSE: To examine the historical, legal/ organizational, informatics, clinical, economic, and policy contexts underlying economic consequences of nursing diagnoses on patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES: Published literature, online material. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nursing diagnoses influence diagnostic-specific patient outcomes and other outcome variables such as length of hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Examination of the economic ramifications of nursing diagnosis on patient outcomes can be facilitated using standardized language and databases containing nursing-sensitive measures.