A roadmap for improving nursing program outcomes

Nursing program evaluation is a systematic, continuous quality improvement process examining all elements of a program to determine quality and the extent to which the mission and goals of a program are being met (Oermann, 2023). Quality nursing programs prepare caring, safe, and competent nurses that are adequately prepared to confront the various challenges faced in healthcare and the realities of practice. Prepared nurses improve patient, nurse, and organizational outcomes. To ensure programs meet intended outcomes, nursing programs participate in program evaluation efforts involving many activities, including collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data to assess nursing program outcomes (Lewallen, 2023). Program outcomes often include completion rates, licensure pass rates, graduate employment rates, and satisfaction rates. In addition to internal stakeholders, community stakeholders, such as advisory boards, clinical partners, and alumni, contribute to data collection, analysis, and utilization activities.

To ensure systematic and ongoing analyses of outcomes, nursing programs often use a systematic evaluation plan (SEP). The SEP drives data collection and analysis endeavors and should be a dynamic document that belongs to and is useful to the program (Lewallen, 2023). Nursing faculty, administrators, and students should be involved in creating and maintaining the SEP. Continuous quality improvement is a hallmark of SEPs as nursing programs use data and constant feedback to make changes (e.g., feedback loops). For instance, a nursing program notes an area of concern. Then, the program collects and analyzes data regarding factors contributing to the issue. After the data are analyzed, the program creates a quality improvement plan of evidence-based alterations and collects data to determine the effectiveness of changes. The program then reassesses data, makes additional changes, and constantly monitors activities, documenting their progress on the SEP. Key categories of the SEP include the identification of outcomes, benchmarks, timelines for data collection, data collection methods, responsible persons or groups, results, and actions taken (Lewallen, 2023). In addition to helping programs ensure quality education is provided, SEPs are often required by accrediting bodies.

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