This document describes the scholarly activity elements that should be included in a five paragraph summary. You may use this resource to help guide the preparation of the Scholarly Activities assignment, due in Topic 10. Scholarly Activity - Quality Improvement Committee(QIC) Scholarly Activity – Quality Improvement Committee(QIC) Overview This section consists of a single paragraph that succinctly describes the scholarly activity that you attended/participated in, the target market for the activity, and the benefit of the activity to you. Problem This section consists of either a short narrative or a list of bullet points that concisely identifies the problems the scholarly activity is designed to solve. Educate: What is the current state of the activity topic? Explain why this is a problem, and for whom is it a problem? Inspire: What could a nurse achieve by participating in the scholarly activity? Use declarative sentences with simple words to communicate each point. Less is

Scholarly Activity – Quality Improvement Committee(QIC) 

Overview

I attended a quality improvement committee (QIC) as one of the representatives from the nursing department. The QIC consisted of representatives from various departments. Notably, it had a risk manager, administrative representative, representatives from clinical services, and the coordinator of quality improvement. The objective of the QIC was to evaluate performance, clinical outcomes, and incident reports on the management of diabetes mellitus (DM). This scholarly activity targeted the overall productivity of nurse practitioners, physicians, pharmacists, dieticians, and laboratory technicians at the facility. As a nurse, this activity enabled me to learn key performance indicators in the management of DM. Also, it enabled me to collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to formulate pertinent practice changes.

Problem

This QIC aims to address issues related to clinical services at the healthcare facility. This specific QIC focused on diabetes mellitus. It was noted that the healthcare facility recorded a high incidence and prevalence of both acute and long-term diabetic complications. Notably, the common complications were diabetic ketoacidosis, retinopathy, neuropathy, and hyperosmolar hyperglycemia. An increase in the cases of diabetic complications is a problem of concern because it lowers patient safety, increase morbidity rates, and increases healthcare costs (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). Furthermore, an increase in these cases is suggestive of a decrease in the quality of healthcare services (Howland & Wakefield, 2022). This is a problem that impacts patients and all stakeholders in the healthcare facility. This scholarly activity benefits nurses by allowing them to collaborate with the interdisciplinary team and apply critical thinking to propose evidence-based solutions to a healthcare problem.

Solution

Various strategies should be adopted to reduce the cases of diabetes mellitus-associated complications. These interventions require a concerted effort by the multidisciplinary team. Firstly, evidence-based treatment plans should be embraced. This should be guided by the best current evidence and updated guidelines. Secondly, patients and their families should be educated on the relevance of adherence to the treatment plan (Szafran et al., 2019). The multidisciplinary team should leverage technology such as mobile health to optimize adherence to the treatment plan (Shan et al., 2019). Thirdly, the multidisciplinary team should conduct regular patient follow-ups. Szafran et al. (2019) report that regular follow-ups facilitate routine screening and monitoring of clinical response and provide an opportunity for optimizing treatment plans.

Opportunity

This scholarly activity offers various opportunities. To begin with, it enables nurses and interdisciplinary team members to evaluate the quality and impact of their actions. This is important because it motivates them to embrace good practices and refrain from activities associated with substandard outcomes. By so doing, the quality of healthcare services is improved. Also, this scholarly activity provides an opportunity for information sharing and interdisciplinary collaboration. New knowledge and skills gained from the QIC provide a learning opportunity for nurses. Furthermore, the scholarly activity provides an opportunity for advocacy through the proposal of policies or evidence-based practices that improve the workplace environment.

Program Competencies Addressed

The QIC addresses three competencies: effective communication, critical thinking, and leadership. Firstly, the scholarly activity addresses effective communication by providing an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration and information sharing. Effective communication enables members of the QIC to evaluate current practices and clinical outcomes and to propose interventions to solve the existing problem. Secondly, scholarly activity promotes critical thinking. Nurses and other members of the QIC are required to analyze, synthesize and evaluate evidence-based practices that address the existing problem. Thirdly, the activity cultivates leadership. In this context, it provides an opportunity for self-evaluation and allows nurses to set priorities and objectives that guide the actions of other healthcare providers.

References

Howland, C., & Wakefield, B. (2022). Assessing telehealth interventions for physical activity and sedentary behavior self‐management in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: An integrative review. Research in Nursing and Health, 44(1), 92–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22077.

Shan, R., Sarkar,