Expanded role of nurses in Swiss nursing homes and their engagement in quality improvement: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Quality of care issues have long been a concern for nursing homes (NHs). Now, as growing numbers of people with complex geriatric needs deepen a global healthcare worker shortage, NHs are facing increased challenges to provide high quality of care (OECD/ European Union, 2013). To meet these challenges, implementing quality improvement is key: it can help NHs identify problems, initiate improvement cycles and evaluate outcomes (Johannessen et al., 2020; OECD/European Union, 2013;Rantz et al., 2012).Quality improvement activities include, for example, monitoring, benchmarking and assessing data, evaluating processes, identifying opportunities for improvement, implementing new approaches to care, and assessing changes in processes or outcomes. Various publications have reported on specific NH quality improvement interventions or projects (Chadborn et al., 2020;Toles et al., 2021). However,

Characteristics and Activities of Nurses in Expanded Roles Employed in Swiss Nursing Homes: A Cross‐Sectional Study

“…RNXs in NHs require skills that range from advanced assessment and care plan development to care coordination, coaching, prevention, education and advocacy for residents, families and staff (Chavez, Dwyer, and Ramelet 2018). To fulfil these expanded roles, many RNXs in Switzerland have acquired skills through educational programmes, such as the RNs' short-cycle tertiary education, bachelor's degrees in nursing (BSN) or master's degrees in nursing (MSN) (Basinska et al 2021) NHs, data are limited regarding their characteristics or activities (Basinska et al 2021;Favez et al 2023).…”