Nursing Innovation and Quality Improvement

Dear Colleagues,

As the largest profession in healthcare, nurses are fundamental to high-quality care. There is hardly a patient treatment or intervention that has not been handled at some point by a nurse. The Nursing and Midwifery Council Strategy (2020–2025) and the Future of Nursing (2020–2030) highlight the importance of improvement and innovation, with nurses being advocated as innovators and leaders in healthcare being called upon to support nurses in this role.  

There has never been a more crucial time to give nurses the skills and opportunities to embrace innovation and make improvements to enhance productivity, improve wellbeing, and positively impact on healthcare quality and patient safety. However, creating a culture for innovation and quality improvement (QI) in nursing is not easy; it takes time to build and requires vision, strategy, support, and resources. Innovators need the space and opportunity to connect with others, brainstorm, discuss, and take risks. Greater engagement of front-line nurses in QI initiatives improves nurse-sensitive indicators; however, the number of nurses involved in QI is still worryingly low.  

Innovations and Improvements led by nurses can make significant contributions to patient care, but the speed of these actions needs to improve if we are to address some of the global health challenges that face us today. 

Prof. Ashley Shepherd
Guest Editor

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• innovation
• nursing
• quality improvement
• nursing care