A nurse is talking to a nursing student about quality improvement and nurse-sensitive indicators. The nurse knows that the nursing student understands quality improvement when she identifies which to be nurse-sensitive indicators?
Rationale: Nurse-sensitive indicators in a quality improvement program consist of measurements of client care that are directly impacted by nursing care. Fall injury rates, restraint utilization rates, pressure ulcer prevalence and incidence, and client satisfaction with pain management are just a few. These are areas in which nurses assess diligently and know when to intervene. While staying within the unit budget is always a goal, it is not a nurse-sensitive indicator. Upgrading computer charting programs is not a nurse-sensitive indicator.
