Online Master's Degree MSN in Patient Safety & Quality

This course provides students with broad foundation in the structure of healthcare delivery systems; the political, financial and social constructs affecting the healthcare systems; and how policy and social determinants of health influence access, equity and outcomes in health. Utilizing this foundation and authentic real world scenarios, students will evaluate the efficacy of existing policy and interventions as well as lead interdisciplinary teams in the design of culturally relevant strategies to prepare students to advance the health for a specific population.

This course provides students with a basic foundation of biostatistics and its role in public health and health sciences. The course covers the statistical principles that govern the analysis of data in public health and health sciences. Included in this course are exploratory data analysis, probability theory, confidence interval testing, hypotheses testing, power and sample size determination, and multivariable methods.

Gain a broad view of US healthcare quality including its evolution and trajectory given the dynamic US healthcare landscape and changing demographics. Explore key concepts including the integration of health information and technologies to promote healthcare quality at the organizational level.

Students in this course examine the role of health law and policy in the healthcare system. Students explore concepts and principles of law, public health, health law, health policy, finance, legal control, and risk management, as well as their application to the healthcare environment through the lens of the professional discipline. Students evaluate the impact of health law and policy and multicultural, socioeconomic, and political factors on access disparities. Students examine ways to articulate the needs of individuals, communities, and vulnerable populations to consumers, health system officials, and government officials. Students also focus on the opportunities for key stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, to shape health laws and policies.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the healthcare reimbursement system and financial principles relevant to strategic planning for the healthcare organizations. Topics explored include the healthcare reimbursement system, managed care, prospective payment, insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, financial and managerial accounting principles, and long-term financing and capital investments.

This course examines the principles of measurement, analysis and models for performance improvement to promote continuous quality improvement. Design and data collection will be explored including sampling methodology, operational definitions, establishment of benchmarks, and data integrity and differentiating between structure, process and outcome measures. Topics for measurement and analysis examined include using statistics to describe data (e.g. mean, median, standard deviation); using statistical process control charts to identify trends and distinguish between common and special cause variation; using tools to evaluate a process or display data (e.g. fishbone, run charts, Pareto chart, control chart, etc.); and evaluating data to support decision-making. Students will also explore models for performance improvement including PDSA, Six Sigma and Lean. Nursing students who successfully complete the course with a B- or better will receive 45 indirect practice hours.

This course explores the history of the patient safety movement, regulatory requirements and accreditation standards for healthcare organizations. Principles of patient safety and error science will include methods for risk assessment and safety improvement and analysis of errors through Serious Reportable Events, Root Cause Analysis and Failure Mode Effects Analysis. Students will be introduced to advanced communication strategies including group dynamics, power structures, team and team roles, hand-offs, chain-of-command, and error disclosure. Utilizing a systems thinking approach students will explore change management, collaborative practice, human factors, just and punitive cultures, and creating a high reliability organization through standardization of processes and transparency. Nursing students who successfully complete the course with a B- or better will receive 45 indirect practice hours.

This course explores program design, planning and evaluation utilizing needs assessment, data analysis, resource allocation, and evaluation methodologies. This course provides the student with a strong foundation in the development of a program proposal.