Background

Nurses play a pivotal role in improving patient care. To maximize nurses’ impact on quality, nurses must have quality improvement (QI) competence and engage fully in QI initiatives.

Purpose

To describe QI competence (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) among frontline nurses and leaders; and compare variations in competence among nursing roles, experience, and specialty areas.

Methods

A total of 681 nurses at one heath system fully completed the Nursing Quality Improvement Practice tool electronically.

Findings

Half of the respondents reported QI engagement (53.6%). Mean knowledge scores were 5.08 (SD 1.16, 7 items). Skill proficiency was low (M = 2.82, SD = 1.03; range 1–6) although QI attitudes were favorable (M = 3.76, SD = 0.63; range 1–5). Significant differences in skills and attitudes were identified by role. QI competence among nurses employed in various specialty areas were similar.

Discussion

Strategies for increasing QI competence and engagement of nurses must be created and deployed in order to improve quality and safety.