Pathways for Identifying Problems in Nursing Quality on-Site Supervision: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Xiaohong Zhang,1,* Ya’nan Zhang,2,* Meirong Bian,3 Xiao Li,3 Zhongjuan Yue,4 Cuiling Zhang5 1Nursing Department, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan, 030032, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Nursing, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Nursing Department, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Orthopedics, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Digestive Oncology, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cuiling Zhang, Department of Digestive Oncology, Shanxi Bethune Hospfital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, No. 99, Long Cheng Street, Xiao Dian District, Taiyuan, 030032, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13753482546, Email [email protected]: When the nursing department of our hospital checked the ward round records of the head nurse, it was found that some problems could not be found during rounds, and most of the problems found were superficial; Some studies have also found that most nursing managers are only going through the motions during rounds or are unable to identify problems due to a mismatch between their professional competence and the supervised department, or fail to identify superficial or deep-seated problems, making the quality of nursing supervision unsatisfactory.Purpose: To sort out the ideas and ways for nursing managers to identify problems in on-site supervision of nursing quality and to provide ideas and directions for being able to identify problems, identifying problems quickly, and identifying high-quality problems in the supervision.Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was used to conduct face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 14 nursing managers from Bethune Hospital in Shanxi, China. The current problems of nursing quality supervision were combined with the 5W1H analysis method to form an interview outline, and a total of 8 questions were set up to interview 14 nursing managers to understand how nursing managers identified problems in supervision. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and extract themes.Results: Three views and six ways of problem identification were crystallized: three views were direct access, comparison discovery, and deep excavation; and six ways were listening, looking, asking, checking, visiting, and tracking. The “Pathways for identifying problems in nursing quality on-site supervision” was finally formed.Conclusion: The pathway for identifying problems in nursing quality supervision is scientific, reliable, and can be used as a guideline for identifying problems in nursing quality supervision.Implications for Nursing Practice: The connotation of nursing quality supervision can be improved through this pathway, and the development of nursing discipline can be promoted.Impact on Nursing Management: The “Pathways for identifying problems in nursing quality on-site supervision” is a clear pathway that helps nursing managers to quickly identify problems, especially during interdepartmental nursing quality inspections.Keywords: quality of nursing, site supervision, problem identification pathway, problem identification way, problem identification viewpoint