Evaluation of Health Care Quality in Advanced Practice Nursing

Named a 2013 Doody's Core Title!

This is a wonderful resource that fills a true gap in the literature. This is a topic that needs more exposure and more emphasis in the field of advanced practice nursing. The value of evaluation in healthcare quality will be seen in the outcomes of healthcare improvements." Score: 100, 5 Stars--Doody's Medical Reviews

High-level evaluation skills reflecting national standards and benchmarks are becoming increasingly important in our changing health care climate. This is the only nursing textbook to lay the foundation for APNs to achieve the highest possible competency in conducting systematic and in-depth evaluations of all aspects of health care. Comprehensive in scope, it distills current best practice information from numerous sources to create a thorough and reliable resource for APN and DNP graduates.

The text addresses both the theoretical basis of evaluation and its application as an integral part of contemporary practice. It provides an overview of evaluation science and critically examines the characteristics, sources, and quality of the nature of evidence. Several frameworks are described to provide the reader with different evaluation models, including those of economic evaluation. The text covers in detail the evaluation of organizations, systems, and standards for practice, including information systems and patient care technology, the redesign of health care in accordance with patient-family centered models, and the challenges of the current trend toward electronic medical records. Also addressed is the evaluation of populations and health care teams, including characteristics, risk factors, and determinants, as well as the emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborative health teams. Additionally, the text covers translating outcomes from evaluation into health care policy, and opportunities for advocacy and leadership among APNs.

Joanne V. Hickey, PhD, APRN-BC, ACNP, CNRN, FAAN, FCCM is a tenured full professor in the School of Nursing, Univ of Texas @Houston, Health Science Centre where she is program director of the DNP Program and the Acute Care NP Program and serves as advisor for the DSN/PhD program. Dr. Hickey teaches Scholarly Foundations of AP and the Acute Care NP program courses, and lectures on neuroscience topics. She is a preceptor for the ACNP and CNS students and serves on dissertation and candidacy committees for DNS/PhD program students. Dr. Hickey is an AP Resource Nurse for Neuro ICU and other Neuro units for E-B Practice, education and research and conducts clinical rounds at the Methodist Hospital, Houston. She is the recipient of numerous outstanding teaching and research awards, including the ANCC President's Award, the Starck/PARTNERS Endowed Professorship in Nursing, and the Distinguished Achievement Award (URI CON), and is an invited Fellow in the Am College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM) and in the Am Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Her highly-respected textbook, Neurological & Neurosurgical Nursing 4e (LWW) was a Brandon-Hill selection (2002), and her book APN: Changing Roles and Clinical Applications 2e received the ANA Book of the Year award (2001). She serves on the Editorial Board of The Internet J of Adv Nursing Practice and as a peer reviewer for five nursing journals. She is a member of STT, Sigma Xi) Research Honour Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Academic Honor Society. She is certified as an APN, Acute Care NP (Texas & ANCC) and as a Neuroscience Nurse (CNRN) by the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing.

Christine A. Brosnan DrPH, RN Dr. Christine A. Brosnan is an Associate Professor of Nursing-Clinical at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston (UTHSC-H) School of Nursing. She received a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Georgetown University, a master's of science degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, and a doctorate in Public Health from the UTHSC-Houston School of Public Health. The major area of study in her doctoral work was Health Services Organisation. Dr. Brosnan has collaborated in research studies on the cost and effectiveness of newborn screening and screening for hypertension and obesity in children. She has over thirty published articles, abstracts, chapters, proceedings and letters; and has delivered numerous presentations on topics related to child health, screening, and economic evaluation. Her manuscript ""Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents: an emerging disease"" received the Excellence in Writing Award from the Journal of Paediatric Health Care. Dr. Brosnan has held academic positions as a faculty member, Director of Nursing Education Track, Department Chair, Assistant Dean for Professional Development, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She has taught in a variety of courses including community health nursing, research, evaluation and application of research, and principles and practice of public health. She frequently lectures on topics related to evaluating health care quality. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau and the International Paediatric Hypertension Association.