Quality Assurance (QA) Nurse: What Is It & How Do I Become One?

Quality assurance (QA) nurses work in healthcare facilities to identify areas of improvement and implement solutions to ensure safe, high-quality, and reliable patient care. Registered nurses who have passed the NCLEX exam and gained clinical experience can become QA nurses as long as they maintain their nursing license.

QA nurses help healthcare facilities comply with regulatory and state healthcare standards to provide effective and safe medical services. Their continuous aim is to improve healthcare policies, procedures, and protocols to ensure patients receive quality care.

What Is a Quality Assurance Nurse?

A quality assurance (QA) nurse ensures that healthcare facilities meet and maintain the required standards of patient care. They are registered nurses (RNs) who play a critical role in enhancing the credibility and quality of healthcare services.

As RNs, quality assurance nurses use their education and clinical experience to assess patient care through inspections, audits, and data analysis to identify areas of improvement. They help ensure patient safety by implementing new protocols to prevent medical errors and comply with healthcare standards.

Although the qualifications for QA nursing roles are the same as the RN requirements, some people decide to earn an advanced degree to increase their understanding or certification to enhance their credentials. The National Association for Healthcare Quality offers certification courses that prepare QA nurses to pass the exam and earn a certified professional in healthcare quality certificate.

QA nurses continually aim to improve hospitals and other medical facilities by updating policies and practices that encourage high-quality care. Through collaboration with other healthcare professionals, QA nurses help provide safe and efficient healthcare environments. During their career, QA nurses can work in various healthcare organizations.

They are often employed by:

• hospitals
• home health companies
• long-term care facilities
• acute care facilities

Responsibilities of a Quality Assurance Nurse

Quality assurance nurses are important to the improvement of healthcare services. They take on several responsibilities from evaluating policies to conducting inspections to maintain proper care and a safe patient environment. The following responsibilities are key aspects of a QA nurse's job description.

Collaborate With Other Healthcare Workers

QA nurses ensure the team members understand new policies and comply with standards. They collaborate with healthcare workers to determine areas that need improvement and work together to maintain quality nursing care.

Evaluate Hospital Policies

Another one of the responsibilities is evaluating hospital policies. QA nurses review procedures and policies to identify outdated information. Once identified, the data is updated to ensure compliance with healthcare regulations. They recommend changes that make patient care more effective and safe in healthcare organizations.

Ensure Patients Are Receiving Proper Care

A critical part of a QA nurse's role is ensuring patients receive proper, effective care. This responsibility can include:

• observing nursing care
• reviewing patient records
• gathering insight from patients and healthcare professionals

Examine Audits and Research

Quality assurance nurses use audits and research to assess how effective various healthcare practices like medical treatments and interventions are. Audits provide valuable data for evaluating patient outcomes and research helps determine what evidence-based practices can be implemented to enhance safety and care while complying with state standards.

Verify That Patient Care Is Cost-Effective

QA nurses determine ways for health services and treatments to become more cost-effective. This can involve evaluating medical expenses and deciding where financial resources would be best invested. Their expertise helps hospitals and other health facilities treat patients successfully and maintain quality care while keeping costs low.

Quality Improvement

Quality assurance nurses are key team members in healthcare organizations, using their expertise to improve the quality of care. An evidence-based approach is taken to patient care improvement through collaboration, auditing, and research. By implementing new protocols, training employees on updated procedures, and introducing new initiatives, QA nurses help improve nursing practices and make patient care more safe and efficient.

How To Become a QA Nurse

Becoming a QA nurse involves the same education, experience, and licensure as a registered nurse. After meeting the following requirements, you can become qualified to work and excel in quality assurance nurse jobs.

Get an Undergraduate Degree in Nursing

The first step is earning a nursing degree. Some aspiring nurses earn an Associate Degree in nursing (ADN). However, the most common route is a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN). BSN degrees from accredited universities provide a comprehensive understanding of nursing concepts and healthcare practices. Students can decide to complete their program with on-campus or online classes, though online programs often include in-person requirements.

Pass the NCLEX and Get a Nursing License

The National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) tests students' understanding of nursing competencies and their ability to provide effective care. After successfully demonstrating their skills and passing the exam, nurses receive an RN license that qualifies them to start working professionally to gain clinical experience.

Gain Clinical Experience

Gaining clinical experience can help you better understand various aspects of patient care and is necessary for becoming a QA nurse. Working in healthcare settings can improve your abilities by developing your nursing skills and providing opportunities to apply foundational nursing practices. By working and interacting with nurses, directors of nursing, and other healthcare professionals, QA nurses can gain valuable insight that better prepares them for roles in quality assurance.

Maintain Your Nursing License

To continue working as a QA nurse, nurses must maintain and renew their licensure to stay up-to-date and remain qualified for jobs. Maintaining your nursing license involves working part-time or full-time to complete the required hours within the renewal timeframe, paying a renewal fee, and completing continuing education courses to stay current with nursing practices and regulations. It is important to note that some requirements to renew and maintain your RN license will vary depending on the state.

Consider Earning a Graduate Degree

Although it's not a requirement, some quality assurance nurses choose to advance their education and credentials with a graduate degree. A Master of Science in nursing (MSN) is a degree option that provides a more in-depth understanding of key healthcare areas like nursing practices, ethics, and quality of care.

MSN programs have a wide range of nursing specialties from nurse practitioner to case management. To excel in a QA nurse career, an MSN in healthcare quality and safety will increase your ability to improve nursing care and implement safe, effective initiatives. Earning a master's degree can broaden your expertise and enhance your credentials leading to more career opportunities.