The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (CRNM) recognizes the importance of quality practice environments in which nurses work to deliver expert health care services to Manitobans. Research has shown a direct correlation between the quality of nurses’ practice environments and productivity, recruitment and retention, job satisfaction, sick time usage and most importantly, the quality of patient care and patient outcomes. As such, in order to assist nurses in working together with stakeholders to advocate for, and achieve quality practice environments, CRNM has implemented a quality practice initiative called the Quality Practice Environment Initiative (QPEI).
This initiative is based on the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) best practice guidelines as well as other evidence-based research findings in the area of quality practice environments. The QPEI initiative consists of five guidelines that will establish benchmarks for nurses and their employers to use in creating quality practice environments in their workplace. The guidelines are broad in scope so they may be applied in all domains and to all settings. Each of the QPEI guidelines provides a functional yardstick for performance and development of individuals, units, and organizations. It is the intent of CRNM that registered nurses and other stakeholders will explore each guideline and accompanying indicators for relevance to their own environment and develop ways to identify and implement the improvements required to create a quality practice environment. The five guidelines of the QPEI are:
- Leadership
- Collaborative Practice & Communication
- Professional Nursing
- Workplace Health, Safety, and Well-being of the Nurse
- Control Over Practice
Each of the five guidelines aims to improve the work environment of registered nurses. A healthy work environment directly impacts registered nurses’ experiences and subsequent behaviors. These experiences and behaviors then impact on the patient/client. This interplay directly relates to patient/client outcomes, staff outcomes, and organization outcomes. The framework used for the QPEI is the
Standards of Practice for Registered Nurses, a practice expectation for all registered nurses in Manitoba.
For more in-depth information watch the QPEI presentations, download the guidelines and explore the tools and websites below.
More presentations coming soon!
To view these presentations you will need Adobe Flash Player 7 or later. To download or upgrade your Flash Player visit the
Adobe website.
Additional guidelines will be rolled out throughout 2010.
