The work of the RN Minimum Data Set coordinator in its organizational context

Area of Science:

• Nursing Home Care Quality
• Clinical Assessment Frameworks
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS) is central to nursing home care, serving as a clinical assessment tool and process.
• Registered Nurses (RNs) are legally responsible for completing or overseeing RAI/MDS tasks.
• Understanding the organizational context of RN MDS coordinators' work is crucial for quality improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the work of RN MDS coordinators within their organizational settings.
• To identify descriptive themes of their work using a continuous quality improvement framework.
• To understand the clinical implications of these findings for nursing home care.

Main Methods:

• Utilized focus groups and questionnaires with 24 RN MDS coordinators at a national conference.
• Applied Shortell et al.'s continuous quality improvement framework (structural, technical, cultural, strategic dimensions).
• Categorized descriptive themes based on the organizational context of the RN MDS coordinators' roles.

Main Results:

• Identified key themes describing the work of RN MDS coordinators.
• Highlighted the influence of organizational dimensions (structural, technical, cultural, strategic) on their roles.
• Provided insights into the practical application and challenges of the RAI/MDS framework.

Conclusions:

• The organizational context significantly shapes the work of RN MDS coordinators.
• Findings offer implications for enhancing the effectiveness of the RAI/MDS process in nursing homes.
• Recommendations for improving quality of care through better support and integration of the RAI/MDS framework are suggested.