Exploring priority areas to establish quality improvement education partnerships: A nominal group technique study

Quality improvement partnerships between higher education and healthcare organizations are emerging as a valuable way to engage pre-licensure nursing students in this content. There are no agreed guidelines to assist with the establishment of these partnerships.

To convene key stakeholders with the objective of reaching consensus on the following question: What needs to happen to establish quality improvement education partnerships between higher education and healthcare organizations?

A nominal group technique was used, adhering to the STROBE guidelines. Participants generated ideas to answer the question individually before sharing and discussing them within the group. Participants then independently voted and ranked the ideas in order of priority to reach consensus.

Thirty-nine ideas were generated during the nominal group technique meeting by the five participants. A consensus was reached on ten priority areas required to establish quality improvement education partnerships.

These priority areas can be used as a starting point for the establishment of quality improvement education partnerships for pre-licensure nursing students. The results can be used internationally to guide pre-licensure nursing and health professions academics towards the inclusion of quality improvement education partnerships in curricula to develop quality improvement knowledge and skills of students which they can apply on entering the workforce.