National Patient Care Service Pillar Work for 2015-2019

Kaiser Permanente Nursing Strategy unites and aligns our 49,000 nurses under one vision, set of values, and one professional practice model. It expands the role and influence of nursing and leads the way creating inter-professional care teams, being patient and family centered, and standardizes practice where there is evidence.  Professional Practice raises organizational performance through nursing professional practice which is supported by the four pillars:

• Leadership

  Nursing leadership is defined as the ability to mobilize others to do the extraordinary.
  
  Kaiser Permanente recognizes all nurses as leaders and engages them in transforming values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into alignment, and risks into rewards. It begins with individual self-awareness. It’s about fostering a culture in which nurses are able to turn challenging opportunities into remarkable successes. In a leadership environment, individuals take ownership for their work and are empowered to align their own beliefs and actions with the vision, values and model.
  
  At Kaiser Permanente, nurses embrace progress, lead by example and advocate for the patient when another voice is needed. Leadership means having the ability to inspire others with clarity of purpose, confidence and ability to influence others, and a focus on what matters most: creating a consistently superior care experience for our patients and families.

• Research and Evidence-Based Practice

  Research is normally defined as a systematic investigation, including development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalized knowledge. Traditionally, research is systematic in that it is implemented via a study design that is methodical, logical, and described in enough detail to be replicable. The product of research should apply to most, if not all, of the individuals in the population. Generally, knowledge generated from research is organized into a theory or model that is intended to guide practice. This theory or model should describe or explain a concept or relationship as usually appears in the world. Kaiser Permanente nurses use the best possible empirical knowledge to guide their practice.
  
  Evidenced-based practice is the art of taking that generalized knowledge and applying it specifically to an individual or group of individuals. It is a complex process that includes the experiential knowledge or clinical expertise as well as the individual patient’s values and preferences. Also critical to the evidence-based practice process is the expertise of the clinician. An expert nurse uses critical thinking skills to assess and evaluate the validity of using any nursing process on a particular patient or group.
  
  While the research may demonstrate that a specific intervention is the most likely for a successful or positive outcome, if that intervention is inconsistent with the patient’s wishes it is probable that it should not be implemented, for such an implementation would be a violation of one of the principles that is foundational to our model – the patient’s right to make his or her own decisions about his or her care.
  
  Evidence-based care is a professional process that starts with evaluation of the evidence. If the evidence is sufficient, the process then includes integration of clinical expertise with patient values and preferences. It is through the implementation of research where indicated and evidence-based care processes that the Kaiser Permanente nurse can ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved.
  

• Professional Development

  Professional development is the educational and experiential journey every nurse takes to gain the knowledge, skills, and judgment required to practice as a professional nurse. Going beyond the need to remain competent, Kaiser Permanente nurses embrace a philosophy of lifelong learning, which leads them to seek opportunities to learn about current trends and practice changes. They use lifelong learning as a means to achieve extraordinary care for their patients, achieve professional goals, and advance the art and science of the nursing profession. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to providing and promoting a culture of learning and innovation needed to thrive in a complex and rapidly changing health care environment.
  

• Quality & Safety

  As part of the KP Nursing Strategy, our goal is to become the best in class in health care quality and safety through nursing practice. We do this by identifying evidence-based practice, surfacing successful practices, decreasing variation, ensuring reliability, and leveraging technology, innovation and clinical decision support to improve systems performance. As a result, KP nurses play a key role as part of the care team in transforming care through enhanced quality, cost effectiveness, and improved access.
  
  The experience of care, as perceived by the patient and family, is a key factor in health care quality and safety. Bringing the perspectives of patients and families directly into the planning, delivery, and evaluation of care, and thereby improving its quality and safety, is what patient- and family-centered care is all about.
  
  This work aligns with and supports the Kaiser Permanente strategy for care transformation.

Regional Care Experience Council

The Regional Care Experience Council supports Kaiser Permanente’s mission, vision and goals and is committed to ensuring an extraordinary care experience for our patients and their families.

Our Cause is Health
Our Passion is Service
Partnering with Our Providers, Staff, Patients and Families
We Make Lives Better

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Nursing Recognition

Here, you'll be celebrated for who you are as an individual as well as for what you bring to the team. Your perspectives and ideas shape your connection to the shared mission we contribute to every day. Our mutual understanding and respect creates a nurturing environment in which we can all excel.

• National Nursing recognition Program and The Nursing Pin
• SCAL Daisy Awards (PDF)