What is QSEN, and name two quality and safety competencies relevant to practice.

• A. QSEN stands for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses; competencies include patient-centered care and safety.
• B. QSEN stands for Quick Safety Education for Nurses; competencies include budgeting.
• C. QSEN stands for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses; competencies include informatics and teamwork.
• D. QSEN stands for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses; competencies include ethics and leadership.

Answer: (B)

QSEN stands for Quality and Safety Education for Nurses. It identifies six competencies that guide nursing practice to improve patient outcomes: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. When asked to name two quality and safety competencies, patient-centered care and safety are solid choices because they directly address respecting patient preferences and ensuring safety by reducing harm and preventing errors. Patient-centered care means engaging patients as partners in decisions and tailoring care to their values and needs. Safety focuses on minimizing risk through effective communication, evidence-based procedures, and systems that prevent mistakes. Note that other valid pairings could be informatics and teamwork, since they’re also core QSEN competencies. The option that misdefines QSEN as Quick Safety Education for Nurses (and mentions budgeting) is not correct, because QSEN refers to Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, and budgeting is not a QSEN competency.