Clinical Nurse Leader Practice Exam

In a new hospital area, what relationship is identified between improved scores in "physical environment of care" and decreased "call bell answered immediately" scores?

1. Confounding measures

2. Balancing measures

3. Opposing measures

4. Concurrent measures

The correct answer is: Balancing measures

The correct answer is that the relationship identified between improved scores in "physical environment of care" and decreased "call bell answered immediately" scores is characterized as balancing measures. Balancing measures are employed in quality improvement initiatives to ensure that improvements in one area do not inadvertently cause problems in another. In this scenario, while the physical environment of care may be improving, it is important to monitor how these enhancements impact other critical aspects of care, such as the timeliness of response to call bells. If the improvement in the physical environment leads to a delay in responding to call bells, that could suggest a need for adjustments in staffing or procedures to maintain patient safety and satisfaction. This dynamic underscores the importance of a holistic view in quality improvement, where successes in one area are balanced with appropriate performance in another to achieve optimal patient outcomes and overall care quality. The other terms might not fit this context: confounding measures typically refer to factors that can obscure the relationship between the independent and dependent variables in clinical research. Opposing measures suggest a direct antagonistic relationship, while concurrent measures indicate simultaneous tracking of several outcomes without this implied interaction between them.