Performance standards within an organization can typically be measured by focusing on both quality improvement plans and the quality management that is already being implemented. Understanding future trends in the nursing industry is essential for the organization’s ability to continuously monitor and improve its internal policies, procedures, processes, regulatory compliance efforts, and quality improvement plans. In reality, however, it is only through an understanding of current issues such as organizational quality, consumerism, quality data collection, and the management and improvement of quality in general, that those future trends can be predicted in the first place.

Still, what is it exactly that all of that means? Well, everything turns out to be quite simple. Everything from personal observation to predicting models indicate that times are changing and with said times, occurrences around the world are going to become more taxing on the medical profession. Countries are going to war. Earthquakes are shattering established nations. Tsunamis are hitting shores that have never, in living memory, been affected by such radical water behavior. All of these disasters indicate an ever increasing need for medical care; and top notch care at that. As such, the quality of patient care cannot be allowed to suffer. Observe it as consumerism, if the reader will; there are simply a lot more people in need of medical facilities and aid than ever before, and those numbers are predicted to increase again in the near future.

Take a hypothetical scenario, for example; if one is capable of understanding Organization A generally has excellent quality in patient care, it is going to be easy to assume that said superb management is the standard for that facility. Now, imagine that the workload on every member of the staff has been increased at least ten- fold. What happens then?

As already stated, quality cannot be allowed to suffer. Plans for quality control have been, or at least should have been, previously established to include potential high stress situations. It is, then, merely a task of implementing the new policies.

Everyday members of the nursing profession, or really any profession for that matter, are required to do more and more in the way of adapting and surviving. Well, the Duke University Medical Center states that “quality improvement is a formal approach to the analysis of performance and systematic efforts to improve it,” (Methods of Quality Improvement,” 2005). Therefore, these formal approaches, or pre- existing plans of attack, simply need to be followed to the ‘T.’ The whole goal here, or anywhere really, is to improve output, minimize inefficiency, and still maintain quality patient care. The only viable way to go about achieving any of that is to understand the importance behind what is going on today and be able to look forward and see where these events could possibly lead tomorrow. Why? Because Future trends will make it essential to ensure continuous understanding and improving quality outcomes in a patient- safe environment.