NURS FPX 6004 Assessment 1 Dashboard Benchmark Evaluation 1. A1c tests for checking glucose levels, 2. Dilated eyes exam, and 3. Foot examination for possible sores or nerve damage (AHRQ, 2022)
On comparing these national benchmarks, it can be observed that MMC is unable to achieve the national benchmarks of foot exams
and A1c testing. Following these national benchmarks can help in diagnosing diabetes in the early stages helping in managing the
disease along with minimizing the prevalence of T2D. As diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases that has affected people
globally. It is considered a growing epidemic as 1 in every 10 people is considered diabetic while 1 in every 5 people are unaware of
their diabetic condition. Around 1.4 million new diabetic cases were detected in 2019. All ethnic and racial minority populations,
particularly Black teens, had a surge of new instances of diabetes millets in people between the ages of 10 to 19 (CDC, 2022). This
causes an alarming situation and conducting these tests will help in diagnosing diabetes at early stages resulting in better health
management and better self-care before the conditions lead to complexities and in severe cases to amputations or a condition that
can be fatal (Graz et al., 2018).
Challenges Meeting Prescribed Benchmarks
Benchmarking is a phrase that relates to a standard or practice that can be followed to evaluate and compare. It serves as a
benchmark against which an assessment could be conducted. Benchmarking is used in healthcare to enhance effectiveness, the
standard of healthcare, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Examining guidelines, practices, and evidence-based processes, as
well as finding key areas for improvement, is a component of the method. Individual goals may be set for employees to help them
achieve a departmental or corporate goal. Whenever new procedures are established, the administration must choose how to monitor
performance in order to evaluate whether the benchmark criteria are being met (Rana et al., 2018).
On comparing these national benchmarks, it can be observed that MMC is unable to achieve the national benchmarks of foot exams
and A1c testing. The majority of the nurses at MMC are white nurses. According to CDC, a high ratio of diabetes is found to be among
black, Hispanic, and Latinos. And according to the dashboard, American Indians and African Americans are the second and third
highest rates of ethnicities who visit MMC. This difference in the socioeconomic factor can be seen as a challenge. It can be seen as a
challenge because the highest ratio of the white population is reported in Shakopee. Whereas other races including black, African, and
Hispanic make up 43% of the population of the area. If there is no diversity in the nursing staff, there may be cultural, language, and
ethnic barriers (AHRQ, 2022). For effective communication and overcoming language barriers, nurses from different races and
ethnicities should be on board. Irrespective of the healthcare setting or specialization, communication is found to be the most crucial
feature of care delivery and a crucial part of a nurse’s professional conduct (Ali & Watson, 2018). The largest challenges to providing
appropriate, ethical, effective, and timely treatment to individuals with inadequate speaking proficiency have been recognized as
linguistic impediments. The hiring of trained nurses in this scenario is regarded as useful.
Another strategy healthcare facilities can implement is the use of technologies that can do the translations of different languages.
This way, the nursing staff will be able to communicate to the patient regarding their condition and the patient can effectively
communicate in detail regarding their symptoms or the problems they are facing.