ACCREDITATION

INTRODUCTION
Quality of health care delivery system has become the focus on all around the
world. Accreditation has gained worldwide attention as an effective quality
evaluation and management tool and moreover the demand for quality health care
services increasing consumers aware about the right. Accreditation is a formal
testament by recognized group them an institution or program has not established
standards. It is the certification of an organization. It provide document validation of
qualification of the organization is carryout its stated goals and objectives. It is a
process by which a voluntary, non governmental agency or organization approved and
grants status to institution or programs that meet pre determined standard outcomes.
Seldon describe as it is the process whereby an organization or agency recognize a
institution or university program of study as having met ascertain pre determined
qualification and standards.
The concept of accreditation of educational programmes in nursing is very
important. Prospective nursing students should inquire about the accreditation status
of any nursing program they are considering. Employers of nursing are usually only
interested in hiring or employing nurses who are graduates of accredited programs
MEANING
“A certification of an organization”
Accrediting' is the process whereby an organisation or agency recognises a college or
university or a program of study as having met certain predetermined qualifications
and standards.
Accreditation is the mark quality given, after evaluation by an external body. The
dictionary meaning of this term is an official recognition, general acceptance and
assurance of quality and certificate of meeting all requirements. Generally the
meaning of accreditation to trust, to give authority, to give credit to is accepted.
Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority or
credibility is presented. It is a voluntary process whereby its standards are usually
regarded as optional and achievable.
DEFINITION
Accreditation is the process by which a voluntary non-governmental agency or
organization approves and grants status to institution or programs that meet pre
determined standards or outcome.
Zerwekh JA
Accreditation is the process where by an organization or agency recognize a
institution or university program of study as having met certain pre determined
qualifications and standards.
Seldon
Accreditation has been defined as a self assessment and external peer
assessment process used by health care organizations to ascertain assess their level of
performance in standards and to implement ways to continuously improve it.
John Bratwaite
Accreditation is defined as formal procedure used to determine the competence”.
Tempus 2001

AIMS OF ACCREDITATION
1. To gain citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies and
nursing practices. In every organization an institution is needed to accredited
because it ensure the institution meet certain standards.
2. To maintain minimum standards. Standards are established criteria for provision of
nursing education.
3. To increase institutional capabilities to prevent and control errors. Stimulation of
institutional self improvement by evaluation and inspection.
4. To increase departmental effectiveness and efficiencies in the delivery of nursing
service. The employee is work based on the standards objectives, policies and help
to improve the effectiveness and efficiencies.
5. To enhance cooperation and coordination among staff. Quality of health care
system increases health care workers to enhance a cooperation and coordination
among staff.
PURPOSES OF ACCREDITATION
1. To certify the public that an institution has met established standards.
Standards are established criteria for provision of nursing education and assist
student welfare activities and self welfare activities.
2. To encourage peer reviews by the facility and staff of the institution. It
ensure maximum benefits of students and protect to students interest
3. To facilitate transfer of students from one institution to another. It maintains
adequate admission requirements and help to registration of nurses.
4. To assist prospective students in deciding which institution to attend and
join. Stimulation of institutional self improvement identified the qualified
person.
5. To assist prospective employees identified qualified personnel. Patient get a
service by the qualified person and keep the patient right is respect and protect.
6. To raise the standard of education for the practices of profession. To help to
plan for faculty recruitment development and infrastructure.
FUNCTIONS OF ACCREDITATION
1. It aims to protect the autonomy of various health service programmes. The heal
service programme run by the institution is accredited with at most important.
2. It preserves the quality of nursing education.
 To maintain or provide high quality of nursing education.
 It assisting planning for student’s welfare activities and help to improve
documentation of nursing care.
3. It protects public from ill prepared nurses.
 Accreditation supported by state likening law.
 It increase number of individual admitted to the profession.
4. It protects the institution.
 Accreditation protects the institution unsound and unsafe political pressure.
 To decide the disciplinary action against the student.
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE ACCREDITATION PROGRAMME
The accreditation and the assessment council is proposed as a voluntarybody
of member institutions. There are two categories of accreditation institutional of
professional. The important concern of the accreditation and assessment council is to
develop an institutional accreditation mechanism. Institutional accreditation is a
means for the self-regulation of the academic institution.
Institutional accreditation is done in two parts. The first part starts with self-
study by the institution, involving in this activity all of its major constituents including
facility, students and the institutional management.
The second part of the institutional accreditation process involves an outside
evaluation by a team of professional educators constituted independently by the
accrediting agency.
The institutional accreditation process involves the judgement of the
responsible members of the profession to see whether the institutional goals conceived
are appropriate that is the educational programme is intelligently planned and
competently conducted. the institution is fulfilling the professional goals and has the
adequate resources to run the programme to be effective in imparting quality
education

POLICIES OF ACCREDITATION
A. Board approval of the initial development of the nursing program.
1. Letter of intention should be submitted to the board describing the reason for
establishing the school and predicted timetable of development.
2. Qualification forms to the submitted to the board by the full time person
responsible for the program. Who is qualified with Master Degree in Nursing
accredited by the National Legal for Nursing and with appropriate preparation for
admission in nursing education.
3. The nurse director or chairman of the department nursing we employed on a full
time basis for one academic year before the admission of students to the nursing
programme. This period is known as planning year.
B. Board approval for the admission of students.
1. A statement describing the philosophy, objectives, nature of organization should
be submitted to the board, at least 3 week prior to the board meeting at which the
time the programme will be reviewed. This must occur at least 6 months to the
admission of the first batch.
2. The statement should certain descriptions of the following as well.
i. Student body
ii. Faculty
iii. Curriculum, education and clinical facilities.
iv. Projected budget for a 5 period.
v. Plans of evaluation

PROCESS OF ACCREDITATION

The regional consultation on accreditation guidelines for educational/ training

institutions and programmes in public health was organized in Chennai, India in
2002. it concluded that:

 Public health institutions must have a mission statement and objectives. It must
prescribe the educational process required to produce professional and student
competencies.
 The accreditation process should take into account curriculum models,
instructional methods and staffing policy of public health institutions; educational
resources'for the student population and for the delivery of the curriculum,
including library, lecture halls, laboratories, computers and provision for field
practice; description of methods used for assessment of their students; and a
mechanism for programme evaluation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCREDITATION
The Characteristics of accreditation are as follows;
According to Harvey 2004.
 Accreditation is a process applied to applicant organization.
 Accreditation is the label that institutions or programmes may acquire as a result of
accreditation procedure.
 Accreditation is a abstract notice of a formal authority power enacted through
official decision about recognition.
According to INQAAHE
 Accreditation is a formal decision
 Accreditation is based on an overall assessment of the institution and its
programmes.
 Accreditation is based on the assessment of at least minimum requirements.
 Accreditation concerns a Yes/No conditional decision
Accreditation will have consequence for example in the professional field,
concerning recognition, concerning funding and concerning student aid.

TYPES OF ACCREDITATION
1. Institutional accreditation
It is accreditation f the institution as a whole, without differentiating among the
various curriculum it likes at the institution as a total operating unit. It focuses
attention on the general characteristics of an institution its objectives, infrastructure,
faculty and resources of major concern are auertins of program integrity
administrative and academic control quality assurance, availability of resources and
supervisory accountability.
2. Specialized accreditation
It is otherwise known as the program accreditation, where the program run by
the institution is accredited with at most importance. The accreditation bodies often
association or councils of profession like medicines, nursing etc. The principle
objective is to ensure that quality of education and training meets the minimum
requirement of the profession.

TYPES OF ACCREDITING AGENCIES

Regional Professional
 State National

1. Regional Accrediting Agencies

2. Professional Accrediting Agencies
A. State Accrediting Agencies
B. National Accrediting Agencies

Regional Accrediting Agencies

 These are concerned with apprising the total activities of institution
 They are general in nature.
 Each agency establishes criteria for the evaluation of institution in his region.
Professional Accrediting Agencies
Professional accredited agencies are specialized and each is concerned
with particular profession.
A. State Accrediting Agencies
Accreditation in certain stages may be function of state agencies. It assumes
responsibilities mainly for teacher education. Universities, Commissions and
other agency are authorized in some state of evaluate college, to give initial
approval to institution to higher learning to formulate standards to issue the
license to have various other responsibilities.
B. National Accrediting Agencies
Professional accreditation is supported by state license in law. Individual who
hold a common body of knowledge and who have a desire to attain high
vocational status trend to form professional organization.
India has following national educational council
 Central advisory board of education
 All India council for elementary education
 All India council for secondary education
 University Grand Commission
  All India council for technical education
 National assessment and accreditation council
 In India particularly the field of health the following national professional
accrediting agencies are;
 Medical council of India
 Indian Nursing Council
 Dental Council of India
 Pharmacy council of India
 Central council of India system of medicine
Accreditation of nursing education
Indian nursing council (INC) is the official accrediting agency for all programs of
nursing, which include Diploma (GNM), BSc, Nursing (both basic and post basic,
Baccalaureate etc., MSc (N)/ M Phil. (master’s) and Ph.D. (doctoral program).

STAGES OF ACCREDITATION
 Initiation of the process: A school seeking accreditation for the first time hosts a
Preliminary Visit, usually lasting two to three days and normally involving two
visitors, one from each of the two accrediting associations. The purposes of the
visit are both to clarify the various aspects in the accreditation process and to
ascertain the school's readiness to undertake the self study. When the school
concerned is seeking re-accreditation a similar visit is conducted, the main
differences being that the school remains in accredited status throughout and that
the visit is entitled .
 Conduction of self evaluation study: The self-study, lasting approximately two
years, is the most important part of the entire evaluation and accreditation process,
both in the commitment of time and effort involved and in the value to be derived.
The self-study begins with the Part One Committee collecting and analyzing data
from the opinion surveys applied to all constituent groups in the school community
and then generating a school profile. In Part Two, the school conducts a searching
review of its own operations with each self-study committee using the results of
 the recently completed data collection and profile and its own philosophy and
objectives as the starting point for its work.
 Accreditation visit: This stage is mainly focused on assessing what was
observed during the inspection visit and weighing up the evidence of the
institution’s ability to uphold and maintain the standards needed for an
accreditation. We will carefully consider the documentation provided to us
before the inspection, and the information gathered in the inspection itself. The
inspectors will need to meet the Principal and CEO, and possibly the
institution’s owners. If possible, a meeting will be held with staff, where
everyone will be informed of the nature of the inspection. Then detailed
surveys and assessments will take place, teaching sessions will be observed,
and the inspectors will meet privately with students to gather their opinions and
viewpoints. Finally, there will be a final meeting with the Principal where the
inspectors will provide an informal report and feedback on their findings.The
final decision on accreditation will be decided by the Accreditation Committee.
 Evaluation by board of review or peer group: Once the peer review has been
completed, most accreditation organizations also send a team of professionals
to visit the college, university or institution seeking accreditation status. This
team is often made up of peers and members of the public who volunteer their
time to ensure high quality education standards are being met.

Application for registration

Self assessment

On the site survey

Report preparation

Award preparation

Maintaining accredited status.

GRADING
The assessment is on a four point scale.
 A-Excellent or very good
 B-Good
  C-Satisfactory
 NA-Not Accredited
Score Grade
95-100 A++
90-95 A+
85-90 A
80-85 B++
75-80 B+
70-75 B
65-70 C++
60-65 C+
55-60 C

If the overall score is more than 55% the institution gets the “Accredited status” and
any score less than that will lead to “Not accredited” status. The NAAC accreditation is valid
for five years.

TYPES OF INSPECTION
1. Periodic inspection: INC conducts inspection of the institution once the
institution is found suitable.INC monitors the standard of nursing education and its
adherence to the norms prescribed by it. Institutions are required to pay annual
affiliation fee every year. However, if the institution does not comply with the
norms prescribed by INC for teaching clinical and physical facilities, the
institution will be declared unsuitable.
2. Reinspection: Reinspection is conducted for those institutions which are found
unsuitable by INC. The institution and the government are informed about
deficiencies and advised to improve upon them. Once the institutions take
necessary steps to rectify the deficiencies, it should submit the compliance report
and fees from the institutions it will be considered for re inspection.
3. Enhancement inspection: INC conducts inspection of the institution once the
institution is found suitable by INC and no receipt of the fees and the proposal for
enhancement of seats.
BENEFICIARIES OF ACCREDITATION
1. Student: The student may get a standard or quality education by ensuring
number of seats, strength, admission, vocation.
2. Faculty: The selection of faculty is very important. Staffing norms for number,
qualifications, selection, appointment, promotion, salary scale, welfare, teacher
or faculty development.
3. Practicing nurses: They may get the chance to work in a qualified r standard
institution or hospital.
4. Consumers of Nursing services: Accreditation provide for better protection of
the interest of consumers.
5. Administrators: Educational administrators are in over all charge of curriculum
development
SUMMARY
Till now we are discussed about the introduction, definition of accreditation is
Accreditation is the process by which a voluntary non-governmental agency or
organization approves and grants status to institution or programs that meet pre
determined standards or outcome, and the aims of accreditation is to gain citizen and
employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies and nursing practices. In every
organization an institution is needed to accredited because it ensure the institution
meet certain standards, and the purposes of accreditation is to certify the public that
an institution has met established standards. Standards are established criteria for
provision of nursing education and assist student welfare activities and self welfare
activities. and functions of accreditation is aims to protect the autonomy of various
health service programmes. The heal service programme run by the institution is
accredited with at most important, and the important features of the accreditation
programe, is the accreditation and the assessment council is proposed as a
voluntarybody of member institutions. There are two categories of accreditation
institutional of professional. The important concern of the accreditation and
assessment council is to develop an institutional accreditation mechanism.
Institutional accreditation is a means for the self-regulation of the academic
institution, and the policies of accreditation are letter of intention should be submitted
to the board describing the reason for establishing the school and predicted timetable
of development, characteristics of accreditation types of accreditation are institutional
accreditation and specialized accreditation , types of accrediting agencies are Regional
Accrediting Agencies, Professional Accrediting Agencies :- State Accrediting
Agencies, National Accrediting Agencies then the stages of accreditation, grading and
types of inspection periodic inspection, Reinspection and Enhancement inspection, then
the beneficiaries of accreditation.
CONCLUSION
Accreditation of nursing schools and colleges grew out of concern repeatedly
expressed by the members about the quality of and standards for nursing education.
An accredited program voluntarily adhere to standards, thus protect the quality of
education, public safety and the profession itself. It assures students that their
educational program is accountable for offering quality education for future practice.
Accreditation is a process of validation in which colleges, universities and other
institutions of higher learning are evaluated. The standards for accreditation are set by
a peer review board whose members include faculty from various accredited colleges
and universities. The board aids in the evaluation of each potential new school
accreditation or the renewals of previously accredited colleges/schools.

RESEARCH ABSTRACT

NURSING DUTIES AND ACCREDITATION STANDARDS AND THEIR

IMPACTS: THE NURSING PERSPECTIVE.
(PMID:29579500)
McLelland K 3 ,

Manson-McLeod C 3 ,

Affiliations
Applied Nursing Research : ANR [16 Dec 2017, 40:61-67]
Type: Journal Article
DOI: 10.1016/j.apnr.2017.12.009

Abstract
Medical advances and increasingly complex patients presenting to the Emergency
Department (ED) make nursing challenging. Gaining new knowledge and skills is a
perpetual requirement. New quality initiatives to improve patient safety and care are
being constantly introduced and create significant work and time pressures for
healthcare providers involved.Do ED nurses support the introduction of new quality
standards, in addition to their current heavy workload?A cross-sectional survey.All
ED nurses in the Edmonton zone were invited to complete a survey on nursing beliefs
regarding various accreditation standards and their impacts. The survey was
developed iteratively, involving study investigators, the Health Authority
Management Team, and Nursing Managers. Response options included a 7-point
Likert scale of agreement. Median ratings and interquartile ranges were determined
for each survey statement.A total of 433/1241 (34.9%) surveys were completed.
Respondents were RNs (91.4%), female (88.9%), with 0-5years ED experience
(43.7%). Overall, respondents 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statements,
indicating favourable attitudes towards Accreditation Canada standards and other
quality initiatives. They were neutral towards universal domestic violence screening,
and the differentiation between a Best Possible Medication History and medication
reconciliation. Despite their heavy workload, nurses strongly agreed on the
importance of medication reconciliation, falls risk, and skin care, but felt that
improved documentation forms could support efficiency. This nursing perspective is
valuable in informing attempts to standardize and simplify documentation, including
the design and implementation of a provincial clinical information system.
STUDY ON ACCEPTANCE OF NABH ACCREDITATION BY NURSING
STAFF OF A TEACHING HOSPITAL

Article · January 2016 with 27 Reads

Cite this publication

F.Z. Sadiq

S. Saldahna

A.R. Rebello

G.J. Qaidri

Abstract
Quality in health care is a worldwide phenomenon and commitment to quality is pre
requisite from all healthcare professionals.Nursing service is an integral part of
comprehensive health care delivery. They have an objective to provide safe,
compassionate and comfortable patient care. Meeting the standards of NABH
accreditation is not possible without the understanding and acceptance of the
satndards by the nursing staff. A descriptive study was carried out in a teaching
hospital on nursing staff,of which a purposive sampling technique was done to select
100 nurses who had an experience of at least one year.A questionnaire was prepared
according to NABH guidelines to assess the level of Attitude of nurses on acceptance
of NABH accreditation. The study revealed 74.5% of the nursing staff had a positive
attitude and felt that accreditation will improve the quality of healthcare. Whereas
25.5% of the nursing personnel had no knowledge on the benefits of NABH
accreditation. Nursing care is an important component of quality health care. It is a pre
requisite that before implementing NABH standards,all the nursing staff needs to be
trained and made acquainted with the benefits of accreditation.
THE ACCREDITATION OF NURSING EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA

Nicholas Ralph, RN, BN, MClinPrac, PhD Candidate Correspondence information

about the author RN, BN, MClinPrac, PhD Candidate Nicholas Ralph Email the
author RN, BN, MClinPrac, PhD Candidate Nicholas Ralph

Melanie Birks, RN, PhD, MEd, BN, FACN

Ysanne Chapman, RN, PhD, MSc (Hons), BEd (Nsg), GDE, DNE, DRM, MACN

Abstract

References
Summary
This paper aims to explore and discuss the role that ANMAC and the accreditation
standards play in pre-registration nursing education nationally. The context of the
discussion is situated in the continuum of events that mark the accreditation of
nursing education in Australia.
The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme has given rise to significant
challenges related to the accreditation of nursing programs of education in Australia.
Given the importance of accreditation to the quality of nursing education, ANMAC in
its appointed role as accrediting authority, must fill the position rather than occupy it.
Enhancing transparency and effectiveness is central to ensuring accreditation
facilitates quality in nursing education. Given ANMAC's key position, further work is
needed in developing a broad base of expertise by fostering scholarly output in the
substantive area of nursing accreditation.
There is a concerning lack of research centred on the accreditation of programs of
nursing education along with the processes associated with it. This problem is not
restricted to the Australian context but also extends internationally. In this context, the
expertise of accreditors ought to be questioned along with the processes ANMAC use
to identify individual capability. As such, the selection of experts needs to be
articulated clearly by ANMAC along with the ownership of introducing a research
culture into accreditation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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