Clinical audit Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay Paper (Essay Sample)

Clinical Audit
Name
University
Abstract
The purpose of this essay will be to look at clinical auditing by defining what a clinical audit is, describing the process of clinical auditing, analyzing its impact on education and training, clinical effectiveness, risk management, research and development. The paper will also look at the benefits and limitations of a clinical audit.
Introduction
Clinical audit is one of the facets of clinical governance and it is defined as a quality improvement process/cycle that focuses on improving healthcare delivery to patients. This is done by conducting a systematic review of an individual patient’s health outcomes and comparing it against well-defined standards (Esposito & Canton, 2014). A clinical audit is important especially for healthcare professionals because it ensures that patients receive the best possible care while they are in a health facility. An audit is a reliable way of proving that care delivery and treatment are in line with best practice standards and they lead to better health outcomes (Burgess, 2011). This essay will look at the process of a clinical audit, its impact on education and training, clinical effectiveness, research and risk management.