Defining quality
Details: What Is Quality?
Quality is a broad term that can mean different things in different contexts. The Quality Improvement (QI) process is a systematic, formal approach to the analysis of performance and efforts to improve performance (Spath, 2018). The terms Quality Improvement, Performance Improvement, and Continuous Improvement are often used interchangeably in healthcare. The goal of healthcare Quality Improvement is to improve processes that support patient care or improve patient outcomes. In this course, the Practice Experience Project and the Capstone Paper will focus on improving patient outcomes.
Data collection is the cornerstone of Quality Improvement. Collecting data identifies potential areas for improvement, and monitors the effectiveness of any changes. It is important to obtain baseline data before beginning a Quality Improvement project and to analyze results during and at the end of a project. Quality Improvement teams make decisions based on the analysis of the data.
A variety of approaches or Quality Improvement Models exist to collect, analyze data, and test change. Some examples of quality improvement models are PDSA, PDCA, FOCUS PDCA, Lean, and Six Sigma. Each Quality Improvement model is discussed in detail in chapter five of the Spath (2018) course text.
Quality Improvement Tools are strategies that can help a quality improvement team understand, analyze, or communicate quality improvement efforts. Examples of Quality Improvement Tools include Run Charts, Pareto Charts, 5 why’s, Scatter, and Fishbone Diagrams. Details and additional tools can be found in chapter six of the Spath (2018) text.
This week you explore definitions of quality and what it means in health care and in nursing. You consider the quality management activities of measurement, assessment, and improvement and how they are applied in your work setting or another practice setting. You also begin step one of your Capstone Paper—identifying a patient-centered practice problem in need of improvement that you have had experience with within your work or practice setting. You will develop this throughout the practice experience, and it will be the topic of the Capstone Paper. The practice problem identified in the practice experience discussion is the problem that will be presented in detail in the Capstone Paper and storyboard presentation.
Learning resources
Spath, P. (2018). Introduction to healthcare quality management (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
Chapter 1, “Focus on Quality” (pp. 1–12)
Chapter 2, “Quality Management Building Blocks” (pp. 13–34)
Preview Chapter 3, “Measuring Performance” (pp. 43–46)
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2019). Leading and managing in nursing (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Chapter 1, “Leading, Managing, and Following” (pp. 1-18)
Chapter 2, “Clinical Safety: The Core of Leading, Managing and Following” (pp. 19-31)
QP staff. (2010). Guru guide: Six thought leaders who changed the quality world forever. Quality Progress, 43(11), 14–21.
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