Description of Quality Improvement Tools Used in Healthcare
Quality improvement projects rely on tools that structure the process and help the nurse executive evaluate the changes. Various quality improvement instruments exist, each having its own purpose and sphere of implementation. In my professional and learning experience, I have been introduced to many different tools.
For example, one of the basic methods of structuring any intervention is the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, which outlines the four steps of any project (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). Cause-and-effect diagrams are another commonly used instrument that nurse executives utilize to identify the potential reasons behind problems or to determine the relationship between variables (American Society for Quality, n.d d.). Histograms, diagrams, and charts are a range of means necessary for visualizing data to see the results of the change (Neuhauser et al., 2004; Silver et al., 2016). Any improvement project has to include some tools of quality to ensure that the conclusions are based on reliable calculations.
Impact of Quality Improvement Tools: Personal and Organizational Examples
In my practice, I used the flow chart to map out the activities nurses complete to resolve a problem. A flowchart is a combination of steps that show all elements of a procedure and its outcomes (Neuhauser et al., 2004). It can be used to plan or analyze a process, visualize it for other professionals, and document it for future use in a project (American Society for Quality, n.d d.).
I implemented this tool when investigating the efficiency and quality of nurses administering medication to patients. In particular, I focused on areas where medication errors could occur and care could be provided quickly.
As a result, the flowchart demonstrated that nurses needed more time to check all patient information and that the process needed additional steps for quality control. This instrument helped me to show the issues to others, and it positively influenced the organization and patients by highlighting the problems for further analysis and resolution.
References
American Society for Quality. (n. d.). Quality tools A to Z. Web.
Johnson, J. K., & Sollecito, W. A. (2020). McLaughlin & Kaluzny’s continuous quality improvement in health care (5th ed.). Jones and Bartlett.
Neuhauser, D., Myhre, S., & Alemi, F. (2004). Personal continuous improvement workbook (7th ed.). Academy for Healthcare Improvement.
Silver, S. A., Harel, Z., McQuillan, R., Weizman, A. V., Thomas, A., Chertow, G. M., Nesrallah, G., Bell, C., & Chan, C. T. (2016). How to begin a quality improvement project. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 11(5), 893-900. Web.