The creation of quality improvement (QI) teams is essential since the involvement of the staff in the processes of change is vital for successful work redesign and the improvement of the existing practices (Rantz et al., 2013). QI teams are needed because changes in the provision of healthcare services do not occur just by the personnel working harder; changes happen when the members of the interdisciplinary team coordinate their activities with regards to how they could improve the level and the quality of care provided to patients.
Interdisciplinary Team Members and Rationale for Their Inclusion
Before identifying the key staff to include in an interdisciplinary QI team, it is crucial to mention that a successful QI program should include components such as the focus on data, focus on patients, focus on being part of a team, and QI teams’ working as systems (HRSA, 2011). After the examination of the roles various staff performs in a healthcare facility, it was chosen to include the following personnel into an interdisciplinary QI team:
- Chief Executive Officer. Including the CEO of a facility into a QI team is crucial since he (she) is a professional that makes key decisions as to the direction chosen for the organization.
- Chief Financial Officer. Quality improvement is also a matter of financial planning, so including a CFO in a QI team is a necessity.
- Chief Nursing Officer. A CNO is a person holding the highest nursing management position in a healthcare facility; he (she) is responsible for coordinating daily nursing operations, so the development of a QI plan will require the participation of this professional.
- Directors of Department. Since a healthcare facility is made up of different departments that need to interact for effective performance, Directors of Department participation in the planning of quality improvement is essential for ensuring smooth cooperation between departments.
- Director of Staff Development Department. This professional will make sure that the staff within different departments shows high levels of performance to achieve better QI outcomes.
- Charge Nurses. Charge nurses are responsible for supporting and directly supervising the medical staff and maintaining high-quality care; therefore, it is crucial to include them in an interdisciplinary team.
- Staff (bedside) Nurses. These professionals directly interact with patients, so the bulk of the quality improvement practices lies on their shoulders.
Risks Associated with Working with Interdisciplinary Teams and How to Address Them
While teamwork and interactions within an interdisciplinary team play a crucial role in hospital care delivery (O’Leary, Sehgal, Terrell, & Williams, 2011), there are still some risks that should be addressed for the successful implementation of a QI plan. The first risk is resistance to change (team members perceiving the quality improvement practices as a threat to them) (Bateh, Castaneda, & Farah, 2013). Addressing resistance to change will be achieved through change management and the identification of root causes to eliminate barriers to the achievement of quality improvement. The second risk is the lack of cooperation between interdisciplinary teams due to the complications in designing a cohesive action plan to involve all team members in the process of QI. This risk will be addressed through the development of an action plan and the establishment of clear goals for quality improvement so that all team members will cooperate to achieve the set objectives.
What Should Be Reviewed Before the Meeting
Before conducting an interdisciplinary team meeting, the following points should be reviewed:
- Current practices that do not meet the established standards for patient care in the facility.
- Quality management steps that have already been implemented in the facility.
- Patient health outcomes data, patient satisfaction ratings, staff performance indicators.
- Examples of successful QI implementation in other facilities.
SMART Goal
- Specific – Development of a cohesive patient care quality improvement plan that will be designed by the interdisciplinary team.
- Measurable – The success of the plan will be measured directly through the analysis of patient health outcomes.
- Achievable – the quality of provided care will increase compared with current indicators.
- Relevant – the quality of care will be improved through the development of an action plan, effective change management (Tyler & Parker, 2011), the collaboration between departments, and the participation of the executive team.
- Time-bound – the improvement of care will be achieved within the next year.
Brief Agenda for the Team Meeting
- Opening/Introduction of the team members.
- Identification of the meeting’s objectives.
- Suggestions for quality improvement based on the review and analysis of available data.
- Presentation of key ideas from different team members.
- Identification of possible barriers for QI implementation.
- Closing.
Assessment of Team Meeting’s Effectiveness
When assessing the effectiveness of the team meeting, it is important to measure the following three criteria:
- The degree to which the productive output of the team coincides with the standards of quality.
- The degree to which the operational processes in a healthcare facility enhance the capabilities of the personnel.
- The degree to which the experience of the team members contributes to the achievement of the set quality improvement objectives.
To effectively measure the effectiveness of the team meeting, proper feedback will be encouraged. The participants of the meeting will be asked questions such as “What was the most valuable information you received at the meeting?”, “What can be improved in the future?”, “Did the quality of teamwork satisfy your personal requirements?”, “Was the communication during the meeting effective?”, “Did you agree with the considerations of quality improvement presented at the meeting?”, etc. Feedback from the members of the interdisciplinary team will be gathered through surveys and questionnaires – tools provide employees with some level of anonymity.
Conclusion
The interdisciplinary team meeting will facilitate the achievement of quality improvement objectives through tight cooperation among team members. By establishing a SMART objective, meeting agenda, assessment of the meeting’s effectiveness, and data review a healthcare facility will succeed in improving the quality of provided care. A QI team meeting will facilitate the creation of a clear action plan that would help employees to implement changes in their performance and ensure the cohesion between different departments in a healthcare facility.
References
Bateh, J., Castaneda, M., & Farah, J. (2013). Employee resistance to organizational change. The Clute Institute, 17(2), 113-116.
HRSA. (2011). Quality improvement. Web.
O’Leary, K., Sehgal, N., Terrell, G., & Williams, M. (2011). Interdisciplinary teamwork in hospitals: A review and practical recommendations for improvement. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 1, 1-7.
Rantz, M., Zwygart-Stauffacher, M., Flesner, M., Hicks, L., Mehr, D., Russel, t., & Minner, D. (2013). The influence of teams to sustain quality improvement in nursing homes that “need improvement”. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 14(1), 48-52.
Tyler, D., & Parker, V. (2011). Staff teamwork in long-term care facilities: The influence of management style, training, and feedback. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 4(2), 135-146.