Undoubtedly, the most important single requisite is a commitment to quality: an unequivocal desire and determination to dedicate oneself to the best one is capable of, despite every obstacle. " -Donabedian, 2003, p. xxix Upon completion of this chapter, the reader should be able to:1. Define quality improvement (QI).
2.Describe the historical evolution of QI.
Explain QI in nursing practice
4.Compare and contrast QI, evidence-based practice, and research.
5.Differentiate between QI models and methodologies, including Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), Lean, and Six Sigma.
6.Describe reactive and proactive approaches to QI problems.
7.Explore the role of the nurse in QI projects.
8.Discuss the impact organizational leadership has on QI activities.
CROSSWALKThis chapter addresses the following: QSEN Competency: Quality Improvement The American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. Domain 5: Quality and Safety 1. From an interprofessional perspective, who would the nurse initially contact based on this observation? 2. What regulation(s) is the nursing admission assessment policy that stipulates medication reconciliation be conducted on every home visit based on? 3. Is there opportunity to consider a quality improvement activity based on this scenario? DEFINING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Quality improvement (QI) is defined the same for both prelicensure and graduate nursing education by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency as "Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare systems" (QSEN Institute, n.d.-a, n.d.-b). The knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) differ, however, in that the prelicensure expectations focus on preparing the new nurse to participate in or lead small-scale QI activities while graduate students are expected to take a greater role and facilitate QI activities across the organization. QI is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the extent to which quality healthcare is being delivered 11: QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ESSENTIALS | 363 according to established standards. Standards may be internal, such as those created by the organization, or external, such as those created by regulatory bodies. QI can be considered as both an art and a science (McLaughlin et al., 2012). Indeed, the art of QI involves asking questions and coming up with creative ideas and visionary innovations of how to approach and consider improvement interventions. The science of QI, presented in Chapter 12, involves the ongoing process of testing improvement interventions, to measure if improvements lead to the intended outcomes, and to sustain intended outcomes.Triggers that may initiate a QI activity may include inconsistent patient outcomes, poor patient outcomes, patient outcomes that do not meet expectations related to evidence-based practice (EBP) or to standards, or patient/family complaints. Such outco...