Quality Improvement Strategies

I think that I was expecting to learn more about the ways to improve upon a process to ensure the highest quality, regardless of the situation.  I wanted to learn more about the processes that RNs can do at the bedside to be able to have continuous quality improvement (CQI).  I was able to learn these things.  I really liked the videos from this week and found them very insightful and beneficial to the learning of these topics.  The burnt toast analogy was amazing.  It is very true that so many times we create processes to cover up the burnt toast instead of just changing out the toaster.

The team discussion this week was very open and a good source of information about the process that goes into creating improvement.  I liked that we were able to go back and forth and still come up with a group decision on the best way to handle the scenario that was placed before us.  The topic was thought provoking and beneficial to help tie into this week's lesson.  

I think that I have come to a new way to view things that I do day in and day out.  By looking for ways to continuously improve with CQI, the "small" things that I do everyday will become more evident about whether or not it is something that needs to be corrected or improved upon.  This was a great topic  that I will for sure use in the future, whether or not I go into management.  

Reflecting on Week 2

Before beginning this unit, I expected to learn more about what quality means and how quality is measured and viewed within the health care system.  The term quality is thrown around these days like it means something, but based on the information that we learned about this week, it really doesn't scratch the surface of what the term actually means.  Nurses are looked at as trusted professionals.  If we can't provide the best quality care to our patients and continually improve upon the current level of "quality" that exists, then we don't deserve the trust that is placed upon us.  Unfortunately, I learned  that we are not doing our job as a health care system to provide the quality care that our patients deserve.  Quality of care is something that needs to always be addressed and improved upon.  

I enjoyed the activities from this week.  The M&M activity was a good visual example of quality and the way that it works.  I also liked that each team member was able to do the same experiment and the results that were found from it.  It is always helpful to discuss with team members in order to gain insights from the different team members.  The critical thinking activities were especially thought provoking this week.  I don't think that I have ever thought about some of the topics that we were supposed to give thought to this week.  I enjoy the internal thought provoking topics from the week.  

Going forward, the information that I learned this week as well as the information that I have gained thus far in my practice as a nurse will be invaluable.  I hope to be able to get into management and into some committees and I know that this information will be important as I will be able to work with the committees and hospital executives to implement new CQI plans for the betterment of the nurses, patients, and everyone that is a part of the process.  CQI is something that needs to be used everywhere to make sure the best of the best is the only thing that patients ever come in contact with.  

Questions to Contemplate

Contemplate the following questions:

·         What do you consider elements of quality care when receiving healthcare services?

·         What do you consider elements of quality care as a professional nurse?

·         Are the two similar or different?

Unfortunately, at least for this exercise, I have not really been a patient in a hospital, so I will depend mostly on when I have visited family members in the hospital and the care that I have received from visits to a care provider's office.  One aspect of care that I consider as quality when receiving healthcare services is care that is timely.  Timely, to me does not necessarily mean quick.  I think that timely just means that I have been given realistic time frames for things to be done and that those time frames have been upheld.  Another aspect that I find import is informative care.  I like to be in "the know" about all the details of what is currently happening and what the plan is going forward.  Many times, there this is a "business as usual" mentality for most health care providers and I don't know if they just assume everyone knows what is going on or if they just don't think about it, but most while it may be a normal day for the provider, this is most likely a very not normal day for the patient.  Lastly, professionalism is another thing that I consider as an element of quality care.   

As a professional nurse, I consider a number of things as elements of quality care.  I would say that as a professional nurse, I need to have professionalism.  My mannerisms need to show that I take my job and care for the patients as my only priority, no matter what else might be going on in my life.  Another aspect that I find important as a professional nurse is to be caring.  Quality care cannot be done without "care."  I go out of my way to try to serve each and every patient that I come across.  Even though the patients aren't always pleasant, I try to go above and beyond with each and every patient.  One of the last things that I try to do as a professional nurse is to use evidence based practice in everything that I do with my patients.  In providing quality care, I need to have the most up to date and accurate way to provide care that currently exists in whatever it is that I'm doing as a nurse.  

I would say that these two are very much interrelated and intersect completely at multiple points.  I would say that they are only slightly different.  The differences are probably very minute.  I believe that they are significantly similar and that they actually are essentially the same thing with different titles.  Being timely and informative is another way to care.  Evidence based practice is also another way that I show that I care and that I want the best for each and every patient.  All in all, the things that a patient wants is basically the things that a true professional nurse wants for the patient.  

Quality and Patient Safety

My name is Paul Shuman.  I am a nursing student at Utah Valley University currently working on my BSN.  I am creating this reflective journal to help in my progress in the Quality and Patient Safety course (NURS 4550) to be able to look back on this course for some valuable insight that I may have forgotten.  Being able to provide safe and quality care to my patients will be such a vital tool in my nursing career.  Patients deserve the best from me each and every time that I step onto the floor of the hospital and I intend to make that happen.