Week 3: Tools and Methods for Quality Improvement
How might you identify quality improvement practice gaps in your practice or organization? What tools and methods might you recommend to address these gaps?
Successful quality improvement relies on appropriate data and its analysis. It is not enough to just want to improve care and safety. Instead, measures and tools must be considered, analyzed, and evaluated to ensure that their implementation aligns with what the data demonstrates as a potential area for quality improvement. Furthermore, the application of quality improvement measures and tools must also be considered in light of the and with the quality improvement goals and expectations set forth by the needs of the organization or nursing practice.
This week, you will explore and analyze the different approaches of data collection and analysis as it relates to identifying an area for quality improvement. You will consider the importance of identifying practice gaps and explore recommendations for improvement.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze how to identify quality improvement practice gaps related to healthcare organizations and nursing practice
- Evaluate potential DNP project quality improvement practice gaps
- Recommend tools and methods to address DNP project quality improvement practice gaps
- Analyze rate-based measures for nursing practice and healthcare delivery*
- Analyze measurement systems and methods for rate-based measures*
- Evaluate rate-based measure definitions, benchmarks, and comparisons related to organizational performance and metrics*
- Analyze rate-based measures to an organization or clinical setting*
- Analyze the relationship between rate-based measures and organizational performance metrics for patient safety, healthcare quality, and cost of healthcare*
*Assigned in Week 3 of Module 2 and submitted in Week 4 of Module 2
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
Discussion: Identifying Practice Gaps for Quality Improvement
- What should be happening in practice? What is happening or observed in practice?
These two questions help to identify where quality improvement practice gaps might exist in nursing practice. If we know what should be happening does not coincide with what is happening, we know there is an issue, or more appropriately, a practice gap.
A practice gap is the difference between a desirable or achievable state of practice and current reality. For example, a common gap in practice in healthcare organizations today, are healthcare associated infections (HAIs), such as central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs), or catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).
The ongoing identification of practice gaps is critical to quality improvement and involves identifying the current state, comparing that current state to the desired state, identifying the causes of the gaps in practice, and validating those gaps to develop a process for improvement.
For this Discussion, reflect on quality improvement practice gaps that may exist in your practice or organization. Consider what quality improvement methods and/or tools might be useful in improving this practice gap. Then, think about how you might address these challenges and what strategies you might implement as a future DNP-prepared nurse.
To Prepare:
- Review the Learning Resources on tools and methods for quality improvement.
- Reflect on a potential quality improvement practice gap, you have seen in your practice or organization, which you might consider using for your DNP project.
- Consider the tools and methods you might use to address this quality improvement practice gap.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post a brief explanation of how you would identify a quality improvement practice gap in your practice or organization. Describe a potential quality improvement practice gap you might use for your DNP project, and explain why. Then, explain at least two types of tools and/or methods you might use to address this quality improvement practice gap, and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.
By Day 6 of Week 3
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by expanding upon your colleague’s post and suggesting alternative tools and/or methods your colleague might consider using to address the quality improvement practice gap they selected.
