How are you monitoring progress toward your personal improvement goal?
Quality Is Personal: Applying Quality Improvement Tools to Personal Improvement Projects
Now that you have explored quality improvement tools, you can think more specifically about which ones you will employ for your Personal Improvement Project. You must use at least two tools: a process map and a data summary chart of some kind (table, graph, diagram, run chart, or XmR chart).
A process map is a visual representation that illustrates activities and practices as they occur, which serves as a valuable resource for identifying trouble spots. It is important to note that process maps can also be used for evaluation after an intervention has been implemented. For instance, looking at a process map following an intervention may help nurse executives to note discrepancies between what was planned and what is actually being practiced, or to see that a process has in fact improved, even if the outcomes have not met the targets.
References:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (n.d.). Process mapping. Retrieved from https://healthit.ahrq.gov/health-it-tools-and-resources/evaluation-resources/workflow-assessment-health-it-toolkit/all-workflow-tools/process-0
Antonacci, G., Reed, J. E., Lennox, L., & Barlow, J. (2018). The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects. Health Services Management Research, 31(2), 74-84. doi:10.1177/0951484818770411
Discussion: Personal Improvement Project Status
At the start of a new year, gyms are flooded with people who have made a resolution to be healthier. By March, the flood has dwindled to a stream. Though people may have the best of intentions, sometimes their goals do not come to fruition. How are you monitoring progress toward your personal improvement goal?
A benefit of this course is that you have a place to test out tools, methods, and processes that may be beneficial to you as a nurse executive engaged in CQI. You can take a risk, you can experience challenges or even fail, and you can learn from those challenges, within the confines of the classroom. Your colleagues are doing the same.
For this Discussion, you will evaluate progress on your Personal Improvement Project, taking a hard look at the measures you have chosen to track and whether the data are aligning with your intended goal. You will also share insights, methods, and tools with your colleagues in order to support one another.
To Prepare:
Reflect on the steps you have taken in your Personal Improvement Project.
Access and examine the data you have gathered.
Evaluate the tools available to you and how you plan to use them.
