Assignment 3: Course Project Task 1

Overview

The course project requires you to create a quality management plan. To do this, you will:

• Identify various aspects of a quality management plan in a healthcare organization.

• Apply various processes and tools to enhance quality in a healthcare setting.

• Identify workflow processes in a healthcare setting.

• Identify quality parameters in a healthcare setting.

• Examine effectiveness of a quality management plan in a given healthcare setting.

The project is modeled on the Shewhart Cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). You will modify the Shewhart Cycle to make it applicable to the specific healthcare service or program you select.

You should seek additional resources that help to understand the process being studied, as well as planning and quality improvement in general. For example, Simmonds and Leonard (2004) describe six steps in Conducting a Patient Safety Project. While you don’t need to use the six steps in sequence, they provide direction, as noted below:

1. Assess the environment: This step describes the importance of understanding the culture of an organization.

1. Prioritize the work.

1. Understand the problem: This step relates to root cause analysis.

1. Map the clinical process: This step is about issues to consider when diagramming the clinical or workflow process.

1. Identify the key people.

1. Implement change: This step is about issues to consider when implementing the Do phase. (pp. 189–201)

Task 1

You will complete a part of the Plan step of the cycle.

Describe the environment, the organization, and the department or program within the organization that is the basis for your project. Describe the selected healthcare setting, specifically, service, staff, equipment, and patients.

Assess the environment using SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. You should interview some stakeholders such as managers, staff, or customers. Use the interview information to conduct the SWOT. You may also summarize or quote any important or interesting information gathered during the interview.

You will select one of the weaknesses determined by the SWOT to create a plan for improvement.

Present the description of the organization, the SWOT, and any interview summaries in a 6-page Word document formatted as a report in APA style