A Graduate Elective to provide Inter-professional Education on Collaboration and Application of the 8-Step LEAN approach to Quality Improvement
Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates must meet professional competencies of practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI). Providers must demonstrate their ability to work effectively and collaboratively on patient-centered teams to ensure quality and safety. This presentation will describe the development and evaluation of a curriculum that blends QI methods with interprofessional competencies to prepare healthcare professionals to be leaders and members on interdisciplinary teams.
METHODS:
Objectives are to develop an interprofessional curriculum to teach collaboration and PBLI utilizing Lean 8-Step Problem Solving process; and evaluate the effectiveness of this curriculum using surveys to elicit quantitative and qualitative feedback from participating students, faculty, and clinical partners.
RESULTS:
Outcome measures include pre and post changes in PBLI and critical thinking knowledge and skills, and perceptions of collaboration. Data will come from anonymous surveys. The Heinemann survey “Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams” will be administered at the start of the course, mid-way through the course, and at the end of the course to students only .The “Quality Assessment and Improvement” survey will be administered at the start of the course and at the end of the course to students, faculty, and clinical partners. The “Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric” survey will be administered four times throughout the project to the faculty advisor to assess the critical thinking skills demonstrated by the teams at the completion of step 2, step 4, step 6, and the end of the project. The 8-step tracking log and team reports of project results will be used to assess adherence and effectiveness of the 8-step methodology in teaching PBLI.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:
Application of curriculum to teach PBLI skills and teambuilding while working on real-time clinical problems is unique to this PA and DNP program. This course addresses the gap between education and practice that limits graduates’ readiness to collaborate effectively on teams and describes a systematic approach to quality and safety projects in the clinical setting.