Discussion: Identifying Practice Gaps for Quality Improvement Post a brief explanation of how you would identify a quality improvement practice gap in your practice or organization.

Discussion: Identifying Practice Gaps for Quality Improvement Post a brief explanation of how you would identify a quality improvement practice gap in your practice or organization.

Quality improvement projects require input from a multitude of sources to encourage appropriate, safe and cost-efficient patient care and outcomes.  Healthcare systems that operate in a culture where quality improvement is included in strategic plans and continuously evolve to meet the emergent care needs of patients and team members demonstrate higher patient outcomes (Mannion & Davies, 2018).  Understanding that a cyclic approach to developing quality improvement projects driven by data should align with organizational goals (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2018).  Data drives the construction and design of quality improvement projects as it shows developers where potential areas of improvement reside by comparing standards of practice to evidence based benchmarks (Steele et al., 2012).  Sattler et al., (2019) demonstrated through plan-do-study-act cycle in the Interventional Radiology (IR) Unit focused on throughput times how a team approach to quality improvement positively influenced changes.  Through communication, delegation and interdisciplinary team approach, Sattler et al., (2019) showed where delays for cases occurred throughout the intake process.  Unit wide ownership of quality improvement project by stakeholders, who included nurses, physicians, advanced practice nurses and IR technologists, were effective in decreasing throughput times which translated into faster start times and improvements in patient satisfaction.

Bedside nurses appreciation of what quality improvement means for patient care is the initial point of developing a practice gap project.  Nursing quality improvement projects in the acute care setting begins with education in nursing schools on what quality means to patient outcomes and healthcare fiscal responsibilities.  Hassmiller & Bolton (2009) explain that the future of nursing demands that students learn their roles in quality improvement projects, how to identify potential improvement projects and what these projects mean to the care continuum.  The authors also highlight the importance of healthcare organizations aligning their strategic plans with quality improvement in mind to ensure the entire healthcare system recognizes what quality means for patient outcomes.