Class of 2015 Abstract / Objectives: To analyze the state of quality improvement (QI) education across ACPE-accredited pharmacy schools in the United States. Methods: Stage one of data collection consisted of an inspection of each pharmacy school website to reveal the presence of published QI curriculum or other related content. In the second stage, an e-mail questionnaire was sent to one representative of each of the 129 accredited schools in the U.S. who was interested in or who teaches QI at his/her school. Respondents could complete the questionnaire via: 1) electronic; 2) paper; or 3) phone. Later, the questionnaire was shortened and a raffle was initiated to increase response rate. The survey instrument contained both multiple choice and open-ended items. Results: Sixty responses were returned from the 129 accredited schools (47% response rate). The least-covered QI topics in respondents’ QI curricula were: Quality dashboards and sentinel systems (30%); Six-sigma, or other QI methodologies (45%); Measures of safety and quality (57%); Medicare Star measures (a national measurement program) and payment incentives (58%); and How to implement changes to improve quality (60%). More private schools covered Adverse Drug Events than public schools (p=0.039). Requiring a specific QI class was more likely in private schools (p=0.003) while requiring a QI project was more often reported by public schools (p=0.014). Conclusions: To the investigators’ knowledge, this is the first national study to map QI education in U.S. pharmacy schools. These results will inform pharmacy and other health-related professional programs in the integration of QI concepts into their curriculum.

Patient outcomes are influenced by the quality of care that the workforce renders. The registered nurse, as designated process-owner of the “Back to basics” quality improvement (QI) initiative, plays a vital role, being responsible for providing compassionate patient-centred care to alleviate suffering and restore health. The aim of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how nurses perceive their roles, responsibilities and challenges in delivering basic nursing care, linked to the organisational “Back to basics” QI initiative. A qualitative study with an explorative descriptive contextual design was utilised. Registered nurses with a direct patient care involvement in the general nursing discipline of a private hospital group participated in focus-group interviews. Data were analysed using Creswell’s data-analysis cycle. Findings were that patient care coordination involves an assessment-delegation-supervision triad. However, meeting stakeholder expectations, management and administrative responsibilities, remove the registered nurse from direct patient care. Time constraints affect physical bedside availability to model the exemplary knowledge, skills and attitudes underlying quality basic nursing care delivery. Reduced opportunities to model quality basic nursing care at the bedside affect patients’ care expectations, resulting in complaints related to basic nursing care omissions. Participants felt that they needed more clarification on the “Back to basics” QI initiative, and more in-service training. The many broad-ranging recommendations include in-service training that empowers registered nurses with the competencies to deal with role and task balance in the face of the diverse and complex demands of the modern healthcare arena. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Dagens hälso- och sjukvård är komplex och i konstant förändring, detta kräver att medarbetare och ledare ständigt arbetar med förbättringar, både för att kvalitetssäkra vården men också för att hushålla med begränsade resurser av såväl personal som ekonomi. För att lyckas med förbättringsarbete krävs medvetenhet och ett engagemang av hela organisationen, för att tillsammans skapa förutsättningar för ständiga förbättringar. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur ständiga förbättringar bedrivs, samt vilka förutsättningar som finns för att driva förbättringsarbete enligt medarbetare och ledare inom hälso- och sjukvård. För att uppfylla studien syfte gjordes en kvalitativ fallstudie och datainsamlingen bestod av en enkätundersökning till samtliga medarbetare samt en intervjustudie där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med samtliga enhetschefer samt ett antal medarbetare inom den studerade organisationen. Resultatet analyserades genom en tematisk analys, baserade på 74 insamlade enkätsvar och totalt 10 intervjuer och presenterades utifrån sex teman med tillhörande subteman, totalt 27 stycken. Studiens teman utgjordes av att driva förbättringsarbete, att vara en engagerad ledare, motivation till förändring, hinder för förbättringsarbete, framgångsfaktorer för förbättringsarbete och att motverka förändringsmotstånd. Studiens resultat visar att motivationen och viljan till att utveckla, förändra och förbättra är påtaglig hos både medarbetare och enhetschefer. Men förbättringsarbetet förhindras av brist av ekonomiska resurser, avsaknad av helhetssyn, brist på kompetens inom förbättringsområdet samt otillräckliga personalresurser. Detta bidrar till att förbättringsarbetet inom den studerade organisationen inte drivs i holistiskt samförstånd. / Today’s healthcare is complex and under constant change. It requires employees and leaders to continuously works with improvement to ensure the quality of care and make the limited resources last, regarding both finance and staff. To succeed with this continuous drive for quality improvement, the same awareness and level of engagement must be shared across the whole organization. This study aimed to explore how employees and leaders in healthcare are executing these continuous improvements alongside the available prerequisites. To fulfill the studys aim, a qualitative casestudy was conducted and the data was collected with a survey circulated to all members of staff and an semi-structured interview study with all first- line managers and a few employees of the studied organization. The results were analyzed through a thematic evaluation of the 74 survey replies and the 10 interviews. It was presented as 6 themes with 27 associated subthemes. The results formed the themes; Driving Quality Improvement, Being an Engaged Leader, Motivation for Change, Quality Improvement Obstacles, Improvement Success Criteria and Change Resistance Avoidance. The result of the study shows that employees and first-line managers alike share a willingness and motivation for development, change and improvement. But this is hampered by a lack of economic resources, holistic views, improvement competence and staff. This contributes to why the improvement work is not operated holistically, with consensus. / <p>2022-06-05</p>