Unit information: Quality Improvement in Healthcare in 2019/20

Unit name	Quality Improvement in Healthcare
Unit code	MEEDM0034
Credit points	0
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Grant
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	Registration on the two linked units ie Patient Safety & Risk Management (0 credits) and the Healthcare Improvement Capstone Unit (40 credits).
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to enhance learners ability to develop knowledge and skills around the use of Quality Improvement initiatives in the workplace. The learners will have opportunity to plan, develop and implement their own QI project using their reflection of a patient safety event from the previous unit, Patient Safety and Risk Management.

The aim of this unit will be to:

1. Provide students with a detailed understanding of the rationale for and philosophy of Quality Improvement projects in the workplace context.
2. Provide students with a detailed understanding of the methodology involved in implementing a QI project, including planning, designing the project and and analysing key stakeholder relationships to allow that implementation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On completion of the unit, students should be able to:

A: Knowledge and Understanding:

1. Compare and contrast quality assurance and quality improvement and describe the relationship of audit mechanisms related to clinical governance.
2. Analyse the principles and differences between quality improvement, audit and research.
3. Critique the elements required for the implementation of quality improvement and can identify most suitable tool to facilitate appropriately.
4. Explain process mapping, stakeholder analysis, goal and aim setting, implementing change and sustaining improvement.
5. Compare and contrast QI improvement tools and methodologies.
6. Critically analyse of components required to establish a culture of organisational learning in the NHS.

B: Intellectual Skills /Attributes:

1. Critically analyse the health sector using the focus of key relationships between educational and governance infrastructures.
2. Demonstrate criticality towards literature and theory relevant to health care improvement and organisational learning.

C: Other Skills /Attributes (Practical/Professional/Transferable):

1. Develop a Quality Improvement project, demonstrating sustainable change in an area of healthcare delivery.
2. Demonstrate the values to actively support quality improvement in the clinical environment.
3. Demonstrate advocacy for clinical quality improvement.

Teaching Information

The unit will be delivered through a mixture of short lectures, discussion, case study work, readings, and group and individual exercises. There will be some compulsory pre-course work which will include core readings and critical analysis which the students are required to carry out. The use of the Blackboard online learning environment will be actively pursued to develop students’ understanding and engagement with the unit content.

The unit structure offers 18 contact hours in total. The remaining 182 learning hours will be spent in independent study and in the preparation of assessment.

Assessment Information

Formative Assessment:

1: Draft written proposal on implementation of a QI project. This is then presented to tutors and group. Must be based on previous case report findings in Patient Safety Unit formative assessment.
Student feedback given.
2: Write a 3000 word analytical report on the planning, delivery and implementation of that QI project.

Students must successfully engage with this unit, which will be assessed by attendance and engagement with learning at the study days and engagement with the formative assessment tasks.

No summative assessment is linked to this 0 credit unit. Assessment is delivered, and credit awarded, via the Healthcare Improvement Capstone Assessment Unit. Students will be expected to build on this formative written proposal in the Assessment Unit with a summative written project.

Reading and References

WHO Patient Safety Guide 2006.

Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Health Care 2010