discussion replies

WEEK 7 LEADING REPLIES

respond to THE FOUR colleagues by expanding upon your colleague’s post or offering an alternative strategy recommendation and/or alternative stakeholders to take part in the quality improvement team described by your colleague. INCLUDE 2 REFERENCES EACH

Natalia:

The art of teamwork has been studied and successful teams improve outcomes, performance, and increase revenue (Johnson, 2021). One strategy I would recommend is the TeamSTEPPS which is an evidence-based framework to optimize team performance across the healthcare delivery system (AHRQ, n.d.). According to AHRQ (n.d.), the TeamSTEPPS is based on five major components (1) patient focus, (2) integrated TeamSTEPPS Platform, (3) modular course design, (4) active learning strategies, (5) emerging team challenges and opportunities. The stakeholders I would invite to partake in this quality improvement team will be infection prevention and control, life safety, risk management, performance improvement, quality and regulatory affairs, senor and executive leadership, nursing house supervisor, unit leaders, data analyst. Each stakeholder brings to the table their area of expertise and can keep the team honest in reporting, implementing, and promoting of accurate data collection. Each stakeholder will oversee their portion within the TeamSTEPPs framework and will work towards helping the overall implementation of a quality improvement initiative. For example, infection prevention is an important department is capable of interpreting standards and regulations in the prevention of infection, risk managers oversee the risks for errors and injury and can conduct assessments based on their knowledge, performance improvement is able to help employees achieve better performance and growth. Life safety can oversee and interpret regulations and standards related to maintaining safety in environment and among employees. Quality and regulatory affairs department can bring everything together to implement initiative whether is through project that involve high reliability or frameworks like TeamSTEPPS. A data analyst can bring validation and accuracy to data collection to keep the numbers honest. Nursing house supervisor can communicate with patients and healthcare personnel, and they also evaluate and assess patient conditions and plan, implement, provide, and document the patients care. Things to keep in mind when selecting the group is based on the need of the unit or entity and what the identified problem is that needs to be addressed. For example, if in a unit where they perform point of use treatment on medical devices and instrument, their practices have shown a risk for infection, we would include in this team, sterile processing, infection prevention, risk management, performance improvement, and the unit/department leader. The stakeholder that “earns a seat” in this team is based on need and need to know. Lastly, quality improvement enables clinicians to acquire and apply important professional capabilities (Jones et al., 2019) which is why selecting the right stakeholders to make up the appropriate team that is crucial promoting quality improvement and the achieving the ultimate goal which is: safe patient-centered care while exemplifying the highest quality of care.

Julius:

Effective teams in healthcare are key in ensuring the desired objectives and targets are attained within the set timelines. The leaders’ role is to prepare and establish effective teams in line with the defined objectives. Building an effective team for a quality improvement initiative requires strategic approaches to mental health. If working with talented, intelligent, and qualified professionals, the first step is to set up a team-building workshop to train the members about diversity, communication, conflict resolution, and collaboration. This move will build members’ trust, familiarity, and accommodation (Greilich et al., 2023).When it comes to the quality improvement team in mental health, it should include various stakeholders, such as frontline nurses, administrative officers, patient representatives, and physicians or psychiatrists. A project manager is also required to lead the team through various phases and implementations. Working with the appropriate professionals is key in guaranteeing the success of the quality improvement interventions (Orrantia et al., 2022). At the same time, there is a need to consider the role that each professional representative or stakeholder is mandated to undertake. Synergy is key in determining the success of an effective professional team. Furthermore, several considerations are needed to guarantee effectiveness when selecting a team. In mental health practice, the main objective when building a team is expertise, collaborative capacity, and skills. Since the objective is to improve the experience of patients, it is necessary to ensure that each member brings value to the team (Baird & Benson, 2022). For this reason, it is necessary to balance the experience and expertise of the members and their ability to accommodate and collaborate with others. Such a move will ensure the team is committed to working together and adhering to the quality improvement goals and objectives.

Kristine:

Teams working in healthcare today are comprised of individual novices and experts in their relative fields. The goal is to create expert teams and not teams of experts. Expert teams invite conversation, enjoy different viewpoints, and leverage each other’s strengths to achieve a common goal. High-performing teams are agile and nimble. They have created a safe environment where they learn through failing and celebrate success with humility. Great difference, low-performing teams may lack momentum, grapple with achieving milestones, and lack trust amongst their team (Wolor et al., 2022).To create effective teams, leaders play an important role in growing teams. The first strategy is to promote a strong improvement team are to set the foundation with a clear charter that outlines its purpose, scope, goals, and role responsibilities. Another strategy is to ensure team members believe they need to work together to achieve the goal, this can be facilitated by creating opportunities for the team members to get better acquainted and build rapport.Interestingly, one may assume that to be an expert team, the team must work together consistently, or that they have worked together before. Instead, the only requirement is to hold a commitment to the common goal to be achieved. To improve patient experience, a provider, nursing staff, and patients should be joining the patient experience specialist at the table. One of the major shifts in health care is identifying who should be on the team of which patients and families are now invited to the table. In wanting to improve the patient’s plan of care being shared beyond the provider and the patient, involving the patient and their families is without thought. Healthcare decision-making from the healthcare team caring for the patient to having a full partnership with the patient and family in developing, implementing, and evaluating the plan (US Preventive Services, 2022). The patient’s participation might consist of a focus group to provide ideas and feedback or as an active participant, advocating for the effort on behalf of other patients.Nurses and nursing staff would play an integral role in this improvement. They are envisioned to be advocates as they are often caught in the middle between the patient and the physician. If the plan of care is not made known to the nurse, the trust of the patient decreases, and physician trust and satisfaction in the partnership with nursing is impacted. The nurse manager would help facilitate these relationships as she leads the efforts while working closely with the patient experience specialist, is a consultant for this effort.Many factors compromise a team’s performance or progress. Hierarchal and authority differentiation can occur and be associated with professional status or personal agenda to create an undercurrent of control and possible coercion. In these cases, the opinions, knowledge, and experience of others are less than. This can occur within teams of physicians, nurses, healthcare providers their patients, and others. At times there can be some disruptive behavior that can be interpreted as intimidation or fear of retaliation. Rabkin and Frein (2021) share a strategy of including a physician at the beginning to help define goals that are pertinent to their role in achieving the objective.On the converse, physicians may want and need to be involved in quality improvement projects but do not receive allocated time to participate. They would serve either as an advocate or supporter of the project. Having a strong physician leader can impact the outcome of an improvement such as the plan of care, without this role being present, progress may be lacking. If the improvement team is important enough to commence, then the leadership must support the effort by allocating appropriate resources (Deilkas, et al., 2022).

Marie:

Building effective teams to support quality improvement initiatives in healthcare organizations involves engaging stakeholders with diverse expertise and perspectives. In the context of preventing pressure ulcers at a reclamation center, various stakeholders play essential roles in designing and implementing effective strategies. Nurse Managers serve as frontline leaders, overseeing daily operations and providing guidance on best practices (Kerr et al., 2019). Their role involves allocating resources, coordinating team efforts, and ensuring adherence to protocols. Wound Care Specialists bring specialized expertise in wound assessment, treatment, and prevention (Beeckman et al., 2020). They lead educational efforts, develop evidence-based protocols, and provide guidance on complex cases. Patient Care Technicians (PCTs) contribute valuable insights from direct patient care, helping to identify patient needs and barriers to implementation (DeMarco et al., 2022). Their role includes implementing interventions, monitoring patient progress, and providing feedback to the team.Data Analysts play a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of prevention strategies through data analysis and trend identification (Garcia et al., 2021). By tracking pressure ulcer rates, analyzing outcomes, and identifying areas for improvement, they inform decision-making and measure the impact of interventions. Patient Representatives offer unique perspectives by advocating for patient needs and preferences (Barr & Dowding, 2020). Including patients or their family members in the team ensures that interventions are patient-centered and align with patient values.Effective collaboration among these stakeholders is essential for success. Nurse Managers provide leadership and facilitate communication, fostering a culture of teamwork and accountability (Kerr et al., 2019). Wound Care Specialists guide clinical decision-making, ensuring that interventions are evidence-based and tailored to individual patient needs (Beeckman et al., 2020). PCTs implement interventions on the frontline, providing valuable feedback on feasibility and effectiveness (DeMarco et al., 2022). Data Analysts support evidence-based practice by analyzing outcomes and identifying opportunities for improvement (Garcia et al., 2021). Patient Representatives ensure that the patient voice is heard, promoting patient-centered care and shared decision-making (Barr & Dowding, 2020).