Existing Workplace Quality Improvement Initiative Assignment

Existing Workplace Quality Improvement Initiative Assignment

Deliver to the interprofessional team a presentation (20 minutes; 12-15 slides) that analyzes an existing workplace quality improvement initiative related to a specific disease, condition, or public health issue of interest. The presentation’s purpose is to inform and get buy-in from the interprofessional team.

Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—various groups talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care. As a result, they must develop their skills in reviewing and evaluating performance reports. They also need to be able to communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives effectively. Patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes mandate collaboration among nursing staff members to ensure the integration of their perspectives in all quality care initiatives.

In this assessment, you will have the opportunity to analyze a quality improvement initiative in your workplace. You will then present your analysis to a group of nurses and other health care professionals. The purpose of your presentation is to inform and enlist support for the initiative from your audience.

Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

Competency 2: Plan quality improvement initiatives in response to routine data surveillance.
Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a quality initiative.
Competency 3: Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures.
Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care or practice setting according to strategic organizational initiatives.
Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative according to recognized national benchmarks.
Competency 4: Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost-effectiveness, and work-life quality.
Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes.
Competency 5: Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
Communicate the QI improvement initiative evaluation in a professional, effective manner that engages the interprofessional stakeholders to implement and sustain change.
Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and APA style for scholarly citations and references.
Preparation

Quality Initiative Selection

In this assessment you will deliver an analysis of an ongoing quality improvement initiative in your workplace. The initiative you analyze must relate to a specific disease, condition, or public health issue of personal or professional interest to you. The purpose of your analysis is to assess whether specific quality indicators point to improved patient safety, quality of care, cost and efficiency goals, and other desired metrics. Your audience consists of nurses and selected health care professionals with specializations or interest in your selected condition, disease, or issue. You hope to inform and garner support for the initiative from your audience.

Recording Your Presentation

To prepare to record a voice-over for your presentation:

Set up and test your microphone or headset using the installation instructions provided by the manufacturer. You only need to use the headset if your audio is not clear and high quality when captured by the microphone.
Practice using the equipment to ensure the audio quality is sufficient.
Consult Using Kaltura [PDF] for guidance on how to record your presentation and upload it in the courseroom.
Microsoft PowerPoint also allows you to record your narration with your slides. If you choose this option, simply submit your presentation to the appropriate area of the courseroom. Your narration will be included with your slides.
Remember to practice delivering and recording your presentation multiple times to ensure effective delivery.
Note: If you require the use of assistive technology or alternative communication methods to participate in this activity, please contact Disability Services at [email protected] to request accommodations.

Instructions

The optional QI Initiative Evaluation Presentation Template [PPTX] is provided to help you prepare your slides. If you choose to work without the template, consider referring to Guidelines for Effective PowerPoint Presentations [PPTX].

In your presentation, you will:

Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care or practice setting according to strategic organizational initiatives.
Explain the rationale behind the QI improvement initiative. What prompted the initiative?
Detail problems that were not addressed and any issues that arose from the initiative.
Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative according to recognized national benchmarks.
Analyze the benchmarks used to evaluate success. Which aspects of the initiative were most successful? What outcome measures are missing or could be added?
Incorporate one appropriate supporting visual (such as a graph or chart) that showcases the most critical aspect of this presentation.
Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes.
Integrate the perspectives of interprofessional team members involved in the initiative. Who did you talk to? What are their professions? How did their perspectives impact your analysis?
Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a quality initiative.
Identify specific process or protocol changes as well as technologies that would improve quality outcomes.
Communicate the QI initiative evaluation in a professional, effective manner that engages the interprofessional stakeholders to implement and sustain change.
Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and APA style for scholarly citations and references.
Additional Requirements

Presentation length: A maximum of 20 minutes.
Number of slides: 12–15 slides. Balance text and visuals. Avoid text-heavy slides. Use speaker’s notes for additional content.
Font and font size: Appropriate size and weight for presentation, generally 24–28 points for headings; no smaller than 18 points for bullet-point text. Use a suitable professional typeface such as Times or Arial throughout the presentation.
Number of references: Cite a minimum of 7 current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to support your analysis. Current is defined as no older than 5 years unless a seminal work.
APA formatting: Adhere to APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references. Consult these resources for an APA refresher:
APA Style & Format.
APA Module.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA style. Retrieved from https://www.apastyle.org/
Grading Rubric:

1. Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative according to recognized national benchmarks.

Passing Grade: Evaluates the success of a current quality improvement initiative according to recognized national benchmarks; identifies assumptions on which the evaluation is based.

2. Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes.

Passing Grade: Incorporates interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes; identifies areas of uncertainty, knowledge gaps, and additional information needed to gain a more complete understanding.

3. Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand quality outcomes of a quality initiative.

Passing Grade: Recommends additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand outcomes of a quality initiative; impartially explains recommendations’ pros and cons.

4. Communicate the QI initiative evaluation in a professional, effective manner that engages the interprofessional stakeholders to implement and sustain change.

Passing Grade: Communicates the QI initiative evaluation in a professional, effective manner that engages the interprofessional stakeholders to implement and sustain change. Communication includes multiple specifics, examples, and references to current scholarly and/or authoritative sources.

5. Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and APA style for scholarly citations and references.

Passing Grade: Uses correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and APA style for scholarly citations and references without errors or omissions.

6. Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care or practice setting according to strategic organizational initiatives.

Passing Grade: Analyzes a current quality improvement initiative in a health care or practice setting according to strategic organizational initiatives. Supports analysis with multiple specifics, examples, and references to current, scholarly and/or authoritative sources.

ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Existing Workplace Quality Improvement Initiative Assignment

 

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.