A New Role In Nursing: Unit Based Manager, Patient Safety and Quality

Purpose for the program: To introduce the role of Manager, Patient Safety and Quality to the community.  In today's healthcare environment, quality care is at the forefront of healthcare professionals, regulatory agencies, accrediting bodies and patients and families.  This new role assumes accountability for facilitating performance improvement and safety initiatives throughout designated areas, utilizing evidenced based practice, evaluation of core measures, and continuous accreditation readiness.  Together with clinical educators, patient outcome facilitators, and our simulation staff, our team works, in synergy, to achieve best outcome practices. Our team is unit based. 

Proposed change: Implement the role of Manager, Patient Safety and Quality, unit based into other institutions, thus improving their culture of safety and quality.

Each Program Manager has a team that collaborates to improve processes and achieve best outcomes.  The team consists of Clinical Educators and POFs for each specialty area. The “team” works together by combining individuals that can facilitate, educate, monitor and assist with safety and quality initiatives in synergy. The Clinical Educators and POFs work together to educate staff on new and ongoing measures that impact patient outcomes.  In their own unique roles and responsibilities, actively participate in different aspects of patient care and “drive” initiatives for their areas.

 Currently there are 3 Program Managers in place for our hospital. The areas that benefit from this type of specialty are Pediatrics, OB/Women’s Services, Critical Care, Pulmonary and Step-down, and Dialysis.  This unique team works alongside the direct patient care health care to ensure daily compliance with clinical improvement initiatives.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:

The Safety and Performance Improvement team Collaborates with the healthcare team, leadership and key stakeholders to improve care. Together we work in synergy to collect, measure and improve safety and quality indicators.  We anticipate that with this close collaboration, we can continuously monitor for opportunities for improvement. Communicating any initiative to front line staff is a challenge in many organizations.  This unique team structure provides consistent access to individuals that are focusing on clinical improvements and can support the health care team directly at the individual unit level.

Implications for nursing practice: Improvement of patient safety and quality outcomes through continual process evaluation, evidenced based improvements, and measurement of outcomes. 

Keywords: Patient safety, process improvement, patient outcomes