Overview

In this culminating course in the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Specialization, you will apply the skills you have acquired across the previous six courses to address a realistic patient safety issue confronting Mercy Grace, a 500-bed urban hospital that is part of a larger hospital system. Based on the scenario provided, you will assess the situation and work through the problem using a variety of tools and strategies. You will have the opportunity to identify defects, root causes, and potential mitigation strategies; you will create a project implementation plan for addressing the issue in the form of an A3; you will identify risks of project failure and design a change management plan; you will identify means of converting the project from local to system-wide; and you will identify quality and safety measurements that will be used in evaluating the success of the project’s implementation.

Syllabus

Deepening Our Understanding of a Patient Safety Defect

In this module, you will be introduced to a patient safety issue that will provide the basis for all of the work you will complete in this capstone course. After reviewing the incident, you will review content from the second course in the specialization regarding the use of the Learning from Defects Tool, and you will complete a first draft of a similar Learning from Defects template. Please note that each of the assessments in the first four weeks of this course are optional - this gives you the opportunity to develop first drafts of all of the documents you will submit for your capstone project, and receive valuable feedback on the work you have completed. In the last module of this course, you will resubmit final versions of the documents you have completed throughout the course. This final package of documents will comprise your entire grade for this capstone project course.

Problem-solving and Proposing Interventions

In this module, you will build upon what you learned in the previous module by continuing your investigation of patient falls and clarifying your project goals. You will review content from previous courses in the specialization that discussed problem identification, scoping your project, building an A3, and specifying performance measures. You will then initiate a first draft of an A3, and complete a first draft of a 5-Whys Table.

Project Implementation and Stakeholder Engagement

In this module, you will begin the process of implementation and stakeholder engagement for your proposed interventions. You will begin by reviewing content from previous courses on Translating Evidence into Practice, the 4 Es model, and project implementation, as well as several readings on these topics. At the end of the module, you will have the opportunity to complete and receive feedback on a first draft of your Premortem and 4E table.

Embedding and Expanding the Project

In this module, your focus will turn to embedding and expanding your project across additional units. You will review content on change management, sustainability, and the process of embedding and expanding your interventions. Finally, you will expand your work from Module 2 to create a first draft of a full, formal A3.

Conclusion

In this final module, you have the opportunity to review and reflect upon the documents you completed in the first four modules of the course. After revising and finalizing these documents, you should submit all of them as your final project submission for this course.