Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
Collaborative Partnership: Clinic Director Perspective
Katherine L. McEwen, MBA, BSN, RN, I. U. Methodist Family Practice Center, Clarian Health Partners, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Care quality and patient safety drive patient outcomes and expenditures for health care dollars. These topics receive attention in curricula throughout multiple institutions. The challenge for nursing faculty is how to educate students in the practical application of theoretical concepts.
The health care environment is evolving towards a ‘pay for performance’ strategy, while working with lean resources. Therefore, it is vitally important for survival, to participate in quality measurement, and process- improvement. This initiative focuses on the requirement to measure care quality and processes, while involving nursing management and leadership students. This partnership will demonstrate how the immersion of nursing management and leadership students in a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle allows for enhanced learning and achieves desired objectives.
The site for this project was the Family Practice Clinic, located in a metropolitan area, experiencing approximately 24, 000 patient visits per year. The clinic was formed in collaboration between a large health care organization and the university family medicine residency program. Participants in this quality initiative were: Administrators, Clinic Management, Nursing management, Leadership Students, and Physicians.
In order to accomplish the objectives of this project, analysis of the learning style, personality type and skill set of each nursing student was completed by the Director. The nursing student team evolved as each student utilized his or her skills to optimize the performance of the team.
Nursing Administrators struggle with an increasing demand for quality outcomes while working with lean budgets. Participation in educating future nurse leaders requires additional resources. In lieu of this environment, creative solutions for education, utilizing available resources, while maintaining the integrity of the academic outcomes is crucial for all parties.
See more of Collaborative Partnership: Service Learning Through a ‘Unique Lens’
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)