HQ001 Methods and Tools for Quality and Safety

Student Name

 University

NURS 6231 Healthcare Systems and Quality Outcomes

Prof. Name

Date

Personal Improvement Project

Improvement projects are evolutionary in nature and have many different approaches (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). There are multiple steps that must be taken such as deciding the aim, measurement of collect data, analysis, adjustments, and lastly application. The purpose of this paper is to identify my personal improvement project and outline the steps, data, and outcome.

Aim

The aim of my personal improvement project is to increase my daily water intake by the end of 4 weeks to consume 56 ounces of water. Over the 4-week period, I worked my way up to drinking 56 ounces per day. I set a weekly goal to meet. The first week I planned to drink 32 ounces of water daily. Each week after I increased my water intake by 8 ounces per week. I planned to increase my water intake gradually each week to aid in success and compliance with this goal. Prior to initiating this project, my water intake varied from 8 ounces per day to 40 ounces per day. I want to develop consistency in my water intake as there are significant negative physical and mental health effects due to dehydration (Rodger et al., 2023).

Process Analysis

To help with achieving my goal, I developed a process map. Process mapping looks at how new interventions are being initiated through systems and processes (Antonacci et al., 2018). First, I implemented my plan to increase my water intake. I gathered the necessary supplies, which include a new water bottle to be able to accurately measure my water intake. I will also utilize my planner to document my progress. With my planner, I tracked my water in ounces each day. I also sought out the support of my family in achieving this goal. I explained to them the goals I planned to achieve and how they could support me. For the first week, I had a goal of drinking 32 ounces of water per day. Week 2 I focused on drinking 40 ounces of water per day. Week 3 consisted of consuming 48 ounces of water per day. Week 4 consisted of drinking 56 ounces of water per day. After those 4 weeks, I assessed my success in meeting my goals on a daily and weekly basis. I then analyzed any barriers I found that made it difficult to meet my goals. Lastly, I determined if I need to readjust my plan or if it was successful overall.

Measurement

To accurately measure my progress towards my goals, I used my monthly planner to record my water intake. My planner is usually kept close due to the complexity of my life’s schedule. I recorded the number of ounces at the end of each day in the appropriate spot. To know how many ounces I was consuming, I purchased a water bottle that displayed ounces on the side. The water bottle was very large so I would not have to worry about running out or having to refill it multiple times throughout the day.

Changes

As you can see from the data, I was able to steadily increase my water intake from week to week. I believe that by breaking down my goal weekly I was able to make it more manageable. I was able to celebrate smaller accomplishments such as meeting my daily goal and that kept me motivated to keep working on my water intake. Having a large water bottle that did not need constant refilling was a positive change that helped me to reach my goal. I would take this change further and purchase an additional water bottle to keep at my bedside. I believe that having water accessible to me during the night or first thing in the morning would aid in my ability to consume more water. Most mornings I was busy getting the kids off to school, so I did not fill my water bottle until after school drop-off at 8 am. I was usually up for roughly 90 minutes prior to that and lost out on potential water consumption.

Reflection

Reflecting on this improvement project, there are multiple insights that I gained. Initially, the thought of drinking 56 ounces of water in one day seemed daunting. By breaking my overall goal down into weekly goals, it became more manageable. Breaking down a project or goal into smaller chunks helps me to not feel overwhelmed. I have realized that this is a strategy that I have used in my schoolwork also. Another insight was that simply drinking the water was not hard but remembering to drink the water proved more difficult. According to a study regarding water intake, it was noted that remembering to drink water was the most common barrier to increasing a participant’s water intake (Rodger et al., 2023). I found that this was also an obstacle on days that I did not meet my intake goal. It was not that I did not want to drink the water, but it was the fact that I was busy and simply forgot to drink it. I plan to maintain my current water intake goal of at least 56 ounces per day. I will continue to use the large water bottle that I purchased. Overall, I did feel better when I consumed more water. I felt that I did not have as many headaches when properly hydrated. Underhydration has been linked to fatigue and negative mood states (Rodger et al., 2021).

Workplace Change Application

This experience has brought me knowledge that I can utilize in my nursing practice at both the unit-level and the organization-level. When implementing a quality improvement project, it takes the joint effort of many to achieve success that leads to optimal patient outcomes, professional development, and system performances (Johnson & Sollecito, 2020). Unit-level changes may be smaller and more manageable. These changes will be more at the manager and staff level. The goal of a quality improvement project is to facilitate efficient and effective management while providing a steady link between budgets and markers of access to and quality of care (Gadolin, 2017). Organization-level changes tend to be on a larger scale and have more moving parts that go into the change.

NURS 6231 Assessment 1 HQ001 Methods and Tools for Quality and Safety

When implementing any change, it needs to be clearly communicated to allow for preparation which increases the likelihood of success (Nilsen et al., 2020). I can break down the organization-level changes into smaller goals within my ultimate goal to make the process more manageable. Breaking down these goals can help to keep me on a timeline and can help to see the progress made towards the final goal. Another aspect of my project was that I made it an obtainable goal. Having a realistic and achievable goal is essential for quality improvement (Stausmire & Ulrich, 2015). I should not be setting yourself or organization up for failure. Having quality improvement projects that are too large can be daunting or simply overwhelming for those with limited resources (Stausmire & Ulrich, 2015). Lastly, having easy-to-use data collection options should be utilized (Stausmire & Ulrich, 2015). At the unit level, if it is too time-consuming or inefficient, nurses may not participate in the necessary collection of data. Without appropriate data collection the project will not be able to accurately measure progress. Quality improvement data collection should be able to be incorporated easily into nurse’s workflows (Stausmire & Ulrich, 2015).

Conclusion

This project not only helped me to increase my water intake, but also gave me some useful knowledge regarding quality improvement projects. I have learned that quality improvement projects should be realistic and attainable (Stausmire & Ulrich, 2015). I believe that this knowledge will greatly aid me in my future aspirations as a nurse leader.

References

References Antonacci, G., Reed, J. E., Lennox, L., & Barlow, J. (2018). The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects. Health Services Management Research, 31(2), 74-84. doi:10.1177/0951484818770411 Gadolin, C. (2017). The logics of healthcare–in quality improvement work. Gutenberg University. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/51448

Johnson, J. K., & Sollecito, W. A. (2020). McLaughlin & Kaluzny’s continuous quality improvement in health care (5th ed.). Jones and Bartlett. Nilsen, P., Seing, I., Ericsson, C., Birken, S.A. & Schildmeijer, K. (2020). Characteristics of successful changes in health care organizations: an interview study with physicians, registered nurses and assistant nurses. BMC Health Services Research. 20(147) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4999-8

Rodger, A., Wehbe, L.H. & Papies, E.K. (2021). “I know it’s just pouring it from the tap, but it’s not easy”: motivational processes that underlie water drinking. Appetite, 164 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105249

Rodger, A., Vezevicius, A., & Papies, E. K. (2023). Can a simple plan change a complex behavior? Implementation intentions in the context of water drinking. Appetite, 183, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.106459

Stausmire, J. M., & Ulrich, C. (2015). Making it meaningful: finding quality improvement projects worthy of your time, effort, and expertise. Critical Care Nurse, 35(6), 57–61. Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/docs/cemedia/C1563.pdf

NURS 6231 Assessment 1 HQ001 Methods and Tools for Quality and Safety