Posts tagged with: quality improvement

Mess with a Good Thing

Why mess with a good thing? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Our system works.  But can it be better? When is the last time any part of the system has been improved? Does it function optimally for everyone... Read More

MakerNurse: Elevating and Accelerating the Ingenuity of Nurses

How many times have I preached my sermon about the innovation of nurses and how we’re the best innovators in the world? Many, many times. Because. It’s. True. Nurses are constantly working around broken, inefficient processes and systems. We come... Read More

From Toyota to the Bedside: Nurses Can Lead the Lean Way in Health Care Reform

The Article: Johnson, J.E., Mastro, K.A., & Smith, A.L. (2012). From Toyota to the bedside: Nurses can lead the lean way in health care reform. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 36(3), 234-42. Big Idea: The Toyota Production System of the 1960’s produced a new quality and... Read More

Quality is Never an Accident

  Download this reminder.... Read More

No Somersaults

“balrogs kill”‘s Flickr photo inspired me. I cannot include the picture with this post due to copyright and the photographer’s downloading/sharing preferences, but be sure to view it yourself. Copyright naturalturn, Flickr.com It made me laugh, but it also reminded... Read More

Preventing Avoidable Rehospitalizations by Understanding the Characteristics of “Frequent Fliers”

The Article: Mulder, B.J., Tzeng, H., & Vecchioni, N.D. (2012). Preventing avoidable rehospitalizations by understanding the characteristics of “frequent fliers”. Journal of Nursing Quality Care, 27(1): 77-82. Big Idea: The researchers reviewed the charts of 22 Michigan patients labeled as... Read More

AONN Conference Poster Love

The Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators (AONN) 2nd Annual Navigation & Survivorship Conference was held in San Antonio, Texas, September 16-18, 2011. This was the first time AONN included posters from nurse navigators throughout the U.S. One of my favorite... Read More

Oncology Nurse Navigator: Ensuring Safe Passage

The Article: Case, M.B. (2011). Oncology nurse navigator: Ensuring safe passage. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 15(1): 33-40. Big Idea: This integrative review of 18 primary nursing research studies – 13 of which focused on breast cancer – identified nurse... Read More

Reducing Costs and Improving Care with Duct Tape and Reflective Sashes

We’ll do just about anything these days to reduce hospital costs and improve patient care. Even if it means going a bit low-tech. Is duct tape low-tech enough for you? That’s right. Good, old fashioned duct tape. You might have... Read More

One Error. Five Patients Impacted. Forever.

Five Taiwanese patients recently woke up from transplant surgery with a very different prognosis than what was hoped. Yes, they each had new organs – heart, liver, lungs, and two kidneys – all desperately needed; however, all the organs were... Read More