Making it easy to do the right thing in healthcare: Advancing improvement science education through accredited pan European higher education modules

Abstract

Background: Numerous international policy drivers espouse the need to improve healthcare. The application of Improvement Science has the potential to restore the balance of healthcare and transform it to a more person-centred and quality improvement focussed system. However there is currently no accredited Improvement Science education offered routinely to healthcare students. This means that there are a huge number of healthcare professionals who do not have the conceptual or experiential skills to apply Improvement Science in everyday practise. Methods: This article describes how seven European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worked together to develop four evidence informed accredited inter-professional Improvement Science modules for under and postgraduate healthcare students. It outlines the way in which a Policy Delphi, a narrative literature review, a review of the competency and capability requirements for healthcare professionals to practise Improvement Science, and a mapping of current Improvement Science education informed the content of the modules. Results: A contemporary consensus definition of Healthcare Improvement Science was developed. The four Improvement Science modules that have been designed are outlined. A framework to evaluate the impact modules have in practise has been developed and piloted. Conclusion: The authors argue that there is a clear need to advance healthcare Improvement Science education through incorporating evidence based accredited modules into healthcare professional education. They suggest that if Improvement Science education, that incorporates work based learning, becomes a staple part of the curricula in inter-professional education then it has real promise to improve the delivery, quality and design of healthcare. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

Author Keywords

healthcare European Improvement Science education

Index Keywords

Skill learning human Humans Vocational education curriculum education medical profession health care personnel Health Occupations Health Personnel health student human experiment evidence based practice organization and management Program development educational model Models, Educational Students, Health Occupations postgraduate student Delphi study Delphi Technique Europe narrative science total quality management Education, Professional consensus Quality improvement doctor patient relation Evidence-Based Practice

Author Affiliations

Institute of Healthcare Policy and Practice, University of the West of Scotland, Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Institute of Healthcare Policy and Practice, University of the West of Scotland, Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, Worcestershire, United Kingdom

Department of Sociology, Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Centre for Social Justice, Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, RM, Italy

Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat d'Alacant, Alicante, Alicante, Spain

FACULTY OF HEALTH CARE JESENICE, Jesenice, Slovenia

Funding & Acknowledgements

National Institutes of Health

In 2015 the National Institute for Health Research in collaboration with improvement scientists from London universities and NHS Trusts came together to debate the nature of Improvement Science. These deliberations highlighted how Improvement Science is an emerging nascent field of science in the UK that is evolving to improve healthcare quality and safety. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) was founded in 1991 and has become an influential leader in the science of improvement field. Yet the Improvement Science Research Network (ISRN), a National Institutes of Health supported improvement research network in the USA argues that Improvement Science is still an emerging field there too ( Improvement Science Research Network, 2016 ). Despite the emergent nature of the field, healthcare professionals need to be educated in the “how to” of Improvement Science, as it is they who are central to making continued improvements to the care provided to patients and families. If we are to learn from the experiences of patients and families, improve their care and understand what drives improvement then all healthcare professionals need to have the knowledge, skills and behaviours to apply the concepts, tools, and techniques of Improvement Science so that sustainable safe, effective and person-centred improvements can be achieved ( Marshall et al., 2013 ). We know that when healthcare professionals apply best practise examples it can have a positive influence on the quality and reliability of healthcare provision, improve patient outcomes, and reduce variation in healthcare provision and costs ( Melnyk et al., 2012 ). Thought leaders have endorsed quality improvement education; however a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of quality improvement education found that quality improvement education tended to focus on increasing knowledge rather than equipping students with the skills and confidence to implement changes to systems ( Boonyasai et al., 2007 ). 2.3

References 10 References

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Making it easy to do the right thing in healthcare: Advancing improvement science education through accredited pan European higher education modules

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