Apply the PDCA process to a situation in a hospital environment.
Objective: Apply the PDCA process to a situation in a hospital environment.
Instructions
Choose from the following scenarios and create a solution using the PDCA process:
The children’s toys in the pediatric ward are a concern due to sick children sharing them.
Patients fill out surveys after every visit, but nothing is done with the collected surveys.
There are regular complaints from certified nursing assistants (CNAs) regarding the fact they never know when they are on duty until the week before, which means they have little time to plan anything with family.
Explain how you would apply each of the steps below to the issue you chose. Include an introduction and conclusion to your paper. In your conclusion, summarize the effectiveness of the process to improve quality and performance for your issue.
Plan. This refers to the development of the guidelines, framework, and goals to achieve specific targets. Appropriate measures should be identified that are high priority and in need of improvement. Quantitative expectations should be developed for these measures as well.
Do. This phase represents the execution or implementation of the plan, whether implementation of a revised process or adoption of a new application. This involves applying specific improvement methods to work toward desired targets for each measure. Data collection and analysis are also part of this phase.
Check. This can also be referred to as a “study.” In this phase, we measure and evaluate the data collected earlier against the plans. Statistical process control and other tools are often used to assess the behavior of processes and to explore variations and trends in outcomes.
Act. In this phase, refinement and adjustments to the process should continue. If the process has achieved the desired effects in a test environment, then these will be put into the full system. Some organizations deploy small pilots first to test feasibility.
A pilot is a small-scale project used to test results before widespread deployment. It is extremely useful to ensure that all kinks are worked out, in both technology and process (Langabeer, 2018, p. 45).
Create a one- to two-page paper in APA Style. Include a title page and a reference list. You must cite and reference at least one source. You may use your textbook as a source.
In the 1950s, management consultant Dr William Edwards Deming developed a method of identifying why some products or processes don’t work as hoped. His approach has since become a popular strategy tool, used by many different types of organizations. It allows them to formulate theories about what needs to change, and then test them in a “continuous feedback loop.”
With the PDCA cycle you can solve problems and implement solutions in a rigorous, methodical way. Let’s look at each of the four stages in turn:
First, identify and understand your problem or opportunity. Perhaps the standard of a finished product isn’t high enough, or an aspect of your marketing process should be getting better results.
Explore the information available in full. Generate and screen ideas, and develop a robust implementation plan.
Be sure to state your success criteria and make them as measurable as possible. You’ll return to them later in the Check stage.
Once you’ve identified a potential solution, test it safely with a small-scale pilot project. This will show whether your proposed changes achieve the desired outcome – with minimal disruption to the rest of your operation if they don’t. For example, you could organize a trial within a department, in a limited geographical area, or with a particular demographic.
As you run the pilot project, gather data to show whether the change has worked or not. You’ll use this in the next stage.
Next, analyze your pilot project’s results against the criteria that you defined in Step 1, to assess whether your idea was a success.
If it wasn’t, return to Step 1. If it was, advance to Step 4.
You may decide to try out more changes, and repeat the Do and Check phases. But if your original plan definitely isn’t working, you’ll need to return to Step 1.
This is where you implement your solution. But remember that PDCA/PDSA is a loop, not a process with a beginning and end. Your improved process or product becomes the new baseline, but you continue to look for ways to make it even better.