An educational model to introduce staff nurses to continuous quality improvement/total quality management concepts.

Abstract

A new healthcare reforms are implemented and as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization standards are revised, the demand for continuous quality improvement/total quality management in acute care settings continues to rise. In this article, the authors describe the process used to introduce nursing staff to continuous quality improvement/total quality management. A curriculum committee of staff nurses, nurse educators, and clinical specialists used the continuous quality improvement process to develop a 1-day program that included didactic and experiential activities geared toward assisting the staff nurse to participate actively in total quality management initiatives.