Patient Safety Zone

Why is developing new skills in quality improvement (QI) important?

Quality Improvement (QI) training gives you the skills to make effective change in your day-to-day clinical work. This improves the safety and the effectiveness of the care provided to patients, but also helps to make your work more satisfying and run more smoothly. Importantly it can also improve the experience of patients and the staff delivering the care.

QI is a way for you to become more involved in change that is happening locally, regionally and nationally and to actively participate in improving the quality of care for the patients, carers and communities you serve.

What are the QI General Practice Specialty Training (GPST) Work Place Based Assessment requirements?

As part of the Royal College for General Practitioners (RCGP) Work Place Based Assessment, trainees who have started GP training from August 2020 onwards are required to undertake a small QI project.

• This should be completed during your six-month GP placement in the first or second year of your GP training.
• These projects will be assessed by your Educational Supervisors using an assessment framework.

How will my project be assessed?

Your educational supervisor will assess your project using the RCGP feedback and assessment form which can be found here.

What type of QI project should I do?

The RCGP suggest that you use a specific QI method called ‘The Model for Improvement’. You can learn about this on the GPST QI training course.

How do I pick my improvement project?

You are free to pick something that is of interest to you and that you feel is important to the local delivery of care. This might be a small project that you initiate and lead in the workplace. We recommend considering:

• Is your project achievable in the time frame?
• Is it aligned with priorities in your practice? Discuss with your ES and others in the practice team

What support is available to me?

The NES GP safety and improvement team have developed a GPST QI training course that aims to increase your QI skills, knowledge and confidence.

What does the course consist of?

The course will consist of two 90-minute online interactive tutorials. Trainees will be assigned to a cohort of around 30 trainees from across Scotland and remain in their cohort during the two tutorials. Each tutorial will cover a different aspect of QI which will support trainees as they work through their project.

Tutorial 1 will be held a few weeks after starting in the GP practice. This will allow participants some time to become familiar with the practice and generate some ideas of things they may wish to improve. This tutorial will include:

• Understanding the benefits to you of QI activity
• The Model for Improvement
• Where to get QI ideas
• Creating an aim statement
• Introduction to QI tools

Tutorial 2 will be held two- three weeks later allowing participants time to discuss their idea with their team and perform a baseline data collection. This tutorial will focus on:

• Finalising the aim statement
• Understanding which QI tools are best for which purposes
• How to implement change using PDSA cycles
• Tips for better marks in your RCGP evaluation

 

Do I need to register for the course?

Yes, you can register for a cohort 

Dates for the tutorials can be found here.

What is expected of me?

You will be expected to commit to attending the two sessions and apply your learning to a project in between teaching sessions. To get the best out of these workshops, please complete the work  between the workshops as follows:

• Every participant will have discussed a QI  idea with their ES. Please email your idea, at least a week before the second workshop, in the form of an aim statement to ;PrimarycareQI@nes.scot.nhs.uk

Some of these aim statements will be chosen for analysis at the second workshop. If your aim statement is chosen it will be discussed anonymously, unless you wish to claim authorship. You will benefit greatly from this discussion. Unless you email your aim statement at least a week in advance of workshop 2, you will not have this opportunity. Not every aim statement which is emailed will be discussed, aim statements will be chosen to maximise learning.

• Read about the QI tools in the QI booklet available here; Primary Care Patient Safety resources | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

          

When can I do the course?

These tutorials can be completed during your educational sessions. Dependent on local arrangements, these tutorials could be undertaken as part of day release or you could use your third educational session. You must discuss with your practice to ensure you are able to attend. Please ensure you have a working camera with which to attend the session.

How is the course delivered?

The course will be delivered using Microsoft Teams and the tutorials will be highly interactive.  Online learning like this is as effective as face-to-face teaching for building foundational skills but allows greater access and flexibility. Microsoft Teams allows lots of opportunities for you to raise a hand to join discussions, add questions in the chat box and give feedback.

What if I miss a session?

A key part of your learning is hearing from peers and sharing your ideas and the challenges you have faced.  If you miss a session, you can catch up on content and find all additional resources on secure group page maintained by the NES QI Team. 

What do I need to get started?

To take part in a Microsoft Teams session, all you will need is a computer or tablet with an internet connection and an audio connection through an active telephone line. 

What will be provided?

You will have access to the presentations, recordings of the tutorials and other QI resources. Each tutorial will be facilitated by two GPs with experience in QI. Other useful resources include:

• QI booklet (new version)

An interactive booklet describing QI methods and tools with simple worked examples from General Practice.

• QI Zone modules

A series of elearning modules that describe the basic of QI.

• eLearning | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

What can I do with my QI project when completed?

We plan to develop a repository of trainee QI projects that demonstrate application of QI knowledge and skills. Further details of this will be made available to you during the course.

Where do I sign up?

Click here to register for cohort.