Advanced practice toolkit

As part of your advanced level practice role, you will be expected to lead innovation and quality improvement in practice. As well as promoting and engaging others to be involved too.

A core function of quality improvement is to improve the systems and processes that underpin the delivery of care and ensure that there is a consistent approach to managing quality. For example, it is important to understand how to identify and find solutions for identifiable causes of delay, waste and duplication within services and impeding patient flow along care pathway to improve efficiencies of services. The diagram below illustrates the QI journey.

An awareness of specific quality improvement tools is essential for those in management and leadership roles. This ensures priorities for redesign of services and pathways are identified and unnecessary variation can be tackled systematically. Demonstrating leadership skills in the relational aspects of change, such as how to involve and engage colleagues and patients can have a significant role in the outcome of change.

For more information on quality improvement go to the Evidence, Research and Development pillar, quality improvement section.

Leading improvement can be a challenging role and there are some helpful learning programmes available to support at all levels. Find out more here.

Turas Learn also have some learning resources to support leadership capabilities in creativity and innovation.

• Turas Learn Quality Improvement Zone is a learning and resource site from the NHS Education for Scotland Quality Improvement team which provides information and resources to support people with experience at all levels of quality improvement to develop their knowledge.
• The Health Foundation Quality Improvement made simple guide.
• The Health Foundation The improvement journey. Why organisations wide improvement in health care matters, and how to get started.
• The Health Foundation Improving flow along care pathways. Learning from the Flow Coaching Academy programme.
• Care Quality Commission (2018) Quality improvement in hospital trusts