Quality Improvement Advisor

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

This paragraph summarizes the general nature, level and purpose of the job.

The Quality Improvement (QI) Advisor is responsible for supporting improvement work focused on quality and safety throughout all care settings in Stanford Children's Health. The QI advisor partners with both leadership and individual contributors across all disciplines to improve the delivery of care. The role also advances the improvement capability of the healthcare system by developing the capability of our structures, processes, and people over time. The QI Advisor collaborates with leadership to oversee the entire quality improvement portfolio within their assigned areas, including strategic planning, program development, goal setting, project management and execution, quality improvement training, and responding to quality and safety findings.

The QI Advisor must be able to work with a high degree of independence while also maintaining tight collaboration with many stakeholders, including Quality & Safety, Performance Improvement, Patient Experience, and the Center for Professional Excellence and Inquiry. The role also requires significant adaptability, resilience in the face of change, and comfort operating in an environment with a high degree of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

The QI Advisor must be an effective driver of improvement. The role requires blending excellent consulting skills, expertise in improvement science, and knowledge from numerous areas, including clinical quality, safety, infection prevention & control, accreditation and regulatory compliance, and analytics.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The essential functions listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification. They are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Employees must abide by all Joint Commission Requirements including but not limited to sensitivity to cultural diversity, patient care, patient rights and ethical treatment, safety and security of physical environments, emergency management, teamwork, respect for others, participation in ongoing education and training, communication and adherence to safety and quality programs, sustaining compliance with National Patient Safety Goals, and licensure and health screenings.

Must perform all duties and responsibilities in accordance with the hospital's policies and procedures, including its Service Standards and its Code of Conduct.

* Accountable for leading multidisciplinary and multi-departmental strategic quality initiatives.
* Directly supports or leads execution on mission-critical activities, such as: responses to serious safety events (e.g., root cause analysis and action planning); accreditation and regulatory compliance activities (e.g., surveys, readiness)
* Reviews the departmental indicators on a regular basis and makes recommendations as needed to ensure the departmental quality improvement efforts are effective and coordinated on an organization wide basis.
* Communicates effectively to facilitate positive working relationships and achieve desired outcomes. Exhibits excellent interpersonal skills and is skilled at leading the efforts of multidisciplinary team initiatives.
* The position will ensure that quality improvement activities are directed toward analysis of data, with a focus on improvement of process.
* Effectively establishes and maintains collaborative working relationships with the medical staff, management team, and staff to achieve best practice outcomes and improve clinical performance.
* Gathers and analyzes clinical information from a variety of internal and external sources relating to patient safety, utilization of resources, physician practice patterns, system problems, and other quality functions.
* Identifies trends, variances, deficiencies, and problems utilizing a wide variety of both quantitative and qualitative data and information..
* Identifies, designs and implements new processes and clinical care, based on evidence, to continually improve patient care and outcomes and to achieve performance targets.
* Maintains network with affiliate institutions, organizations, and associations and other health care providers to stay in touch with developments and trends in the healthcare market as it relates to best practices.
* Performs, coordinates, and facilitates quality improvement, patient safety activities, and clinical effectiveness initiatives for assigned operational areas to achieve organizational and unit goals. Works collaboratively with the unit manager and unit based medical directors. Collaborates with leadership and frontline on the development, deployment, and management of a quality improvement portfolio for assigned areas.
* Coaches and develops improvers at all levels
* Provides content knowledge in the interpretation, implementation, and maintenance of standards to match external requirements (e.g., Joint Commission, CMS, Title 22)
* Provides leadership for creating a culture of safety and works with various constituencies to ensure compliance to the National Patient Safety Goals.
* Uses influence effectively to create synergy, prioritize projects, set goals and actions plans, and measure impact.
* Utilize and develop valid internal and external standards to measure quality.
* Serves as a member of the hospital labor pool. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, responding as directed to hospital emergencies up to and including on-site support of the hospital emergency response.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities as well as possession of any required licenses or certifications is qualifying.

Education: Master's degree in a work-related discipline/field from an accredited college or university.

Experience: Five (5) years of progressively responsible and directly related work experience.

License/Certification: None Required.

KNOWLEDGE

These are the observable and measurable attributes and skills required to perform successfully the essential functions of the job and are generally demonstrated through qualifying experience, education or licensure/certification.

* Knowledge of statistical analysis and reporting practices pertaining to quality improvement and program evaluation, specifically including ability to apply statistical process control (SPC) and use of software required to generate SPC analysis (e.g., QI Macros)
* Knowledge of the healthcare delivery system and the broader societal context (e.g., economic, regulatory, legal) in which it operates.
* Highly developed skills in improvement science. Ability to practice and to develop as an ability in others.
* Ability to balance a high level of personal accountability with working in a highly collaborative manner with diverse stakeholders ranging from senior leadership to frontline staff in both clinical and non-clinical areas.
* Ability to accomplish work via influence. Requires ability to build understanding and trusting relationships via practice of humble inquiry and other related skills. Requires skill in securing stakeholder buy-in both directly and indirectly by working through others.
* Ability to communicate effectively to facilitate positive working relationships and achieve desired outcomes. Requires excellent interpersonal skills and large group facilitation skills.
* Ability to combine a high level of client/customer service with a mission-driven approach to work.
* Ability to collaborate with partners with a high degree of specialization in a wide variety of disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, infection control, data science, clinical informatics). Requires skill in recognizing and addressing knowledge deficits as needed to be an effective partner.
* Ability to engage in continuous learning and self-development

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Physical Requirements and Working Conditions in which the job is typically performed are available from the Occupational Health Department. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Additional Information

Pay Range
Compensation is based on the level and requirements of the role.
Salary within our ranges may also be determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, location, and abilities, as required by the role, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
Typically, new team members join at the minimum to mid salary range.
Minimum to Midpoint Range (Hourly): $67.35 to $87.55

Stanford Medicine Children's Health (SMCH) strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination in all of its policies and practices, including the area of employment. Accordingly, SMCH does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, or disability, or the perception of any of the above. People of all genders, members of all racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Qualified applicants with criminal convictions will be considered after an individualized assessment of the conviction and the job requirements, and where applicable, in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Min Salary: 67.35
Mid Salary: 87.55
Salary grade: LP - MGRP014
Max Salary: 107.76