Quality Patient Safety Advisor

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:  Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

Quality, Safety & Risk Prev

Job Summary:

JOB SUMMARY
Serves as a quality improvement advisor to provide project management facilitation, education, and data analysis for improvement of systems and processes, under occasional guidance. Facilitates the development, implementation and evaluation of organizational strategies to improve clinical quality and care, patient safety, and financial outcomes.

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Quality Patient Safety Advisor- Perioperative Instrument Quality

This position is unique and will serve as both an educator & quality patient safety advisor, with knowledge in the VUH perioperative and sterile processing space preferability with a quality background.

Specifics to the job role responsibilities:

• Provides onsite support for the instrument quality program to focus on quality improvement initiatives for VUH operating rooms, sterile processing and surgery centers. Providing instruction and consultation to teams within department to advance education and improve internal processes.
• Utilizing the perioperative POD structure the QSPAs will assist with analyzing OR & SPD data (such as reported defects, veritas reports, etc.).
• Focus on process improvement, instrument availability, tray defects, service line specific improvement plan development, report out at POD meetings SPD/OR improvement initiatives, and be onsite to assess improvement plans.
• Assists perioperative & sterile processing department managers or other quality improvement teams in identifying, developing and monitoring outcomes. Development of performance metrics to assess effectiveness of improvement pans.
• Coordinates and facilitates patient safety event analysis of varying impact levels. Develops and plans for process redesign. Organizes, develops, and leads projects.
• Summarizes findings to promote the prioritization of improvement initiatives. Coordinates communication of quality management initiatives to appropriate forums such as POD meetings, committees, etc.
• Focuses on continuous performance improvement for the operating room & sterile processing spaces to support institutional quality goals.
• Collaborates with departments, interdisciplinary teams, and external entities, when necessary, to develop and implement strategies to improve care and processes.
• Navigates the organization to address and work through barriers and escalating when appropriate.

Preferred skills, education, certifications in addition to VUMC’s minimum requirements:

• Preferred, but not required as we can perform on the job training: experience with perioperative (OR) experience, sterile processing experience and familiar with quality improvement strategies.
• Certification, degrees, experience:
  • (AST) Surgical technologist,
  • (CRCST/CBSPD) Sterile processing,
  • Quality certification (CPHQ, or comparable)
  • or 5- years relevant experience working in an operating room setting, sterile processing department and/or quality improvement.

This position would require some travel (to perform onsite assessments, support, training, etc. in our VUH perioperative (Operating Rooms), sterile processing departments & surgery center sites, and does have the opportunity to work from home on occasion.

• Roughly 35% Travel, 50% In-Office, & 15% Work from home opportunity.

We would like for the above skill set, but they are not deal breakers as to finding someone who fits all the criteria listed above will be a challenging, we can always provide on the job training.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Collaborates with departments, interdisciplinary teams, and external entities when necessary, to develop and implement strategies to improve care and processes. Navigates the organization to address and work through barriers and escalating when appropriate.
• Assists department managers or other quality improvement teams in identifying, developing and monitoring outcomes.
• Coordinates and facilitates patient safety event analysis of varying impact levels. Develops and plans for process redesign.
• Organizes, develops, and leads project teams.
• Coordinates the incorporation of quantitative and/or qualitative evaluation measures into project requests and evaluations.
• Summarizes findings to promote the prioritization of improvement initiatives. Coordinates communication of quality management initiatives to appropriate forums.
• Focuses on continuous performance improvement to support institutional quality goals.
• Provides instruction and consultation to teams within department to advance education and improve internal processes.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
• Regulatory Compliance (Novice): Demonstrates knowledge of the appropriate rules and regulations and apply them in difficult, stressful and complex situations. Able to interpret and explain rules and regulations that are ambiguous or unclear. Directs others in interpreting rules and regulations on the job and trains others in them.
• Judgement and Decision-Making (Novice): Able to make decisions effectively and accurately in an environment which may be fast-paced or changing. Considers a wide range of alternatives, including those which may fall outside of the scope of the task at hand, before making a decision.
• Front of Room Facilitation (Intermediate): Helping people manage The information they already possess or can access to achieve a necessary result in a timely and collaborative manner. Guide The process and structures activities using a particular facilitation methodology without content knowledge or subject matter expertise.
• Healthcare Organizational Dynamics (Intermediate): Demonstrate knowledge and impact of quality, value, and patient-centered care in the current and future healthcare landscape and continuum of care
• Prioritization/ Targeted Focus (Intermediate): Distill down needed work to focus teams with limited resources on critical path, while keeping the larger picture in mind. Effectively message and focus teams on critical path in light of larger efforts.

• Data Transformation into Information (Intermediate): Create and Interpret data findings through appropriate methods of data visualization. Identify opportunities for improvement, translate into improvement plans, and develop requirements to support improvement initiatives

• Relationship Building (Intermediate): Develops cooperative internal and external relationships.
• Improvement Methodology (Intermediate): Lead teams in quality and performance improvement methodology, including facilitating opportunity analysis, key driver diagrams, performance measure requirements, and PDSA improvement cycles (EA, FMEA, CTQ)

• Identification/Evaluation for Harm Risks (Intermediate): Develop a process that identifies and reports patient safety risks, near misses, and adverse events. Integrate best practices and evidence-based mitigation strategies. Interpret and communicate findings.
• Strategic Planning (Novice): The ability to define a strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources.
• Data Analysis (Intermediate): The ability to analyze data in an accurate manner.
• Project Management (Intermediate): Planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.
• Time Management (Intermediate): Planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities.
• Communication (Intermediate): Clearly, effectively and respectfully communicates to employees or customers.
• Change Management (Intermediate): Establishes a structured methodology for responding to changes in the environment or establishing coping mechanisms for responding to changes in the workplace. Makes sound recommendations in problem resolutions. Assists in testing and quality assuring solutions.

Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

Core Accountabilities:

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment. Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained through experience within a professional area. Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.- Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one’s own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.- Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.- Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees’ effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.- Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.- Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.- Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges.- Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level:

3 years

Education:

Bachelor’s

Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/Disabled