Quality improvement shouldn ’t be dirty words

With the recent election, there has been a new recognition of the various “bubbles” we all seem to be living in. It reminds me of the parable I like to often mention, popularized by the late great writer David Foster Wallace: Two fish were swimming along when an older fish swam by, nodded his head at them and said, “Mornin’ boys, how’s the water?” The two young fish nod back and swim for a bit, then one turns to the other and says, “What the hell is water?” Recently, I read a paper that helped me realize I had been swimming in a different lake from most of the “real world” in medicine. I trained and then spent the first 4 years of my post-residency career at UCSF, where quality improvement (QI) was well established and celebrated. Sure, I suppose there were some eye rolls from a few surgeons, or I would hear the off-hand snide remark from a cardiology attending, but by-and-large QI was not controversial at UCSF. It was what we do. As residents, we led QI projects and contributed to QI projects from our colleagues. As a hospitalist faculty member, I led my own QI-related projects and mentored residents and other faculty who led their own QI projects. Imagine the hard reality that hit me when I read this quote from a resident: “Truly the first thing I think of when I hear [QI] is going to make more work for residents.” Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital Source Type: blogs