Performance Improvement - Online Course

As part of the Director-Level Nurse Leadership Program, this course connects strategy, safety, and operational leadership. Learners explore how nurse leaders use data, communication, project management, and strategic planning to identify problems, implement improvements, and evaluate outcomes. The focus is on applying performance improvement concepts to real-world situations to improve patient care, team function, and organizational performance.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

Performance improvement is where strategy, safety, and operational leadership come together. This course helps you understand how nurse leaders use data, communication, project execution, and strategic planning to identify problems, lead improvement, and make better decisions that affect patient care, staff experience, and organizational performance.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Performance Improvement, Safety, and Outcomes
1. Summarize essential elements of a performance improvement program.
2. Discriminate between types of root cause analysis.
3. Relate at least two benefits achieved when an incident reporting system is employed.
4. Interpret outcomes of care delivery data.
2. Communication and Collaboration
1. Describe effective communication practices in nursing and how they support safe, effective, and collaborative care.
2. Recognize communication practices and structured tools that help reduce fragmentation and support patient safety.
3. Project Management
1. Identify the primary knowledge areas of Project Management.
2. Describe the pitfalls that commonly serve as barriers to effective project management.
3. Distinguish between the different types of reports and analytics that play a key role in project management.
4. Describe the benefits of a strong Super User program for project initiatives.
5. Differentiate the tools needed to track various components of the project for training, resources, support calls, etc.
4. Strategic Planning
1. Explain the strategic planning process and its various components.
2. Discuss the application of a strategic plan in a practice setting using case study methodology.

CONTENT REVIEWERS

Michael Cooper, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CCRN, HACP-CMS, ACUE
Dr. Michael Cooper, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CCRN, HACP-CMS, ACUE is an executive nurse leader with over 35 years of nursing experience, including 28 years in the United States Army Nurse Corps. He has served in traditional nurse executive leadership positions in critical care, from the bedside to Chief Nursing Officer, across inpatient and outpatient care settings, with a wide variety of additional skill sets, including Veteran Affairs Liaison, Telehealth, Inspector General, and Healthcare Recruiting. Dr. Cooper serves as an Assistant Professor of Nursing, Arkansas State University, in the Traditional BSN/Accelerated Program of Nursing.

AUTHORS BY SECTION

Performance Improvement
Patrick K. Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN

Intra-/Inter-Departmental Communication
Lana Brown, PhD, RN, NEA-BC

Project Management
Rebecca Freeman, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP

Strategic Planning
Rebecca Freeman, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP