By Capt. Karin Warner, DNP, NHC Patuxent River Executive Officer
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) Graduate School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Course 702 was kicked off this semester by an innovative approach to Systems Thinking. Dr. Karin Warner (DNP, RN) who is a certified Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Black Belt and Green Belt Instructor – was asked by Dr. Linda Wanzer, Chair/Director of the GSN CNS Program and the Systems course Director, to create a tailored LSS Yellow Belt training course for the DNP students. Dr. Warner aligned the principles of what makes a Highly Reliable Organization (HRO) with the Concepts of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) and the Eight Essential Skills of a Doctoral Prepared Advanced Practice Nurse (APRN) as defined by the American Academies of the College of Nursing (AACN).
On Aug. 31, the first day of class, Dr. Warner provided an introduction to the Yellow Belt course, intentionally connecting the dots between an HRO, CPI and the 8 Essential Skills of the APRN/DNP, so the DNP students would see how the tools and principles of lean six sigma to be presented the following day in the eight-hour Yellow Belt course applied to their current Doctoral Program Studies. In the LSS Yellow Belt course, the students learned the history of continuous process improvement, and how the U.S. government has embraced these principles as the preferred methodology for improving efficiencies in work, and making systems, processes, and work leaner. The students learned the basics on how Lean, Theory of Constraints, and the numerous tools within LSS and the Define – Measure - Analyze and Control (DMAIC) framework can be applied to any discipline and problem we may face in healthcare. They participated in process mapping, then identifying “value added,” “non-value added,” and “business value” steps in a process, and brainstormed on how they can make their identified processes work better, safer, and more effective. During lunch, the landmark video, “The Goal” was shown, introduced by the physicist and author Eli Goldratt. The film solidified the theoretical discussions on Theory of Constraints that were covered in the morning lectures. The afternoon session covered the LSS principles and real-life projects that have been completed by medical professional teams solving real-world issues, which brought the concepts home and made them easy for the students to understand.
The feedback from the students in the course was overwhelmingly positive! Many requested that the course be longer and requested more group activity during the training. But most impressive, was the students request to have the medical students participate in the training with them in the future, as they understand that within an HRO – it takes a TEAM within the healthcare community to create the right approach and solutions to solve problems. Looking forward, Dr. Warner and Dr. Wanzer will collaborate with the other professional schools at USU to coordinate a course to the joint community of medical, dental, and nursing graduate students – so together, the whole health professional team can receive introductory training on how the principles of a health care HRO, CPI and their essential healthcare provider competencies are enabling and connected. This was a landmark teaching event at USUHS and will be beneficial to the Graduate Nursing students as they plan their phase II Improvement projects for the DNP program.
| Date Taken: |
09.02.2017 |
| Date Posted: |
09.18.2017 08:12 |
| Story ID: |
248652 |
| Location: |
BETHESDA, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: |
212 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, USUHS Lecture Provides Innovative Approach to Systems Thinking, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
