How to develop a quality improvement project using the PDSA method
To increase your awareness of the importance of quality improvement (QI) for enhancing patient care
To learn how to use the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle to identify what change is needed in practice
To acknowledge the importance of involving stakeholders in the process of developing a QI project
Quality improvement (QI) can be an effective way of enhancing patient care by identifying, testing and implementing small-scale change in clinical practice. QI projects are crucial for enhancing care in an overstretched healthcare system and nurses have an important role in conducting QI projects across settings. By using the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle, nurses can make meaningful, evidence-based changes to practice that enhance patient care or experience. This article provides nurses with a guide on how to prepare for developing a QI project and how to identify a change needed in practice using the PDSA method. It highlights the importance of stakeholder involvement, leadership support, adherence to the chosen QI framework, and continuous evaluation and adaptation for ensuring sustainable improvements.
• A PDSA cycle can initially be used to identify what change can be made in practice to enhance patient care or experience.
• Key considerations at the ‘Plan’ stage include what data to collect, how to collect them and how to analyse them.
• Having determined what change is needed, another PDSA cycle can then be used to introduce and test it.
‘How to’ articles can help to update your practice and ensure it remains evidence-based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of:
• How this article might improve your practice when developing a QI project using the PDSA method.
• How you could use this information to educate nursing students or colleagues about developing a QI project using the PDSA method.
