Quality Improvement

We believe that at all stages of one’s career in neonatology, QI is playing a growing role. It is impacting how we evaluate problems in our daily work and the types of studies we do. There is a methodology and science behind QI and many of us practicing today have not received any formal training. We are hopeful that this webpage will help to fill that gap for some individuals wanting to perform a QI initiative or simply to learn more on this important topic. We will try and accomplish this goal of enhancing the understanding of QI in a couple of different ways. Firstly, we will provide brief synopses of different QI tools and methods. We will start with basic tools that will assist you in identifying a topic for a QI study such as Pareto charts, Key Driver Diagrams and SMART Aims. As things progress, we will describe other important tools in creating a well-designed QI project including process mapping and prioritization of solutions. Later we will cover aspects of data collection and analysis such as understanding variation and process control charting. Secondly, we will post articles of recently published neonatal QI articles including our own analysis and critique. These resources are not meant to be a substitute for formal QI training. Rather they are meant to give busy, practicing neonatologists the opportunity to learn a little more about this emerging field. There may be other ways that we can share information and promote learning. We certainly welcome feedback from those visiting this page so that we can have a positive impact on the evolution of Quality Improvement within Neonatology.