COURSE INFORMATION
This introductory course prepares healthcare professionals across disciplines and career stages to think and act as quality consultants within their organizations. Participants build foundational capability in interpreting performance data, understanding variation, and guiding improvement efforts using structured, evidence-based methods. The course emphasizes moving beyond reactive decision-making and compliance-driven reporting toward disciplined analysis, systems thinking, and informed action. By strengthening statistical literacy and practical improvement skills, learners gain the confidence to advise teams, support leadership, and contribute meaningfully to performance improvement initiatives across diverse healthcare environments.
Course Code: HM 590.
Contact hours of continuing education = 50.
Instructor/Course Author: Dr. Tonia Richardson, DM, M.Ed, MA, BA
Link to Resume: Resume
TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.
Quality Health Care: A Guide to Developing and Using Indicators 2nd Edition by Robert Lloyd (Author)
Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 50 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.
BOARD APPROVALS: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 50 Contact Hours. Access information
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Florida State Board of Nursing Provider # 50-11975.
OTHER STATE BOARDS OF NURSING
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
ONLINE CLASSROOM RESOURCES AND TOOLS
- Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
- Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
- Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
- Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
- Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe the difference between static and dynamic data and explain the importance of examining data over time in quality improvement.
- Compare common cause and special cause variation and analyze variation signals using run charts and Shewhart control charts.
- Write clear operational definitions and apply them to ensure consistent data collection.
- Describe the six steps used to convert data into information and apply them to quality improvement scenarios.
- Select appropriate sampling strategies and design stratification approaches based on the purpose of analysis.
- Compare outcome, process, and balancing measures and select the appropriate type of measure for a given improvement aim.
- Select the appropriate Shewhart chart (e.g., XmR, X-bar & S, p, c, u) based on data type and context.
- Apply the IHI Model for Improvement and use PDSA cycles to guide structured improvement efforts.
- Compare dashboards and scorecards and critique their use as tools for judgment versus improvement.
- Explain how quality functions as a business strategy and describe the four components of Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge.
- Analyze case-based scenarios to identify measurement errors and predict appropriate next steps in improvement work.
- Demonstrate the ability to function as an internal quality consultant by using data to advise teams on measurement and improvement strategy.
COURSE CONTENT:
A brief abstract of content:
- Quality as a business strategy
- The five Quality as a Business Strategy activities
- Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge
- The IHI Model for Improvement
- PDSA cycles for structured testing
- Definition of data versus information
- Converting data to information: six-step framework
- Theoretical concepts and hypotheses
- Operational definitions and their role in measurement precision
- Data collection, analysis, interpretation, and decision-making
- Common errors in sequencing data-to-information processes
- Outcome, process, and balancing measures
- Indicators versus measures terminology
- Static versus dynamic data
- The importance of examining data over time
- Understanding past performance, making predictions, and guiding improvement
- Common cause and special cause variation
- Reactions to misunderstanding variation
- Statistical Process Control (SPC) fundamentals
- Removing or correcting special cause variation
- Capacity versus capability
- Definition and purpose of a run chart
- Median calculation and stability in run charts
- Run count rules and interpretation
- IHI run chart rules: shifts, trends, runs, and astronomical data points
- Recalculating the median after a shift
- Differences between run charts and Shewhart control charts
- Control limits, sigma limits, and standard deviation concepts
- IHI special cause rules for Shewhart charts
- Interpretation of control charts for decision-making
- Variable versus attribute data
- X-bar & S charts
- XmR charts
- c-charts
- u-charts
- p-charts
- Selecting the appropriate chart based on data type
- Purpose of sampling in data collection
- Probability versus nonprobability sampling
- Developing a sampling plan
- Accuracy, reliability, speed, and economy trade-offs in sampling
- Establishing data stratification prior to data collection
- Characteristics of dashboards
- Quality scorecards
- Balanced scorecards
- Benchmarks versus benchmarking
- Limitations of report cards
- Scorecards as tools for judgment versus improvement
- Definition and importance of voice of the customer
- Customer listening points: preservice, point-of-service, post-service
- Voice of the customer tools: surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observation
- Leadership walk-rounds, unsolicited feedback, and high-tech tools
- Linking voice of the customer data to process improvement
- Diagnosing misuse of variation in case-based scenarios
- Identifying breakdowns in operational definitions
- Selecting appropriate charts and sampling methods in applied cases
- Avoiding premature decision-making in improvement efforts
- Case Studies for consideration