Oroma Nwanodi
A. T. Still University, USA
Title: Medical center continuous quality improvement project implementation: Skills simulation center
Biography
Biography: Oroma Nwanodi
Abstract
In the United States, upon resident work hour restriction implementation, obstetrics and gynecology residents’ gynecologic surgery volume decreased and operative time per cesarean delivery increased. High volume surgeons can have clinically significantly lower complication rates than low volume surgeons, p < .001. Decreasing surgical volumes and increasing operating time raise the question of procedural patient safety in teaching institutions. Some institutions are turning to international rotations in resource-limited nations to increase residents’ surgery volume, possibly doubling the monthly surgical volume. As resource-limited nations need to train and increase their indigenous health care workforce, surgical skills simulation is ethically preferable to training high-resource nation residents in resource-limited nations. A medical and surgical skills simulation center (SSC) implementation is a workplace, continuous quality improvement (CQI) project that can benefit multiple facility departments and community organizations. Stakeholder preparedness must be evaluated before embarking on a CQI project. Anonymous brainstorming contributes to the CQI project selection. There is a preferred strategy for incorporating an SSC into an obstetrics and gynecology department. Staff, space, systems, supplies, science, success, support, and sustainability will come into play at different stages of SSC implementation. Once operational, the SSC must undergo CQI to optimize effectiveness. Continuous quality improvement plan-do-study-act cycles are recommended at least as frequently as equipment upgrades.