Before you begin to plan out a single step of your project, you need to create and write down a S.M.A.R.T. goal. Follow this framework to set yourself up for success!
SMART Goals
Watch the 2 minute video to learn tips on how to select the right measurements to collect for any QI/PI project.
Then visit this page at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to learn more.
You don't need a long list of references, but you need enough articles that you can answer these questions in the handout. Check this handout and then scroll down for more help on searching for articles for your project.
Questions to Answer with the Literature
Once you know the questions you need answered by articles, you need to develop a search strategy. Use this unique search strategy, developed by Librarian Stacy Posillico, to guide you. Check this handout and then scroll down for more info.
The 3 Ps Search Strategy
This Library User Guide (LibGuide) will help guide you to the library resources and support you need if you are ready to create a QI project at Northwell.
Eager to begin exploring EMIL now? Click here to get directions to to EMIL.
With any good QI/PI project, you need to have a plan. Here's some suggestions for the most common methodology plans you can use.
From the IHI: PDSA Cycle
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle looks at how change works in the local environment.
AHRQ Toolkit: Quality Indicators
The AHRQ provides this toolkit for you to follow step-by-step to plan your project.
Lean Methodology
Learn more about Lean Healthcare from the NEJM.
Six Sigma Method
Learn from the National Library of Medicine about the six sigma method
SQUIRE 2.0 Writing Guidelines
QI/PI Poster Templates
List of QI/PI Journals from PubsHub
Journal articles about QI/PI interventions are some of the most difficult literature to find. That's because although there's only a few different ways to identify stroke or diabetes, there's so many different ways to talk about improving the way we do things.
For that reason, we recommend that you do not search in CINAHL first, unless you project is a very unique, nursing-only issue.
Instead, start in PubMed.
Simple PubMed queries for quality improvement publications
Copy and paste the words in bold into PubMed, then add your specific topic and search. Each search below yields different results, for best results try each of them with your topic.
From: Hempel S (2011) Identifying quality improvement intervention publications - A comparison of electronic search strategies. Implement Sci. 2011; 6: 85.
Quality Improvement was introduced as a medical subject heading (MeSH) in 2011. This link goes to all articles indexed with the Quality Improvement subject heading since 2011. Add your topic to the search to find specific articles.
Credit for this box in the LibGuide goes to the team at the Rudolph Matas Library of the Health Sciences at Tulane University. We are grateful to them for creating this content.
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