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In Memoriam: Joseph Juran, Pioneer in Quality Control
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Joseph Juran, a pioneer in quality control, died on February 28, 2008, of an apparent stroke at the age of 103. Juran helped establish the field of quality management and wrote the Quality Control Handbook, which taught manufacturers worldwide how to be more efficient and productive. According to a March 3 New York Times article, Juran’s work in quality management led to the development of the widely practiced business methodologies referred to as Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing. He founded the Juran Institute, a consulting and training firm in Southbury, CT. He created the Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 rule, which states that 80 percent of consequences stem from 20 percent of causes. |
Among his best-known works are the Quality Control Handbook, published in 1951, the first mathematically rooted textbook on product quality, and Managerial Breakthrough, published in 1964, which described a step-by-step improvement process that inspired the Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing philosophies. Born in Braila, Romania, in 1904, Juran emigrated with his family to the United States, settling in Minneapolis in 1912.
NAHQ Product of the Month
| Q Solutions: Essential Resources for the Healthcare Quality Professional is a multimedia product designed and developed by a team of experts and members of NAHQ. The four educational modules are delivered in several user-friendly formats (soft-cover book, CD-ROM, Web site), and highlight critical components of healthcare quality, the science and art of quality management, and environmental and sphere-of-influence considerations. Q Solutions keeps you in step with current and anticipated demands and is a valuable resource for any healthcare quality professional seeking certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). The cost is $165 for NAHQ members and $185 for nonmembers. Click here to order today! |
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NAHQ Programs
Nearly 100 participants listened to the March 18, 2008, Webcast From the Cockpit to the Nursing Unit, presented by Gary Sculli, MSN RN, pilot, Baptist Memorial Healthcare, Memphis, TN. The presentation explored the exportation of aviation safety practices to professional nursing and compared the existing safety culture in both industries.
Meanwhile, the following preconferences will be held on Sunday, September 14, in advance of NAHQ’s 33rd Annual Educational Conference, to be held September 14–17, in Phoenix, AZ.
- Healthcare Quality Management: Review and Study Session
Nancy Claflin, PhD RN CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ, and Susan Mellott, PhD RN CPHQ FNAHQ
This workshop is designed to help those who are planning to take the CPHQ examination. The course will follow the exam matrix and will help you focus your study efforts. The book Q-Solutions: Essential Resources for the Healthcare Quality Professional is required for the course and should be purchased in advance.
- Using Shewhart Control Charts, or Help! Which One Do I Choose When?
Sandra Murray, MA RD
This 1-day workshop is geared toward those seeking to advance their skills in statistical process control for decision making and improvement.
- Putting Safety Culture to Work in Healthcare
Craig Clapper, PE CQM
This program will present a compelling case for creating a culture of safety in healthcare. Beginning with a basic understanding of human reliability in complex systems and human error, this program will show how 20 healthcare systems are using the science of reliability to create safety cultures that reduce events of patient harm by 80%.
- We Have a Team, but Where’s the Coach?
Cindy Schisler, MA
With the tremendous challenges facing organizations today, strong workforce skills are imperative for organizations that wish to remain competitive. Productive organizations recognize that competent leadership can help develop employees’ skill sets, confidence, morale, and productivity. A major motivator for Generation X and Y individuals is coaching, feedback, and mentoring. The lack of such programs in the workplace today is often the reason that these individuals leave one organization for another.
Launch of Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative
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The World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative will be formally launched at a major event on June 25, 2008, 10 am–12:30 pm Eastern Time, at the WHO Regional Office for the Americas in Washington, DC. This event will be hosted by Mirta Roses Periago, WHO regional director for the Americas, and attended by several ministers of health, leading representatives of healthcare associations, and world experts in surgery, anesthesiology, and nursing. The event will videolink with numerous professional associations around the world and will feature endorsements of the concept of a WHO Surgical Safety Checklist from professionals worldwide. For more information, visit the WHO Web site or contact whopatientsafety@who.int. |
HCAHPS Data Added to Hospital Compare Site
The Hospital Quality Alliance recently made available to consumers the first data from the hospital patients’ experience-of-care survey (HCAHPS). Posted on the Hospital Compare Web site, data from the patient survey provide a standardized look at hospital care in 10 areas, including communication with doctors and nurses, responsiveness of staff, pain management, discharge information, the hospital’s quietness and cleanliness, communication about medication, and the patient’s willingness to recommend the hospital to others. The initial data were collected from patients at more than 2,500 hospitals; data will be updated quarterly, with most of the nation’s hospitals providing data by year-end.
IOM Accepting Nominations for Sarnat Prize in Mental Health
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The Institute of Medicine is now accepting nominations for the 17th annual Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health. This international award—a medal and $20,000—recognizes individuals, groups, or organizations for outstanding achievement in improving mental health. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, May 16, 2008. For information on the Sarnat prize, click here. If you have questions about the award or the nomination process, contact sarnat@nas.edu or call 202/334-2177. |
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Demands on Nurses Grow as Hospital QI Activities Increase
Hospitals face growing tensions and trade-offs when allocating nurses to the competing priorities of direct patient care and quality improvement (QI) efforts, according to a study released by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the study included interviews with hospital leaders in Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis–St. Paul, and Seattle to examine the role of nurses in hospital QI activities. “Nursing has the biggest impact on a patient’s experience in the hospital, so involving nurses in quality improvement is critical,” said John Lumpkin, MD MPH, senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group at RWJF. “We commissioned this study to gain a better understanding of the role that nurses play in quality improvement and the challenges nurses face when balancing the competing priorities of direct patient care and quality improvement efforts.”
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