Quality and Patient Safety Advisor (Clarksville, TN - Local / Hybrid)

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) operates at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care. VUMC is a community of individuals dedicated to changing the world through expertise, continuous learning, and exceptional work. Vanderbilt Health fosters an environment where uniqueness is celebrated, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

About the Role

Serves as a quality improvement advisor to provide project management facilitation, education, and data analysis for the improvement of systems and processes, under occasional guidance. Facilitates the development, implementation, and evaluation of organizational strategies to improve clinical quality, patient safety, and financial outcomes. This role is locally based in Clarksville, TN, with an option for 1-2 days per week of hybrid work.

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with departments, interdisciplinary teams, and external entities to develop and implement strategies to improve care and processes.
• Navigates the organization to address and work through barriers, escalating when appropriate.
• Maintains a consistent on-unit presence to actively partner with frontline staff and leaders, fostering real-time collaboration, coaching, and support for quality and patient safety initiatives.
• Assists department managers or other quality improvement teams in identifying, developing, and monitoring outcomes.
• Coordinates and facilitates patient safety event analysis of varying impact levels.
• Develops and plans for process redesign.
• Organizes, develops, and leads project teams.
• Coordinates the incorporation of quantitative and/or qualitative evaluation measures into project requests and evaluations.
• Summarizes findings to promote the prioritization of improvement initiatives.
• Coordinates communication of quality management initiatives to appropriate forums.
• Focuses on continuous performance improvement to support institutional quality goals.
• Provides instruction and consultation to teams within the department to advance education and improve internal processes.

Requirements

• Quality experience is strongly preferred.
• Clinical experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience with quality and/or performance improvement data analysis is preferred.
• Quality certifications such as CPPS or CPHQ are a plus.
• 3 years of relevant work experience.
• Bachelor’s degree.

Skills

• Regulatory Compliance (Novice): Demonstrates knowledge of appropriate rules and regulations and applies them in complex situations. Interprets and explains ambiguous rules and trains others.
• Judgement and Decision-Making (Novice): Makes effective decisions in fast-paced or changing environments, considering a wide range of alternatives.
• Front of Room Facilitation (Intermediate): Guides processes and structures activities using facilitation methodologies without requiring subject matter expertise.
• Healthcare Organizational Dynamics (Intermediate): Demonstrates knowledge of quality, value, and patient-centered care in the current and future healthcare landscape.
• Prioritization/Targeted Focus (Intermediate): Distills work to focus teams on critical paths while keeping the larger picture in mind.
• Data Transformation into Information (Intermediate): Creates and interprets data findings through visualization, translating them into improvement plans.
• Relationship Building (Intermediate): Develops cooperative internal and external relationships.
• Improvement Methodology (Intermediate): Leads teams in quality and performance improvement methodology, including facilitating opportunity analysis, key driver diagrams, and PDSA cycles (EA, FMEA, CTQ).
• Identification/Evaluation for Harm Risks (Intermediate): Develops processes to identify and report patient safety risks, near misses, and adverse events, integrating best practices and evidence-based strategies.
• Strategic Planning (Novice): Defines strategy and allocates resources to achieve goals.
• Data Analysis (Intermediate): Analyzes data accurately to identify opportunities and drive decisions.
• Project Management (Intermediate): Plans, organizes, and manages resources to successfully complete project goals.
• Time Management (Intermediate): Plans and controls time spent on specific activities.
• Communication (Intermediate): Communicates clearly, effectively, and respectfully with employees or customers.
• Change Management (Intermediate): Establishes structured methodologies for responding to changes and assists in testing and quality assuring solutions.

Benefits

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement, and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.