RN Operational Improvement Specialist

Provide on-site safety support within the Clinical Domain(s) and other groups as needed to advance safety improvement efforts to align with the unit/domain work within the health system’s strategic vision and plan.

About University Of Cincinnati Medical Center

As part of the Clifton Campus of UC Health, Greater Cincinnati’s academic health system, University of Cincinnati Medical Center has served Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky for nearly 200 years. Each year, hundreds of thousands of patients receive care from world-renowned clinicians and care teams. Experts utilize the most advanced medical knowledge and technology available, providing a level of specialty and subspecialty medical care not available anywhere else in Greater Cincinnati.

UC Medical Center is home to medical breakthroughs—physician experts conduct basic, translational, and clinical research, leading to new therapies and care protocols, connecting patients to the latest and most advanced treatments. It houses Greater Cincinnati’s only Level I adult trauma center, which includes the right mix of specialists and medical resources available at a moment’s notice for a wide variety of the most complex medical conditions and injuries.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Safety team members on safety initiatives to perform thorough trending and analysis of events, errors, and near misses.
• Provide support in Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) to facilitate efficient (45 business days or less) completion, including assisting in interviews and investigations of suspected safety events or partnering with RCA Lead to perform detailed cause analysis and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Aid in transmission of information pertaining to safety strategic priorities, safety work, and process updates to frontline staff.
• Provide education to associates regarding patient safety, risk management, just culture, and error prevention.
• Participate meaningfully in system, site, and domain safety meetings, transparently reporting and escalating pertinent findings regarding deviations, opportunities to improve, barriers, and the current state of improvement work.
• Communicate effectively through a variety of ways (written, spoken, mentoring, and leading intergroup problem solving) to ensure engagement with staff and others to promote a culture of safety.
• Partner with clinical staff to address concerns, immediate event mitigation, ensure the use of meaningful standard work (auditing), solicit input from staff for improvement ideas, and methods of testing.
• Collaborate with key individuals within the Clinical Domain(s) and other groups to encourage transparency, reporting, and safe practices for both patients and staff.
• Promote employee safety integration efforts, safety initiatives, and transparency across UC Health, facilitating transitions required to ensure prospective, proactive, preventable harm elimination.
• Verify staff compliance with regulations as delineated by Accreditation leadership outlined by Joint Commission, ODH, OSHA, and other regulatory bodies.
• Utilize evidence-based practices to adhere to benchmarks set forth by regulatory agencies to drive improvement.
• Collaborate with infection control and infectious disease leadership to implement and measure major safety initiatives.
• Ensure improvement work is consistent with the UC Health PI Way and assist in removing barriers to improvement work; escalate barriers to patient safety manager, patient safety director, or site senior leaders as necessary.
• Lead the standardization effort of unit-based quality and safety initiatives and ensure system-wide utilization through collaboration with Patient Safety Director and other Site Leaders.
• Maintain knowledge of ongoing improvement work and opportunities throughout the Clinical Domains and, when applicable, work outside of the domains (e.g., falls).
• Lead improvement work within the Clinical Domain(s) and other groups in a manner consistent with the UC Health PI Way.
• Support Patient Safety Manager in ensuring effective execution and administration of the patient safety program at designated site/within Clinical Domain to facilitate efforts to achieve overall excellence in patient safety.
• Encourage reporting of events through UC Health’s chosen system and utilize information for trending/tracking in partnership with Risk Management and Data & Analytics.
• Escalate safety concerns to patient safety director, patient safety manager, operational improvement leaders, and site senior leaders in a timely manner (as soon as possible, expected to be within the same business day—even when full details are not known).
• Perform other duties as assigned that align with the UC Health Way and quality improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing or Health Sciences (Alternative Bachelors considered when there is additional relevant healthcare experience/education).
• Active RN licensure in the State of Ohio.
• 1–3 years of relevant experience (minimum required).

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Employee Paid Short- and Long-Term Disability
• 401K
• Tuition Reimbursement Opportunities
• Community Discounts

About UC Health

UC Health is an integrated academic health system serving Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. In partnership with the University of Cincinnati, UC Health combines clinical expertise and compassion with research and teaching—a combination that provides patients with options for even the most complex situations. Members of UC Health include: UC Medical Center, West Chester Hospital, University of Cincinnati Physicians and UC Health Ambulatory Services (with more than 900 board-certified clinicians and surgeons), Lindner Center of HOPE, and several specialized institutes including: UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. Many UC Health locations have received national recognition for outstanding quality and patient satisfaction.

As the region’s adult academic health system, UC Health strives for innovation and provides world-class care for the community and patients from all over the world. Teams and clinicians collaborate toward the common purpose: to advance health and reduce suffering. Join the team to develop skills, grow your career, build relationships with peers and patients, and help be a source of hope for friends and neighbors.

Location: West Chester, OH, United States