title: Improving quality on the pediatric surgery service: Missed opportunities and making it happen.
abstract: In surgery, quality improvement efforts have evolved from the traditional case-by-case review typical for morbidity and mortality conferences to more accurate and comprehensive data collection accomplished through participation in national registries such as the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Gaining administrative support to participate in these kinds of initiatives and commitment of the faculty and staff to make change in a data-driven manner rather than as a reaction to individual events can be a challenge. This article guides the reader through the process of interacting with administrative leadership to gain support for evidence-based quality improvement endeavors. General principles that are discussed include stakeholder engagement, taking advantage of preexisting resources, and the sharing of data in order to shape QI efforts and demonstrate their effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nemours-AI DuPont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rockland Rd. Wilmington, Delaware 19803. Electronic address: Loren.berman@nemours.org.
authors.forename: Loren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nemours-AI DuPont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rockland Rd. Wilmington, Delaware 19803.
authors.forename: Charles D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Vinocur
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012042:Registries; D013043:Specialties, Surgical / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States
keywords: Administrative leadership; Morbidity and mortality; NSQIP; Quality improvement; Stakeholder engagement