Propose a high-level quality improvement initiative for a selected departmental strategic priority, and choose an effective method of presenting your proposal to executive leaders and other stakeholders in the organization and community. Quality improvement and management in health care has its roots in the business world and the teachings of quality gurus such as W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, Phillip B. Crosby, and Avedis Donabedian. As health care costs rose in the late 1960s, payers wanted assurance that their investments resulted in improved health. More importantly, patients and health care professionals wanted assurance that their participation resulted in safe, effective care with positive long-term benefits. As 21st century health care organizations strive for high reliability, executive leadership is tasked with keeping the organization focused on quality and safety. In the previous assessments, you identified an organization’s strategic priorities and provided a comprehensive assessment of stakeholder and leadership influence. High-reliability organizations align quality and safety with strategic goals. Your work in previous assessments will help you identify one strategic priority for improvement. From the nursing unit level to the executive office, quality equates with attention to the processes and functions that drive and support safety, efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. The DNP-prepared nurse is in a unique position to blend knowledge of systems theory with an understanding of quality management. Added to this mixture is the DNP-prepared nurse’s exquisite appreciation for the holistic needs of individuals and groups. This assessment provides an opportunity for you to propose a quality improvement initiative that supports a departmental strategic priority. Demonstration of Proficiency By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria: Competency 3: Propose a strategic plan that integrates feedback from other disciplines and aligns with organizational priorities. Explain the rationale for establishing a strategic priority. Present the key points from a SWOT analysis of a chosen strategic priority. Identify key performance indicators for measuring the success of a quality improvement initiative. Explain the value of stakeholder feedback and the process for collaborating with stakeholders on a proposed quality improvement initiative. Explain how one contemporary change theory could be used to facilitate changes inherent in implementing a quality improvement initiative. Competency 4: Recommend policy changes that support a strategic plan. Make policy recommendations to support a proposed quality improvement initiative. Competency 5: Address the assessment purpose in effective written or multimedia presentations, incorporating appropriate evidence and communicating in a form and style consistent with applicable professional and academic standards. Communicate clearly and concisely in a form and style appropriate for the audience and for the substance, purpose, and context of the message being conveyed. Preparation Choose one strategic priority from the departmental strategic plan you developed in Assessment 3 as the focus of a proposed quality improvement initiative. Note: The assessments in this course must be completed in the order presented; subsequent assessments should be built on both your earlier work and your instructor’s feedback on earlier assessments. If you choose to submit assessments prematurely, without considering and integrating your instructor’s feedback, your assessment may be returned ungraded, resulting in your loss of an assessment attempt. Note: Remember that you can submit all or a portion of your draft proposal presentation to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback. Instructions Develop a presentation of your proposed high-level quality improvement ?initiative for executive leaders and other stakeholders in the organization and community. Be creative in showcasing your proposal. Choose a presentation method you consider to be both engaging and likely to garner the necessary support and buy-in. For example, you might consider any of the following methods, or something different. Marketing brochure. Newsletter. Video. Audio or video slide presentation. Executive summary. Whichever method you choose, consider the information needs of your intended audience, their communication preferences, and possible time constraints on processing your proposal.