Quality improvement can mean many things to different people. Depending on the goal, a person in the healthcare field may see opportunities for improvement in hand-washing, or maybe another person would like to implement better body mechanics teaching for nurses who experience frequent back pain. Whatever the motive, all people have the capability to contribute to improvement in the work field.
While not a nurse, working on a research project with evidence-based practice initiatives in place was helpful in developing new skills in participation for quality improvement. Working as a team allowed me to build upon my team working, communication, and adaptability skills to build a collaborative project. As a team member, I discovered that I enjoyed working with another person to help me edit and remediate certain aspects of the paper. It definitely helped to not do everything on my own, which I was used to doing in years prior.
Overall, the most impactful thing I learned was how exactly to conduct thorough research on a topic that me and my team believed would prove beneficial to nurses and other healthcare professionals. Knowing the step-by-step process as well as conducting the actual research allowed me to grow in my knowledge about evidence-based practice. I am thankful for the experience and hope to use it in the future as a registered nurse.
