Happy New Year--January's Milestones address Quality Improvement, which I frequently think is a appropriate topic for January. Like those of us who set New Year's Resolutions, or make other sorts of goals for a calendar year, QI, Systems-Based Practice (SBP) and Practice Based Learning and Improvement (PBLI) are focused on taking stock of our present situation, setting goals to change something, and evaluating our progress. The PBLI2 Milestone is focused on setting SMART goals and internalizing that approach to continuous improvement of our own practices. Actually moving beyond ourselves to make changes in our systems is extremely challenging--so take advantage of every opportunity to support one another and your teams when hospital initiatives or other projects are going on.
SBP1 is focused specifically on Patient Safety, Error Reporting, and Prevention of Errors. You should know at a minimum how to report an error in our electronic records systems, and be alert to how patient safety considerations affect the care we give. Finally, don't be afraid when things go wrong! These are powerful learning experiences, and we've all experienced them.
