Level 2 QI training on How to Run a QI Project was co-produced and introduced in 2022 to bridge the gap between Bitesize QI training and the higher levels of Improvement Coach Development Programme and QI Sponsor training.

The training is delivered by members of the Improvement Academy Faculty (the ‘QI Team’) and is designed to provide staff with the skills and experience to run a QI project; it picks up where the Bitesize awareness training left off.  Attendees will experience running a project in their work area during the four months of the course.  The course will help anyone in a QI project team and is especially useful if a member of staff wishes to take on the role of Project Team Leader.

Not surprisingly, the course content builds on the learning from Level 1 training, i.e. the Model for Improvement (Aim, Driver Diagram, Measures, PDSAs) but we learn about it from the point of view of how to practically apply the model.  The course also introduces some of the practical ‘tools’ that a project team needs to use for developing and progressing a project.  For example, we look at Fishbone diagrams, nominal group technique, 7 steps meeting structures and process mapping.

Each member of staff needs to have an improvement project to work on over the four months and beyond. During the course, trainees get six hours of taught learning, have guidance through QI Coaching clinics and peer to peer learning during graduation presentations.

The stated Learning Outcomes of Level 2 training are: 

• Learn how to apply QI tools and methods in the context of a project 
• Implementation of a QI project focused on improving outcomes 
• Develop practical improvement skills, through project design 
• Learn how to use data to improve your project outcomes 

CNWL staff can book onto Level 2 QI Training is bookable via LDZ and will also see calls for applicants in weekly news, your Divisional news and direct emails if you are registered on Life QI when new cohorts are announced.

To date, 38 staff have been trained in Level 2 QI Training and 77% of staff who attend the course are able to graduate and demonstrate their learning from their QI project.

54% of participants remain active on Life QI after the course and 78% of projects have meaningful Expert by Experience involvement.  Our ambition is to increase the level of projects with meaningful Expert by Experience involvement to 80% across the organisation.

Satisfaction with the course is consistently high at an overall rate of 94% of staff reporting satisfaction.

Peter Smith, Course Leader and Improvement Advisor, Goodall and Corporate Divisions, said that “every cohort of the training that we deliver is a chance to learn about what works and what can be improved; each one is a Plan Do Study Act cycle and we learn something every time.  We have focused on creating an experience in a learning community and provide trainees with a sense of their QI learning journey, so that they stay motivated and enthusiastic!”

Here are some of the comments received from staff feedback:

So, what can staff expect if they enrol on the next cohort of Level 2 training?  Members of the Improvement Academy Faculty will be ‘with you’ on you journey, starting with a pre-course call to discuss your intended project; so that we can be sure that the project has a good QI focus and will benefit from the application of the model for improvement.

The taught session of the course is online and a fairly intense day of immersing yourself in QI learning, but we try to keep it as fun as possible with plenty of scope for questions and discussion amongst the group of trainees.

As we move into the second and third month of the course, we get a little more serious within Action Periods, with one to one QI Clinic sessions to allow you to experience working with an Improvement Coach.  Each coach will advise and ask questions to get you to think about any barriers that you have to overcome and about how you might progress your project.  Coaching sessions are very action focused, so you will feel supported and hopefully inspired towards the next step in your project.

An additional and new feature of the course is a weekly email from the course tutors, giving you pointers, reminders and encouragement that are synchronised with the stage of your project progress.

Sam Diaz Hernandez, Improvement Coach and co-tutor on the last cohort said that, “Level 2 is the ideal base level of training for people and teams to get deeper into a running an improvement project with ongoing support”.

After graduation, staff can add the Level 2 badge to their email address, to demonstrate that they have attained a practical knowledge of Quality Improvement methodology.  And of course, use the skills to go on to do more improvement work!

Level 2 QI Training applications for the course starting in October are now open on LDZ.  If you would like to talk to someone about the course, please contact the QI Team on cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net and the team will be eager help you decide if this course is for you!