Quality Improvement

Many situations encountered by dental teams are less clearly structured than the work of an audit project. There may be no established standard or accepted target. The solutions may not be obvious and there will rarely be a prepared list of options, as there might be in an audit project. Understanding problems benefits from team engagement, as staff members have day to day experience of service issues and can often identify possible solutions that can be tested out. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles give a way of evaluating and implementing change that also has the merit of encouraging staff engagement. For this to be effective, leadership style is important. Staff need to feel confident that their views are valued, and their contribution welcomed. This needs an inclusive leadership style that is consistent and demonstrates interest and investment in the work. Distributing leadership across the team assists in team involvement and helps to spread skills and commitment.