Patient safety and quality consultant

The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant is a thought partner with VCUHS executive, physician, nursing and ancillary leaders in strategic planning and implementation of data-driven initiatives to achieve clinical excellence at the system, clinical service and care site level. The role may serve as a coach, facilitator, or advisor as appropriate for the needs of the organization. The Safety & Quality Consultant II serves as a subject matter expert in established performance improvement techniques and strategies. The role is responsible for accelerating the successful management of change to ensure improvements are spread and a sustainability plan is implemented. The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant manages improvement projects and multi-disciplinary teams through all phases, from inception to implementation and spread. The role provides formal and just-in-time education on safety & quality improvement methodologies to increase organizational improvement capability.

Essential Job Statements

• Lead the integration of safety & quality into the fabric of the organization to achieve care targets. Advance the organization through collaboration, learning and communication.
• Implement processes for engagement and teamwork.
• Create learning opportunities to advance the organization.
• Communicate effectively in multiple venues via multiple routes.
• Ensure appropriate use of data to drive change and improvement.
• Use proven methods to facilitate improvement initiatives.
• Utilize performance and process improvement tools.
• Implement change management methodology.
• Employ project management tactics.
• Leverage data analytics to help guide decision-making and inform improvement initiatives.
• Design and implement data structure and plans to support initiatives.
• Integrate data from multiple sources into initiatives.
• Use statistical and data visualization methods.
• Cultivate a safe healthcare environment by promoting safe practices, nurturing a just culture and improving processes that detect, mitigate, or prevent harm.
• Facilitate root cause analyses and FMEAs.
• Apply high-reliability principles to improvement initiatives.
• Ensure focus remains on process-driven solutions rather than people-driven ones.
• Promote psychological safety through transparency of data and information.
• Evaluate and improve healthcare processes and care transitions to advance the safe, equitable, efficient, effective, and timely care of our diverse patient population.
• Integrate population health management strategies into initiatives.
• Apply a holistic approach to improvement.
• Collaborate to improve care processes and transitions.
• Maintain & update knowledge base.
• Update professional knowledge applicable to the role by participating in education opportunities such as reading professional publications and networking locally and regionally.
• Complete required continuing education to maintain certification (as applicable).
• Ensure responsibility and visible commitment of diversity equity and inclusion strategy, programs, and initiatives through collaboration and implementation of initiatives across the health system.
• Performs other duties as assigned and/or participating in special projects in order to support the mission of VCUHS and the HR Business Advisory team. Accepting alternate responsibilities as required.

Patient Population

Not applicable to this position.

Employment Qualifications

Required Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related clinical or academic field.

Preferred Education:

Master's Degree in healthcare field (e.g. MSHA, MPH, MSN, MHA), Quality Engineering, Business Administration or related field. Supplemental course work in quality improvement, such as quality methodologies/tools, data analysis, patient safety, Lean, Six Sigma, quality engineering, and/or project management. Course work in statistics. Fellowship in Patient Safety.

Licensure/Certification Required:

Current license in the Commonwealth of Virginia (e.g. Registered Nurse, Pharmacist, Nurse Practitioner, Registered Dietitian or similar) if candidate holds a professional license.

Licensure/Certification Preferred:

Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) preferred. Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) preferred. Certified Project Manager (PMP) preferred. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt preferred. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent within 1 year to maintain position.

Minimum Qualifications

Years and Type of Required Experience

Minimum of three (3) years of work experience in the healthcare environment which may include hospital or clinic setting with specific experience in the following areas: clinical processes, safety & quality improvement processes and tools, facilitating and/or leading interdisciplinary groups, leadership (formal or informal) in a healthcare organization, collecting, organizing, and analyzing data, developing and making presentations. Previous experience using a personal computer and software application to include the Internet, e-mail, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.), MS Project, Visio.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

Cultural Responsiveness. Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

Previous experience with organization-wide performance improvement and/or coordinating projects in an academic medical center with a wide variety of services, including ambulatory care, home care, emergency care, critical care, and inpatient care. Previous experience applying and explaining statistical process control tools; conducting group facilitation/presentation; and designing data collection tools. Previous experience using mapping/flowcharting software and working with databases (e.g., Visio, Access).

☒ Combination of education and experience in lieu of a degree.

Working Conditions

Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. General office environment. May have periods of constant interruptions. Prolonged periods of working alone. Other: May be required to car travel to off-site locations occasionally.

Physical Requirements

Physical Demands

Lifting/ Carrying (0-50 lbs.)- up to 33% of the time. Push/ Pull (0-50 lbs.)- up to 33% of the time.

Work Position

Sitting, Walking, Standing.

Additional Physical Requirements

Manual dexterity (eye/hand coordination). Repetitive arm/hand movements. Finger Dexterity.

Hazards

N/A

Mental / Sensory

Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Hearing, Speak Clearly, Write Legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking.

Emotional

Fast-paced environment, Steady Pace, Able to Handle Multiple Priorities, Able to Adapt to Frequent Change.

Patient Safety-Focused Summary: Patient Safety & Quality Consultant

The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant is responsible for advancing a culture of patient safety across the health system by leading initiatives that reduce harm, improve reliability, and strengthen safety processes. The role partners with executive, physician, nursing, and operational leaders to identify safety risks, analyze adverse events, implement evidence-based improvements, and drive sustainable change that improves patient outcomes.

Primary Patient Safety Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate patient safety improvement initiatives designed to prevent patient harm and improve clinical outcomes.
• Facilitate Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) to identify system vulnerabilities and develop corrective actions.
• Apply high reliability organization principles to strengthen safety culture, reduce variation, and improve process consistency.
• Promote a Just Culture approach by focusing on system and process improvements rather than individual blame.
• Foster psychological safety through transparent communication of safety and performance information.
• Identify safety trends, measure the effectiveness of interventions, and prioritize opportunities for risk reduction and harm prevention.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to redesign processes that detect, mitigate, and prevent patient harm.
• Improve care transitions and healthcare processes to ensure safe, effective, equitable, efficient, and timely care delivery.

Key Areas of Expertise

• Patient Safety and Harm Prevention
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• High Reliability Principles
• Just Culture
• Change Management
• Team Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement
• Healthcare Process Redesign and Risk Reduction

Executive Summary

The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant leads organization-wide patient safety efforts by investigating safety events, facilitating root cause analyses, applying high reliability and just culture principles, identifying and mitigating system risks, and partnering with clinical and operational leaders to implement sustainable improvements that prevent patient harm and improve patient outcomes.