Unit information: Healthcare Improvement Capstone Assessment Unit in 2024/25

Unit name	Healthcare Improvement Capstone Assessment Unit
Unit code	MEEDM0035
Credit points	40
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Grant
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	Completion of the two linked units MEEDM0033 and MEEDM0034.
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

Why is the unit important?

The summative assessment will test students on their ability to identify, synthesise and critically evaluate theoretical concepts they have gained from the taught units throughout the academic year whilst implementing change initiatives in the workplace. They will plan, develop and implement their own improvement project using their reflections on academic concepts explored during the quality improvement, patient safety & risk Management and leadership modules.

Importantly the learner will not be assessed on the impact of their project, but rather the insights they have gained not only of the academic construct they have encountered, but also the translation of those constructs into practice.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

This programme is designed for individuals with an interest in pursuing a career in promotion, design and delivery of healthcare improvement initiatives. It draws from the theoretical frameworks and practice-oriented knowledge and skills from a variety of specialist subject areas that enable students to develop an in depth understanding on strategies required to establish a culture of organisational learning focussed on continued proactive improvement of healthcare delivery. Central to this approach is breaking down of an engrained silo culture and the creation of key relationships between educational and governance infrastructures. Integral
to an organisations governance infrastructure is a well-functioning safety management system that contains elements that not only focuss on gathering information on organisational performance, identifying areas for improvement, but also elements that respond to that information and enable the organisation and its staff to continually learn and improve. Cultivating a reciprocal relationship between these information gathering elements and the response elements allows the information gathering elements to in turn
assess whether the improvement strategies developed in response has had the desired effect. This continual process allows organisations to transition to learning organisations – an organisation that continually learns and adjusts whilst delivering a service.

This unit allows students to apply their new understanding gained from their academic studies into practice whilst being mentored by an academic mentor.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

The unit contains no taught components and is intentionally designed to run concurrently in parallel to taught units. It is anticipated that it will drive student learning through engagement with the literature to find solutions to the problems they encounter during implementation of their improvement project. In addition, as the student broadens their academic knowledge of the concepts during the taught units, they may develop new insights into why certain elements of their project worked well and others did not.

Students will be given guidance on the requirements of the capstone report during drop in sessions and will have an opportunity to receive final formative feedback from their peers and faculty.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit:

You will have a firm grasp not only of the academic concepts that underpin implementing change in a healthcare environment, but also the knowledge and experience of translating and applying them in practice.

Learning Outcomes:

Learning by Knowing:

1. Compare and contrast different approaches used for problem analyses in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety & Risk Management methodologies.
2. Compare and contrast methodologies, skills, and tools from academic fields of quality improvement, patient safety, risk management and leadership applied to implementation of impactful and sustained change.
3. Discuss key features and skills required to effectively lead, manage, and sustain change in your own context.
4. Critically analyse approaches to change management and the psychology of change.
5. Critically analyse components required to establish a culture of improvement and organisational learning in a healthcare system.

Learning by Doing:

1. Critically analyse the health sector using the focus of key change management and improvement methodologies, concepts, and approaches.
2. Demonstrate a critical approach to an organisation’s proactive improvement of healthcare delivery.
3. Critically analyse the health sector using the focus of key relationships between educational and governance infrastructures.
4. Demonstrate criticality towards literature and theory relevant to health care improvement and organisational learning.
5. Demonstrates how critical reflection on the planning, implementation, measurement, and response to data in a Quality Improvement project have influenced planning for future projects.

Learning by Being:

1. Develop inquisitive and analytical mindset to the analysis of adverse events, focussed on understanding the full extent of contributory factors prior to developing and implementing mitigatory changes in practice.
2. Propose and develop an action plan to implement change in practice to address skill or knowledge gap.
3. Develop skills to engage stakeholders in the implementation and maintenance of change.
4. Develop a Quality Improvement project, demonstrating sustainable change in an area of healthcare delivery.
5. Recognises the need for continuous improvement in the quality of care, and for audit to promote standard setting and quality assurance.
6. Demonstrates the values and actively supports quality improvement in the clinical environment.
7. Develop your ability to search for and to use literature and other knowledge sources effectively.

How you will learn

You will receive no formal teaching in this Capstone unit, but the unit cannot be taken without completion of the two teaching (0 credit) units entitled Quality Improvement in Healthcare and Patient Safety and Risk Management.

This unit is intentionally designed to run concurrently in parallel to taught units. It is anticipated that this unit will drive your learning, in addition to the taught units, in that you will engage with the literature to find solutions to the problems you encounter during the implementation of your improvement project.

In addition, as you broaden your academic knowledge of the concepts during your engagement with the taught units, you may develop new insights into the rationale why certain elements of your project worked well and others did not.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (Formative):

There are several opportunities to receive formative assessment and feedback during the year at several stages of the implementation of your Capstone Project.

The first of these opportunities will be during the induction weeks on the “Capstone Project Pitch Day”. You will be given an opportunity to present a quick outline of your proposed idea for your Capstone Project.

There are further opportunities for formative assessment and feedback during the Patient Safety & Risk management and Quality Improvement units. During both units you will submit a 1,500-word reflective analytical report on the academic principles, tools and methodologies pertaining to the specific unit applied during the implementation of the Capstone Project. It is anticipated that these reports will form a basis for some of the content of your Capstone Report.

Finally, following the implementation of your project, you will have the opportunity to present your project and receive questions and feedback from your peers and faculty. Apart from an opportunity to showcase your work and learning to the group, this is a valuable opportunity to receive some final formative feedback as you prepare to complete your Capstone Report for submission.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative): Capstone Report

The Capstone unit serves as a 40 Credit Summative assessment for 2 of the first-year taught units: Patient safety & Risk Management and Quality improvement. It will be assessed through an 8,000-word Capstone Report.

It is expected that you will integrate learning from all 3 the year one units into the implementation of your Capstone project. 

Your Capstone Project Reports should contain 2 main domains.

The first domain, “Application of Theory into Practice”, should describe the implementation of the project based on the categories outlined in the detailed guidance.

In the second domain, “Self-Reflexivity”, you must critically reflect on the successes and challenges during the implementation of your project and the lessons learnt from it. Consider, based on these experiences and the academic frameworks learnt in the modules, how you would apply this to your future projects.

Through engagement with the associated teaching units, you will have received formative feedback on initial drafts of the above pieces of work.

When assessment does not go to plan:

If you do not pass the unit, you will normally be given the opportunity to take a reassessment as per the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. Decisions on the award of reassessment will normally be taken after all taught units of the year have been completed. Reassessment will normally be in a similar format to the original assessment that has been failed.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MEEDM0035).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.