Quality as an organizational strategy

Build systems where staff can be rock stars: Insights from Drs. Dave Williams and Jonathan Studnek

October 07, 2024 10:41 AM •

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, host Rob Lawrence is joined by quality improvement expert, Dr. Dave Williams, recent co-author of the book, 鈥�,鈥� and Dr. Jonathan Studnek, executive director of Wake County EMS.

Together they discuss the five activities for organization鈥檚 leaders to provide the structure to begin working on making quality their strategy.

These activities are centered on:

Purpose
Viewing the organization as a system
Obtaining information
Planning to improve
Managing improvement efforts

These five activities form a system for the leaders of an organization to focus their learning, planning and actions.

Memorable quotes

鈥淟eadership鈥檚 job is to build systems where staff can be rock stars and bring their best selves every day.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Dave Williams
鈥淯nderstanding your purpose as an EMS agency, like being responsible for cardiac arrest survival, is essential in improving performance.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Jon Studnek
鈥淥ur secret weapon in improvement is the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, where we learn fast by making low-risk, small-scale changes.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Dave Williams
鈥淭hese five activities are the key elements that leaders should be engaging with to drive their organizations forward.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Jon Studnek

Highlights

01:14 鈥� Dr. Dave Williams shares his background in quality improvement and EMS

02:12 鈥� Dr. Jon Studnek introduces himself and talks about his journey in EMS leadership

03:56 鈥� Dr. Williams discusses his book, 鈥淨uality as an Organizational Strategy鈥� and its origins, and outlines the five core activities of quality as an organizational strategy

15:02 鈥� Dr. Studnek describes implementing the quality framework in EMS, using cardiac arrest survival as a real-world example

23:36 鈥� Rob and Dr. Studnek discuss interconnectedness in EMS systems and fleet maintenance

30:00 鈥� Dr. Williams explains how small-scale changes using the PDSA cycle help improve EMS operations

35:00 鈥� Final thoughts from Dr. Studnek on leadership and quality as a guide for day-to-day work

Rob Lawrence

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK鈥檚 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association鈥檚 State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for SA国际传媒 and is a member of the SA国际传媒 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.