Where did QI get its start, and how do we know its principles will lead to the outcomes we’re looking for? The history of QI was birthed out of tough decisions and significant changes to society, including wars, technical revolutions, and even pandemics. And what better metaphors could be used to describe today’s healthcare system? Surely, if we can learn how quality was maintained in the very worst of times, it can help us provide better care in the present. Some of the first examples of QI practices that we’ll look at come from Japanese factories, the oil industry, and even Florence Nightingale.
I inherited a large cedar chest from my grandmother that once served as her “hope chest,” but later served as a memory-keeper for anything my grandma thought would be nice to remember. It is stuffed with letters and pictures, keepsakes, and some of the documents are in foreign languages. There are old yearbooks from my grandparent’s high school, signed with quotes and paragraphs challenging them to be of good character as they graduate. I have barely scratched the surface of exploring this treasure trove of family history, but whenever I have the chance to put on my detective hat and look through these memories, I see so many connections between the choices my grandparents made in high school and the way our family is today; looking at our family history shows me what it means to be a part of my family.
In my new QI job, I found myself asking: What does it mean to be a part of the QI “family”?
By Gayle Porter
