CANTERBURY DHB QUALITY & PATIENT SAFETY COUNCIL

2008 Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards

Mentor/Resource Support Information

Background Information
Aim
Mentor Support
Resource Support
Mentor and/or Resource Support Skills
Feedback: Mentorship Support
Mentor/Resource Support Training Information Guidelines
Registration

Background Information
The ‘Expression of Interest’ stage and formal establishment of mentorship/resource roles to support project applicants was piloted and integrated into the 2007 Canterbury DHB Quality and Innovation Awards programme. The need to introduce an ‘Expression of Interest’ stage resulted from feedback sessions held with the Canterbury DHB Quality and Patient Safety Council members, Assessors, Planning and Funding Contract Managers and 2005 and 2006 entrants’ survey results.

These feedback sessions identified some barriers experienced by project applicants which prevented them submitting their quality improvement initiative or innovation project into the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme. These barriers included:

The limited knowledge/resource available to formulate their work into a project template document.
The ability/resource available to collect data and conduct surveys to evaluate their quality improvement initiative or innovation.
The support and encouragement required to guide applicants through the application process.

Hence these project teams did not have the opportunity to showcase their quality improvement initiative or innovation and gain wide recognition for their work by entering the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme.

All projects receive feedback from the Assessment panel and previous entrants also acknowledged that although it was beneficial to gain feedback from assessors, these comments would have been more useful during an earlier stage in the project process. Thus by utilising the mentorship and resource sources available through the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme project teams are able to utilise the experience, support and guidance to strengthen their project. This mentoring and support structure will also assist with the channelling of projects into other external awards programmes.

Aim
The ‘Expression of Interest’ stage of the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards enables entrants to identify if they require support with their project submission and thereby Mentor and Resource Support is assigned accordingly. Thus the ‘Expression of Interest’ stage aims to capture more of the quality improvement initiatives or innovation projects occurring within the Canterbury DHB.

Potential applicants submitting an ‘Expression of Interest’ form may be requiring assistance from a Mentor, Resource Support or both. The ‘Expression of Interest’ submissions are not assessed/marked. Completed projects can also be submitted anytime between January 2008 and 8th August 2008 without the completion of an ‘Expression of Interest’ form.

Mentor Support
The role of the Mentor is to assist project groups who have submitted an ‘Expression of Interest’ form and to provide support and guidance for the next stage of the awards process (the submission of the completed project template-Deadline Friday 8th August 2008).

Mentors allocate various levels of support and time as required by individual project teams and play a significant role within the awards process as they share their knowledge, experience and skills and support applicants by undertaking such roles as:

Take responsibility for contacting the project team to confirm that the project is at a suitable stage to progress into this years awards programme.
Assist the applicant with their entry ensuring that the guiding questions provided in the Information for Entrants: Application Guidelines document are considered and responses are included.
Assist the applicant with ways to link the project results to the objectives, highlighting trends and key success factors and sustainable measures. This may include data collection and conducting surveys.
Direct project teams to the resources available that will assist with their application such as the utilisation of project tools, previous projects loaded onto the intranet site and previous entrants.
Support and encourage the applicant and provide feedback on material for inclusion in the project template.
Work with the resource support and project team to facilitate the preparation of the application documents.
At the end of the process provide feedback to the Corporate Quality and Risk team on the Mentor/Resource Support stage (e.g. how the process worked and how much time was dedicated to the process).

Through their acceptance of this additional workload and dedication of their valuable time, Mentors make a significant contribution to the success of the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme. They also have the opportunity to learn about and become involved in some of the quality improvement initiatives or innovation projects taking place within the Canterbury DHB.

Resource Support
The resource support will play a key role in facilitating the preparation of the final application document. Thus the resource support’s responsibility is to:

Work closely the project team and Mentor (if this support has been requested) on assisting with the compilation of the project template document (e.g. assist with the use of Microsoft applications e.g. Excel).
Provide feedback on material for inclusion in the project template.
At the end of the process provide feedback to the Corporate Quality and Risk team on the Mentor/Resource Support stage (e.g. how the process worked and how much time was dedicated to the process).

Mentor and/or Resource Support Skills
We are looking for people with experience in project work and facilitation skills and the ability to assist project teams prepare documents according to set criteria/requirements and assist with the evaluation of project work.

Feedback: Mentorship Support
“Without the mentorship and help provided I don’t believe that this project would have got as far as the quality awards. We were very well supported and encouraged.”

2007 Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards applicant

"Providing mentorship guidance to one of the projects entered into the 2007 Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme was extremely rewarding. The experience enabled me to learn about not only the project but also a different area of healthcare. I provided encouragement and guidance to the project team and felt I had made a valuable contribution to their success in the awards programme.

Through their participation in the Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards and close involvement with mentor support the project team stated that they had learnt new skills in both project and quality management which will strengthen any projects they wish to undertake in the future".

Mentor, 2007 Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards

Mentor/Resource Support Training Information Guidelines
Please contact Gillian Pearce for information on the Mentor/Resource Support Training sessions and Guidelines.

Registration
Due to the work commitment involved we seek the approval and endorsement from line managers to release individuals to undertake the Mentor Support and/or Resource role for the 2008 Canterbury DHB Quality Improvement and Innovation Awards programme. If you wish to become a Mentor and/or provide Resource Support then please complete the Mentor Support Application Form or Resource Support Application Form and return either via post, fax or email to:

Gillian Pearce, Project Facilitator, Corporate Quality and Risk, Canterbury DHB, 5th Floor, The Princess Margaret Hospital, PO Box 1600, Christchurch.
Fax: 03 337 7718
gillian.pearce@cdhb.govt.nz