These five programs serve as a po-
tential nursing pipeline in which
students can enter at any point.
LVHN encourages the youth
population to participate in the
network’s various programs and
supports students at all levels in
their educational journey. LVHN
hospitals are among the largest
and oldest licensed teaching hos-
pitals in Pennsylvania. In addi-
tion, the health network is one of
only 400 members of the presti-
gious Council of Teaching Hos-
pitals. LVHN’s academic com-
munity health network includes
eight hospitals, more than 150
practices, ExpressCare, and other
offices. To date, LVHN has a pres-
ence in five Pennsylvania coun-
ties and remains committed to
offering high-quality educational
experiences with more than 90 af-
filiate schools and 2,000 students
completing nursing, medical, and
other rotations each year.
This article will discuss how
LVHN’s youth programming
model and student data collection
methodologies have resulted in
valuable metrics linking partici-
pation in youth programing with
recruitment and retention in
LVHN’s healthcare workforce.
Methods
LVHN’s Department of Educa-
tion (DoE) launched a quality
improvement (QI) project target-
ing the data collection process
to track student information
across various youth programs.
The project focused on evaluat-
ing LVHN’s current methods for
efficient and effective data col-
lection. An investigation into the
current tracking process for youth
program participants identified a
significant gap in the data. It also
revealed the existence of multiple
databases storing duplicate and
incomplete information. An-
other missing component was key
identifiers needed to track student
participation, including date of
birth and social security num-
bers. A review of student records
dating to the 2006-2007 academic
year was completed and records
were updated.
Lean methodologies were em-
ployed to conduct a root cause
analysis and determine next
steps. Lean thinking is a manage-
ment philosophy derived from
the manufacturing industry,
specifically modeled after Toyo-
ta’s successes. Many healthcare
organizations, including LVHN,
have applied this approach to
patient care, education, and daily
operations to regulate process
improvements for impactful and
sustainable change. Lean think-
ing characterizes an individual’s
or an organization’s approach to
problem solving through a series
of specific steps.
The first step in this process was
to create an A3 to guide the dia-
logue and analysis of the prob-
lem. A3 refers to the international
size of paper used to visualize
problems, which is approximately
11-by-17 inches (Shook, 2008).
The A3 included backgrounds,
current conditions, goals and tar-
gets, analysis, data collected, pro-
posed countermeasures, the plan,
and follow-up guidelines. It also
served as the standard template
for the root cause analysis. The
A3 included the classic fishbone
diagram as a cause and effect
tool to illustrate the data gap (see
Figure 3).
The use of lean methodologies
allowed the DoE to identify bar-
riers to data collection, locate
problems related to the track-
ing of student information, and
propose process improvements.
A standard operating procedure
was established for data collection
pertaining to youth programs.
Staff received education on up-
dated methods.
The DoE implemented the QI
project with the purpose of
identifying data collection barri-
ers and developing a standardized
process. These initiatives would
allow LVHN to track youth pro-
gram student participation, inter-
face with human resources’ new
hire data, and evaluate retention
rates for RNs and other health-
care providers. Improving the
tracking processes of the youth
program students has allowed the
health network to show stake-
holders the value of their support
for youth education programs. In
addition, it demonstrates the suc-
cess of the program goals in meet-
ing the need for educating and
retaining students to populate the
future healthcare workforce.
Outcomes
Standardizing data collection and
entry allows the DoE to search
and review student information
related to LVHN. For example,
the DoE can determine the num-
ber of program participants who
Issue 73, 1 2018 Pennsylvania Nurse 9