Patient Safety and Quality Consultant

Virginia Commonwealth University Health; United States; On-site; USD 76,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

VCU Health seeks a Patient Safety & Quality Consultant II to partner with executive, physician, nursing, and operational leaders. You will drive data‑driven safety improvements, coach teams, and manage multi‑disciplinary projects from inception to spread across the system.

Responsibilities include leading safety initiatives, conducting RCAs, applying high reliability and just culture, and guiding change management with sustainability plans to improve patient outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related field.
• Master’s degree in healthcare/quality or related field and coursework in quality improvement.
• Licensure in Virginia (RN/Pharmacist/NP/RD or similar) if applicable.
• CPHQ/CPPS/PMP/Lean Six Sigma preferred; Green/Black Belt within 1 year is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate patient safety improvement initiatives to prevent harm and improve outcomes.
• Facilitate root cause analyses to identify system vulnerabilities and develop corrective actions.
• Apply high reliability and just culture principles to strengthen safety culture.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to redesign processes and improve care transitions.

Skills

Root Cause Analysis

High Reliability

Just Culture

Change Management

Team Facilitation

Stakeholder Engagement

Process Redesign

Risk Reduction

Data Analytics

Project Management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree (Nursing/Healthcare Admin/Business Admin)

Master’s Degree in Healthcare/Quality/Business (preferred)

Virginia licensure (RN/PHarmacist/NP/RD, etc.) (required)

CPHQ/CPPS/PMP/Lean Six Sigma (preferred)

Tools

MS Project

Visio

Excel

Job description

The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant is a thought partner with VCUHS executive, physician, nursing and ancillary leaders in strategic planning and implementation of data-driven initiatives to achieve clinical excellence at the system, clinical service and care site level. The role may serve as a coach, facilitator, or advisor as appropriate for the needs of the organization. The Safety & Quality Consultant II serves as a subject matter expert in established performance improvement techniques and strategies. The role is responsible for accelerating the successful management of change to ensure improvements are spread and a sustainability plan is implemented. The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant manages improvement projects and multi-disciplinary teams through all phases, from inception to implementation and spread. The role provides formal and just-in-time education on safety & quality improvement methodologies to increase organizational improvement capability.

Essential Job Statements

Lead the integration of safety & quality into the fabric of the organization to achieve care targets. Advance the organization through collaboration, learning and communication. Implement processes for engagement and teamwork. Create learning opportunities to advance the organization. Communicate effectively in multiple venues via multiple routes. Ensure appropriate use of data to drive change and improvement. Use proven methods to facilitate improvement initiatives. Utilize performance and process improvement tools. Implement change management methodology. Employ project management tactics. Leverage data analytics to help guide decision‑making and inform improvement initiatives. Design and implement data structure and plans to support initiatives. Integrate data from multiple sources into initiatives. Use statistical and data visualization methods. Cultivate a safe healthcare environment by promoting safe practices, nurturing a just culture and improving processes that detect, mitigate, or prevent harm. Facilitate root cause analyses and FMEAs. Apply high-reliability principles to improvement initiatives. Ensure focus remains on process-driven solutions rather than people-driven ones. Promote psychological safety through transparency of data and information. Evaluate and improve healthcare processes and care transitions to advance the safe, equitable, efficient, effective, and timely care of our diverse patient population. Integrate population health management strategies into initiatives. Apply a holistic approach to improve. Collaborate to improve care processes and transitions. Maintain & update knowledge base. Update professional knowledge applicable to the role by participating in education opportunities such as reading professional publications and networking locally and regionally. Complete required continuing education to maintain certification (as applicable). Ensure responsibility and visible commitment of diversity equity and inclusion strategy, programs, and initiatives through collaboration and implementation of initiatives across the health system. Performs other duties as assigned and/or participating in special projects in order to support the mission of VCUHS and the HR Business Advisory team. Accepting alternate responsibilities as required.

Patient Population

Not applicable to this position.

Employment Qualifications

Required Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related clinical or academic field.

Preferred Education: Master’s Degree in healthcare field (e.g. MSHA, MPH, MSN, MHA), Quality Engineering, Business Administration or related field. Supplemental coursework in quality improvement, such as quality methodologies/tools, data analysis, patient safety, Lean, Six Sigma, quality engineering, and/or project management. Course work in statistics. Fellowship in Patient Safety.

Licensure/Certification Required: Current license in the Commonwealth of Virginia (e.g. Registered Nurse, Pharmacist, Nurse Practitioner, Registered Dietitian or similar) if candidate holds a professional license.

Licensure/Certification Preferred: Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) preferred. Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) preferred. Certified Project Manager (PMP) preferred. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt preferred. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent within 1 year to maintain position.

Minimum Qualifications – Years and Type of Required Experience: Minimum of three (3) years of work experience in the healthcare environment which may include hospital or clinic setting with specific experience in the following areas: clinical processes safety & quality improvement processes and tools facilitating and/or leading interdisciplinary groups leadership (formal or informal) in a healthcare organization collecting, organizing, and analyzing data developing and making presentations. Previous experience using a personal computer and software application to include the Internet, e-mail, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.), MS Project, Visio.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: Cultural Responsiveness Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors, and proactively managing bias.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred: Previous experience with organization-wide performance improvement and/or coordinating projects in an academic medical center with a wide variety of services, including ambulatory care, home care, emergency care, critical care, and inpatient care. Previous experience applying and explaining statistical process control tools; conducting group facilitation/presentation; and designing data collection tools. Previous experience using mapping/flowcharting software and working with databases (e.g., Visio, Access). ☒ Combination of education and experience in lieu of a degree.

Working Conditions

Periods of high stress and fluctuating workloads may occur. General office environment. May have periods of constant interruptions. Prolonged periods of working alone. May be required to car travel to off-site locations occasionally.

Physical Requirements

Lifting/ Carrying (0-50 lbs.)- up to 33% of the time. Push/ Pull (0-50 lbs.)- up to 33% of the time. Work Position Sitting, Walking, Standing. Manual dexterity (eye/hand coordination). Repetitive arm/hand movements. Finger Dexterity. Hazards N/A. Mental / Sensory Strong Recall, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Hearing, Speak Clearly, Write Legibly, Reading, Logical Thinking. Emotional Fast-paced environment, Steady Pace, Able to Handle Multiple Priorities, Able to Adapt to Frequent Change.

Patient Safety-Focused Summary

Patient Safety & Quality Consultant. The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant is responsible for advancing a culture of patient safety across the health system by leading initiatives that reduce harm, improve reliability, and strengthen safety processes. The role partners with executive, physician, nursing, and operational leaders to identify safety risks, analyze adverse events, implement evidence-based improvements, and drive sustainable change that improves patient outcomes.

Primary Patient Safety Responsibilities

Lead and facilitate patient safety improvement initiatives designed to prevent patient harm and improve clinical outcomes. Facilitate Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) to identify system vulnerabilities and develop corrective actions. Apply high reliability organization principles to strengthen safety culture, reduce variation, and improve process consistency. Promote a Just Culture approach by focusing on system and process improvements rather than individual blame. Foster psychological safety through transparent communication of safety and performance information. Identify safety trends, measure the effectiveness of interventions, and prioritize opportunities for risk reduction and harm prevention. Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to redesign processes that detect, mitigate, and prevent patient harm. Improve care transitions and healthcare processes to ensure safe, effective, equitable, efficient, and timely care delivery.

Key Areas of Expertise

Patient Safety and Harm Prevention. Root Cause Analysis (RCA). High Reliability Principles. Just Culture. Change Management. Team Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement. Healthcare Process Redesign and Risk Reduction.

Executive Summary

The Patient Safety & Quality Consultant leads organization-wide patient safety efforts by investigating safety events, facilitating root cause analyses, applying high reliability and just culture principles, identifying and mitigating system risks, and partnering with clinical and operational leaders to implement sustainable improvements that prevent patient harm and improve patient outcomes.

Compensation Range

$75,524.80 - $117,083.20. Actual salary offers will be based on several key factors to include relevant work experience, credentials, and qualifications.

EEO Employer/Disabled/Protected Veteran

Who We Are

Inventing better care, day by day by discovery. Sound outrageous? It absolutely is. Sound impossible? That’s never stopped us before. Sound like hard work, intense research, collaboration with experts around the world, sheer brainpower meets unrelenting willpower? That’s. Exactly. Right. We’ll do whatever it takes to offer the best in care and empower the best in quality of life. And it’s an approach that works — whether it’s a patient who undergoes a new, life-saving procedure or a clinical researcher who finds promise in a new cancer treatment, exciting new medicine is happening at VCU Health.

We have it all:

• One college and four health sciences schools
• An academic medical center
• A Level I trauma center
• One of only two NCI-designated cancer centers in Virginia
• The region’s only full-service children’s hospital
• More than 800 physicians in 200 specialties
• With a community health center, dedicated research teams, facilities and valued partners in every field

Our medical teams are top notch. And we’re not too shy to boast of internationally known physicians, some recognized as the best in the country, top-ranked local specialists and all-round all-stars at every level. From our very first years to our most recent advancements, we are driven to learn more, dig deeper, teach passionately and never rest in order to be a true leader in discovering what’s possible in health and recovery. We are a comprehensive system of care and a pioneer of health. Read VCU Health Year In Review for more about our accomplishments.