Patient Pathway —
Training activity: 15

Details

Conduct a clinical audit, and report findings and make recommendations

Type

Developmental training activity (DTA)

Evidence requirements

Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee​.

Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.

An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.

Considerations

• Local governance
• Best practice guidance
• Local clinical audit days
• Quality and safety improvement
• Patient experience
• Referrer questionnaires
• Compliance

Reflective practice guidance

The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.

Before action

• What specific aspect of clinical practice will be the focus of your audit?
  • What standards or criteria will you use to assess practice?
  • How will you collect and analyse audit data?
  • What are the key components of an audit report?
  • What types of recommendations might be appropriate based on the findings?
  • What knowledge of audit methodologies and quality improvement principles is required?
• What do you hope to learn about the process of conducting a clinical audit from planning to reporting?
  • What insights do you expect to gain about the chosen area of practice and opportunities for improvement?
  • What prior experience do you have with audit or quality improvement initiatives?
• How will you define the scope and objectives of your audit?
  • What audit methodology will you use?
  • How will you develop your data collection tools?
  • How will you ensure data accuracy and completeness?
  • How will you analyse the audit data?
  • What format will your audit report take?
  • What potential challenges might you face during the audit process, and how will you prepare for them?
  • How do you feel about conducting a clinical audit and contributing to quality improvement?

In action

• When critiquing the outcome measures, what criteria are you using to assess their appropriateness and accessibility for the clinical service and patient population?
  • Why are these criteria important?
• What decisions are you making about the strengths and limitations of the current outcome measures?
• If you are formulating recommendations for improvements, what specific changes are you suggesting and what is your rationale for these changes based on your critique?

On action

• Summarise the outcome measures you critiqued and your main points regarding their appropriateness and accessibility.
  • What recommendations for improvement did you make?
• What did you learn about critiquing outcome measures?
  • Did you improve your ability to assess their relevance, validity, and feasibility?
  • What considerations did you make regarding accessibility?
  • Were there any challenges in identifying limitations or formulating constructive recommendations?
  • What did you learn from these?
  • How did you consider the perspectives of different stakeholders (e.g., patients, clinicians) when critiquing the measures?
  • How does the ability to critique and improve outcome measures contribute to better service evaluation and patient-centred care?
• What aspects of outcome measure critique or understanding their psychometric properties do you need to develop further?
  • What further knowledge of different types of outcome measures would be valuable?
  • How will you approach future critiques of outcome measures?
  • What specific actions will you take to enhance your understanding of outcome measurement?
  • What resources or guidance on outcome measure selection and evaluation would be helpful?

Beyond action

• Have you been involved in other clinical audits since this DTA?
  • How has your understanding of the audit cycle and different audit methodologies evolved?
  • Have you seen the implementation and impact of recommendations from other audits?
• How has this experience influenced your understanding of the role of audit in quality improvement and governance?
  • Have you applied the skills of data collection, analysis, and recommendation development in other contexts?
  • Has your appreciation for the importance of following up on audit recommendations grown?
• What skills in audit methodology, data analysis, and report writing did you develop that will be essential for future involvement in quality improvement initiatives?
  • How has this experience shaped your understanding of the process of implementing change based on audit findings?
  • What actions will you take to further develop your skills in conducting and contributing to clinical audits?

Relevant learning outcomes

#	Outcome
# 2	Outcome Communicate clearly and effectively with a range of stakeholders to inform and educate.
# 6	Outcome Manipulate, visualise, analyse and interpret clinical and clinical service derived data.
# 7	Outcome Critically appraise developments and map implementation in a clinical service, considering the financial and operational factors alongside clinical need.
# 9	Outcome Perform and report a clinical audit.