Cellular Pathology Quality Section Manager Leslie Ramos gives a quick guide to what the role involves.
Quality is everyone’s responsibility, but not everyone has a passion for quality. Quality managers in pathology are known as the authority on the accreditation standards, but there is more to quality management than accreditation. Pathology quality managers are there to provide inspirational leadership by being a teacher and a student (always learning) while always being approachable. They should not be afraid to ask questions – by asking constant questions, they can ensure that quality management procedures are in place in their laboratories and, most importantly, that they are being followed and documented.
Evidence is the key
A pathology quality manager’s famous line is “If it is not written down, it didn’t happen”, so be prepared to be asked for evidence. As with the rest of pathology staff, quality managers are not involved in direct patient care, but they listen to patient concerns and patient/clinical complaints. They will also investigate and work with staff to identify corrective actions to prevent complaints and incidents from happening again.
Pathology quality managers should have developed and worked within a culture of “no blame with accountability”. Encouraging staff to play their part by speaking up to create a system in which people own up to errors is one of the main responsibilities in dealing with incidents. Quality managers should support the lab staff to achieve peak performance and embed psychological safety.
One thing that is central to being a quality manager is shared learning. Every event in pathology provides a learning opportunity, be it an audit, inspection, assessment, or an incident.
Calm and friendly
Good quality managers are often known to be the most approachable people in the department. They should respect and treat all staff equally, regardless of their job role and banding and should be known as “calm and friendly” in dealing with errors and incidents. There should be a culture whereby before reaching a “negative” conclusion, quality managers ask questions to clarify and assume best intentions were in mind. It is important to be visible and act as part of the team, but remain impartial.
Pathology quality managers spend most of their time supporting others and reviewing others’ work. Meeting report deadlines is vital, so time should be protected to complete their own work. This is always challenging, but achieving objectives helps them to stay motivated. This will then help them to be in a better position to motivate others, and this is essential to success.
Leslie Ramos is a Cellular Pathology Quality Section Manager at Coventry and Warwickshire Pathology Services, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
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