Six-Sigma Concepts Studied, Practiced in Plastic Surgery

UNC is now offering Six-Sigma Training for health care employees at all levels, and the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery has embraced this opportunity.  Six-Sigma is a method for quality improvement that has been highly successful in the automotive and other business sectors, yet only recently to healthcare systems, with surgical disciplines lagging far behind other specialties.  Several of the UNC Plastic Surgery faculty have obtained basic training, and others are pursuing advanced levels.  Ann Collins, PA and Sendia Kim (1st year resident) are currently involved in "green belt" training, for which they have chosen to study the efficiency of microsurgical cases at UNC.  By reducing variation and improving processes, they hope to increase efficiency and quality simultaneously.  The Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is the only division in the country to apply Six-Sigma concepts to their practice, and we hope to use it as one more method for improving the quality of our patient care.