Continuous Quality Improvement Managers
by the EMS Mis-Management Guru 

Recently the following was received by the web master at this site. 

"I need job descriptions and job analyses of persons who are designated as "CQI Manager", i.e., "Continuous Quality Improvement Manager" for a fire dept. (and city) that does not employ or understand TQM (Total Quality Management). These need to include just exactly what this person does in a city of 265,000 in a fire department based EMS service. I'm not looking for philosophy; I need substance."

I have good news and bad news. The good news is we did some research and found a few sites that should be useful to anyone in the public sector interested the issue of quality, in its various forms. I have tried to attach an item or two that I think will be helpful, hopefully the web masters at  EMS Mis-Management can figure out how to get them posted so they are easy to access (word processing, talking too much with my fingers, is my specialty). This will also lead to some other sites (Links I believe they are called in cyber space) Now the bad news. In looking at all the sites that came up in my searches, what was requested doesn’t seem to exist in the format requested, unless you hire one of the numerous TQM consulting firms who will sell it to you (my sponsor keeps me a pretty short leash to make sure I don't try to use this site to make a buck, but at the risk of getting in trouble with my sponsor, I can do that if all you need is paper- let's keep it in the family eh). Why?   Because, as one site so aptly pointed out, quality is about philosophy.  

But we are not going to let this stand in our way of giving  advise. Here is my "job analysis". Exempt position (nobody could afford to pay for this by the hour). Primary duties include analysis of agency process and reams of clinical, operational and financial performance data, that will then lead to the development of strategies to enhance performance and improve customer satisfaction, making sure that everyone in the organization participates and buys into this activity and the proposed changes. Requires that individual be able to sit, stand, walk, and maybe even bend over- i.e. be a live human. Must be able to talk to staff, management, and other stakeholders in an intelligible and intelligent manner. We have enough BS, spin-doctors need not apply. No real heavy lifting but the burden of trying to get an EMS agency to actually look at itself and assess what value it is contributing to it's community can be hard on the back. 
Qualifications: Beyond whatever EMS merit badges one might insist on, a sound academic background, not a bunch of certificates and seminars. This background should include knowledge of organizational theory and design, how to treat people (otherwise known as HR management), data collection and statistical analysis, finance, reimbursement, etc. 
Professional experience should include the demonstrated ability to improve agency performance based on clinical, operational, and financial measures. "Reputations", be they
local, state, federal or international are not the equivalent of demonstrated competence. We want to know if you can walk it, not talk it. 

No one gives the concept of TQM a tougher row to hoe than me. If you can integrate the concepts without the nonsense, more power to you. My last piece of advice: Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.