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Clinical Quality Leader I

Northwestern Medicine · Chicago, IL · Full time · Health Care Provider

Posted Oct 5, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you got front-line staff to change a process they were comfortable with.

What they are checking: Whether they can engage staff in change rather than handing down a new rule.

Tell me about a quality initiative that didn't work. What did you learn?

What they are checking: Whether they are honest about failure and learn from it, which matters in improvement work.

What would you do

You present data showing a quality problem and a department chair says your data is wrong. How do you respond?

What they are checking: Whether they can defend their analysis and stay open to real flaws while keeping the relationship.

A safety event happens on a unit and leadership wants a fix by next week. How do you approach it?

What they are checking: Whether they push for root cause analysis instead of a quick fix that doesn't solve the problem.

How do you balance the many quality priorities from different committees with limited time?

What they are checking: Whether they can prioritize by impact and keep committees aligned.

About the work

Walk me through a DMAIC project you led or took part in. What did the data show at each step?

What they are checking: Whether they have actually used the method with real data instead of just knowing the acronym.

How would you help medical staff leaders pick good measures for OPPE and FPPE?

What they are checking: Whether they understand professional practice evaluation and what makes a fair, meaningful measure.

What makes a run chart or control chart useful for a clinical audience?

What they are checking: Whether they can tell real signals from noise and present them clearly to clinicians.

How would you go about learning the literature and evidence for a clinical area that's new to you?

What they are checking: Whether they can quickly master evidence in an unfamiliar field, which the role requires.

How would you write a policy so that nurses and doctors actually follow it?

What they are checking: Whether they write clear, practical standards rather than documents that sit unused.

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The full job description

As published by Northwestern Medicine.

The Clinical Quality Leader I reflect the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. Participates with interdisciplinary clinical groups to define, measure and analyze quality and patient safety issues and practice concerns on behalf of quality committees. Defines, collects, analyzes and presents data cogently to identify trends. Masters relevant evidence and literature in relevant clinical area, discipline, and improvement science. Participates in and may lead improvement activities utilizing DMAIC, Lean, and other performance improvement tools as appropriate. Applies knowledge of professional standards, current research, best practices, and interdisciplinary collaboration to advance problem analysis and resolution and creative process redesign. Participates in developing policies, procedures and standards advancing clinical quality measurement. RESPONSIBILITIES: • Collaborate with operational and medical leadership to identify, develop and implement successful communication, education, and process solutions to engage staff and produce improved processes and outcomes. • Partner with medical staff leadership to select measures for Ongoing and Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE/FPPE), as assigned. • Coordinate peer review cases for individual department meetings and quality committees, and assist department leadership with the completion of peer review minutes/forms, as assigned. • Perform medical record reviews and data analysis that assist in identifying potential quality issues and opportunities for improvement in patient care services. • Lead or participate in local, regional and/or system committees, multidisciplinary improvement projects, and RCAs/FMEAs with measurable results. • Facilitate committee meetings, including development of committee structure, meeting minutes, reports, dashboards, and related correspondence. • Research and develop quality measurement, evaluation and improvement approaches with support from manager/mentor/peers. • Develop skills to contribute to organizational learning and dissemination through publication, presentation, collaboration with clinical colleagues on these efforts. • Apply professional clinical knowledge and other clinical standards, best practices, and interdisciplinary collaboration, relevant to assigned clinical area, to advance problem analysis and resolution and creative process redesign. • Assist clinical teams and leadership to respond to quality-related queries from external constituencies: patients, families, payers, media, researchers, etc. • Assure compliance with relevant quality / process improvement regulatory and accreditation requirements. • Knowledgeable in quality and patient safety, quality measures and measurement, relevant statistical tools, and associated methodologies (e.g., RCA, FMEA, DMAIC, and NM Toolkit). Familiarity with major sources of measures, literature, and quality- and patient-safety-related federal and state policy. Minimum Requirements: Education: • Bachelor’s degree with a clinical background, or a Master’s Degree in a healthcare related field. Experience: • 2+ years of work experience in a healthcare setting, with 1+ year of quality, patient safety, or relevant experience. • Medical record review/abstraction experience Behavioral Attributes: • Relevant computer skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, electronic medical records, clinical databases) • Effective leadership, facilitation, collaboration and communication (oral, written) skills. • Strong writing and presentation skills, good organizational skills, and excellent critical thinking skills. Preferred : • Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) or Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) or other evidence of advanced commitment to profession • Nursing Background Northwestern Medicine is an equal opportunity employer (disability, VETS) and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status. Background Check Northwestern Medicine conducts a background check that includes criminal history on newly hired team members and, at times, internal transfers. If you are offered a position with us, you will be required to complete an authorization and disclosure form that gives Northwestern Medicine permission to run the background check. Results are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and we follow all local, state, and federal laws, including the Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position, however, all employment decisions will be made by a person. Benefits We offer a wide range of benefits that provide employees with tools and resources to improve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being while providing protection for unexpected life events. Click on or copy and paste URL to your browser to view detailed benefits information NorthwesternMedicine Career Page https://jobs.nm.org/benefits Please refer to the Benefits Eligibility by Employment Classification to determine benefits eligibility for job postings. If sign-on bonus is included in a job posting eligibility is as followed: Internal employees and rehires who left Northwestern Medicine within 1 year are not eligible for the sign-on bonus. Exception : New graduate internal employees seeking their first licensed clinical position as a Registered Nurse at NM may be eligible.

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