Implementation science using the Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act (PDSA) cycle: Addressing hospital malnutrition with the global malnutrition composite score

Quality improvement is utilized to improve system issues within healthcare. Although many models have been identified for quality improvement, the Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act (PDSA) model is used commonly. The PDSA cycle is a quality improvement tool that has produced numerous system‐wide changes. Since its conception, the PDSA has been used in a variety of nutrition‐related quality improvement initiatives. Furthermore, the PDSA cycle has been applied in implementation science to bridge the gap between the literature and clinical nutrition practice. Implementation science using the PDSA cycle can be beneficial in the introduction of the Global Malnutrition Composite Score (GMCS) to identify, diagnose, and treat malnutrition in hospitalized patients. This manuscript describes the PDSA cycle in detail with direct application to GMCS implementation.