Drumroll, Please: Kicking off the IHI Open School Improvement Change Agent Network (I-CAN)

The health demands of our communities are evolving, with a greater recognition that health systems should promote health and not just provide health care to people who are already sick. But health education isn’t keeping up with these changes.

That’s why the IHI Open School is mobilizing students through I-CAN, a campaign to improve population health, starting with a new online course that we began testing with a small cohort of students last month. These students are learning the practice of community organizing through semi-synchronous learning and real-life projects they’re leading in their communities.

Are you intrigued? Take the I-CAN pledge, and we’ll keep you informed about opportunities to get involved. You can participate in projects in your community, or lead your own initiative when we open the course again early next year.

What We’re Reading: Patients and Providers React to the New IOM Report, ‘Dying in America’

Two weeks ago, the Institute of Medicine released a new report calling for widespread changes to health care at the end of life. While many providers, patients, and families applauded the report for much-needed recommendations to improve quality, some suspected the ulterior motive was cutting costs at the expense of patients’ wishes. A New York Times article about the report drew more than 700 online responses from readers with strong, mixed opinions about the findings. Learn how to have end-of-life conversations in our two-hour online course, PFC 103: Having the Conversation: Basic Skills for Conversations about End-of-Life Care. 

Deadline Alert: Calkins Memorial Scholarship for the Forum

Full-time students who want to attend IHI’s 26th Annual National Forum in December still have time to apply for the David Calkins Memorial Scholarship, which covers general conference fees as well as up to $1,000 in travel, lodging, and other expenses. See submission guidelines and requirements to get your application in by October 10.

Celebrating the Writing of the IHI Open School Community

Congratulations to members of the Open School Community on their contributions to the new book, Patient Safety and Healthcare Improvement at a Glance. Written specifically for students, junior doctors, and health professionals, the book provides an introduction to patient safety and quality improvement and offers step-by-step guides to prepare readers for the growing focus on patient safety and quality in today’s health care environment. Learn more about the book and purchase a copy on Amazon.

IHI Open School students, leaders, faculty, and alumni who contributed to the book include Jay Bhatt, Andrew Carson-Stevens, Ashley Kay Childers, Shabnam Hafiz, Ross Hilliard, Aled Jones, James Moses, Valerie Pracilio, Kevin Rooney, and Lakshman Swamy.

We’re also celebrating Joshua Liao’s recent blog post, “Time for a New Business Focus in Medicine,” in The Huffington Post. Josh is a former Southwest Regional Leader and a resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.