Updates for Our Learning Community
            
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October 22, 2014
The IHI Open School is an innovative learning community where you can take free online courses, earn certificates, network with peers and experts, and gain confidence and skills in quality improvement and patient safety to change health care.
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New Activity on PDSA Cycles: How to Save the Cucumbers?

Don Goldmann, MD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at IHI, cares about health. He also cares about vegetables. So what did Dr. Goldmann do when a man with a WeedWacker destroyed the thriving cucumber plant in his garden? A Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, of course! In a new video, Dr. Goldmann explains the science behind PDSA cycles. Through a clinical example and a personal story, he shows how small experiments can help us improve ― whether we’re putting our efforts toward health care or garden care. Can Dr. Goldmann stop the cucumber carnage? Watch “PDSA Cycles: From CLABSIs to Cucumbers” to find out, and use the discussion questions in your Chapter (or gardening club).

Don’t Miss Out! Register for the IHI Open School Chapter Congress at the National Forum

Are you going to IHI’s National Forum in Orlando this December? Do you need another reason to make the trek? Join us for the 7th Annual IHI Open School Chapter Congress, a free event that’s part of the Forum. Each year, we invite Chapter Leaders, Chapter members, and Faculty Advisors to the Congress to share their triumphs and challenges, learn from health care leaders, and connect with local and international efforts. The theme for this year’s Congress is student innovations to improve the health of communities, and attendees will hear from Dr. Don Berwick, IHI President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, and Dr. Neel Shah, Costs of Care Founder and Executive Director. What could make the Congress better? This year, we’re trying out a new event that’s free only to Congress attendees: a networking dinner and healthy cooking demonstration.

Don’t miss out! Register for the Chapter Congress today. Here’s how: First, enroll in the National Forum if you haven’t already. (Remember, students and residents are eligible for an academic scholarship, so be sure to apply for one before or after enrolling!) Then, when you register for your Forum sessions online, select “Chapter Congress” under “IHI Open School student events.” Let us know if you need help at openschool@ihi.org.

What We’re Reading: Dr. Paul Farmer’s Dispatch from Liberia

What’s to blame for Ebola’s rapid spread in Liberia? Dr. Paul Farmer, an infectious disease specialist, Harvard professor, and co-founder of Partners In Health ― who just returned from Liberia ― writes that weak health systems are responsible for both the spread of Ebola and its high case fatality rate. Farmer argues in the London Review of Books that we can stop most deaths from Ebola and slow its transmission by connecting aggressive infection control with high-quality clinical care. He asserts that with rapid diagnosis and treatment, up to 90 percent of Ebola patients could survive. “The eating of bush meat can’t possibly explain the epidemic,” Farmer writes, “but grotesque and growing disparities in access to care...can.” 

Community Updates

world91_(3)Global Call Reminder
Don’t forget to join the next Global Chapter Call on October 30 at 12 PM ET to discuss elements that make a successful Chapter. Click here for more information.

 

New Blog Post: Chapter Takes the Lead in Interprofessional Learning on Campus

University of New England (UNE) Pharmacy student E. Maggie Jones knew that she’d have to work on an interprofessional team when she went into practice. But she wasn’t getting that experience in class. So, she got involved in her Open School Chapter’s case competition, an annual contest that challenges health students from different disciplines to tackle a health system problem together. And, for this year’s competition, she helped introduce a new twist: to register for the competition, all participants had to first complete the IHI Open School Basic Certificate. What did the Chapter members and their faculty advisor find when they studied the effect of this new prerequisite on students’ learning in the case competition? Read more about the UNE Chapter’s experience in a new blog post (spoiler alert: the Certificate helped!), and learn more about the Chapter, called the Interprofessional Student Advisory Team, on their web site.

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