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June 4, 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.
Around the world, schools and organizations are integrating the Open School catalog of online courses into their curricula and training programs. What attracts these institutions to the Open School? And how, exactly, are they using the courses?
The answers are as varied as the institutions (universities, hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities, to name just a few) themselves. Some organizations require completion of all 16 courses in our Basic Certificate; others handpick a few modules to teach specific quality improvement (QI) or patient safety concepts.
When we’ve asked organizational leadership about the allure of the courses, we’ve heard about value (“There are very few things that are going to get you a [better] return on investment”), confidence (“I’m 100 percent convinced that [they] will lead to QI work”), and appropriateness (“They were exactly the level of education we needed”).
For a complete list of academic and professional organizations using the Open School courses, details of many of their inspiring stories, and information on how you can integrate the courses in your local setting, check out our continually updated page, “The Spread of the IHI Open School.”
IHI’s free audio program will take a look this week at ways to reduce the chance of overburdening staff and physicians with change. In a session called “Making the Work of QI Less Draining and More Sustaining,” taking place June 5 at 2 PM EST, guests from IHI and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will share ways to become more mindful of the burden of change and specific criteria to minimize that burden. Join the discussion to learn more and share your own ideas.
In a new blog post, IHI Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Don Goldmann, MD, describes what it means to build improvement capability and its value to a stressed health care workforce. He tackles four questions in the post:
What does it mean to build improvement capability?
Why does IHI believe that building improvement capability is so important?
How does investing in improvement save time and reduce waste?
What are the keys to successfully engaging all staff in the daily pursuit of quality?
If you are a student, resident, or graduate trainee involved in an Open School Chapter, don’t miss your chance to attend the Student Quality Leadership Academy on July 17–18 in Cambridge, MA. Applications to be considered for this program are due on Friday, June 6. Click here to learn more and submit an application.
The Student Quality Leadership Academy is a free, two-day program designed to build leadership competencies within future health professionals.
Iora Health, an organization devoted to restoring humanity to health care by building a new model of primary care, is looking for innovative, team-oriented, improvement-is-built-into-your-DNA physicians, nurse innovators, social workers, and operations/administrators who want to join their teams in Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; and other US cities. Click here to learn more about Iora Health and the available opportunities.
