Education

Overview

Filling the Need for QI Trained Professionals

The Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report, To Err is Human, attributed medical errors to 98,000 preventable deaths annually in U.S. hospitals; subsequent analysis estimated over 210,000 preventable deaths. As a result, emphasis has been placed on education to promote patient safety and quality care. Within graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residents to participate in quality improvement and patient safety programs. Many programs have expressed difficulty implementing and sustaining quality improvement (QI) initiatives due to limited faculty education.

The Institute for Continuing Professional Development in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (I-QIPS) at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) serves to develop educational offerings at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced learning levels. I-QIPS' aim for this educational initiative is to develop a curriculum to educate BCM and affiliated faculty on quality improvement and patient safety principles to educate trainees, model effective care, promote high value quality care, and foster a culture of patient safety. We believe the academic mission of innovation and scholarship can be advanced across all faculty QI training levels.

Certificate Program

Certificate of Added Qualification in Healthcare Improvement (CAQHI)

The overall educational goal of this advanced-level certificate program is to provide learners with comprehensive, hands-on training and experience at both the project and leadership levels of healthcare improvement initiatives. The program is designed for learners with introductory to intermediate knowledge of healthcare improvement and who want to lead change within their healthcare system. Further, it is for those who have a particular interest in obtaining applied experience in the principles of improvement science, as well as in pursuing additional training in leading healthcare initiatives. Learn more...

Training Courses

QI Foundations: Take the Lead on Healthcare Quality Improvement

The overall educational goal of this self-paced course is to provide beginner-level learners (working healthcare professionals) with knowledge and skills in the science of quality improvement for the purpose of empowering and enabling them to take action in their own clinical setting to improve the quality of care for their patients and patients' families. The course is comprised of a series of six (6) online, self-paced modules designed for basic QI training. Learn more...

QI Jump Start

The overall educational goal of this intermediate-level QI training course is to provide learners with exposure and hands-on experience in QI and patient safety. The course is designed for learners with an introductory knowledge of the concepts of quality improvement and patient safety, but who would benefit from hands-on experience in applying the learned principles to improve their healthcare practices and to mentor trainees. It is not recommended for those who require a more advanced training program, such as those who are leading QI initiatives or have senior QI administrative roles. Learn more...

Leading Healthcare Improvement (LHI)

The overall educational goal of this advanced-level QI training course is to develop leaders of interprofessional improvement teams within their clinical settings. The course emphasizes leading healthcare improvements and innovations with an implementation strategy that combines QI or change management techniques. Further, it is designed for learners with intermediate to advanced knowledge of the concepts of quality improvement and patient safety, and who have or will have responsibilities for leading QI initiatives or have other relevant senior QI administrative roles. Learn more...

BCM Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference

This annual conference is held in Houston, Texas, and it is organized and hosted by the I-QIPS. It seeks to educate attendees on healthcare improvement topics, such as care coordination, health information technology to reducing errors, professionalism to improving patient safety, quality improvement initiatives in ambulatory settings, and ethical concerns with quality improvement projects. As a leader in quality and safety, BCM is uniquely positioned to initiate and facilitate across attendees important regional dialogue regarding quality improvement and patient safety strategies.

Additionally, the I-QIPS provides opportunities for current and past learners of the following I-QIPS QI training courses to participate in the annual conference to showcase improvement projects that they are developing (or have developed recently) through their participation in the course(s) and, as such, are implementing (or have implemented) their projects in clinical areas across the College and affiliated institutions: QI Jump Start (intermediate-level course) and Leading Healthcare Improvement (advanced-level course)

If selected by conference organizers, the learners' participation in the conference (whether via oral or poster presentations about their projects) not only provides an opportunity for them to develop and showcase/disseminate their improvement efforts, but it also provides them (along with other conference attendees) with a unique opportunity to become aware of and learn from other improvement initiatives being conducted by their colleagues across the College and affiliated institutions.