Every year, IHI awards the David Calkins Memorial Scholarship to attend the National Forum (December 6-9, 2015, in Orlando, FL, USA) to one student who demonstrates a strong interest in health care improvement. In this blog post by IHI Open School Community Manager Becka DeSmidt, last year’s winner describes her Forum experience.

David Calkins

“Curiosity and an open mind are all you need to bring home fresh perspectives from the Forum,” according to Florentina Teoderascu, a medical student at the University of Toronto. When Florentina thinks back on her experience at last year’s IHI National Forum, she remembers how exciting it was to interact with so many others who feel just as passionately about quality improvement (QI) in health care as she does. She met people from all across the globe who are creating positive change in their local communities, and shared ideas about leadership and management with influential thinkers in the health care field. She came away inspired by those exchanges. “The individuals I met have taught me that no change is too small, and no obstacle is insurmountable,” she recalls.

Florentina was able to attend the Forum in 2014 because she submitted the winning essay for the David Calkins Memorial Scholarship. Her story described the QI project she launched to reduce the rate of mislabeled specimens in a pediatric intensive care unit and the lessons her team learned about the importance of engaging frontline staff to bring about sustainable change.

For Florentina, the Forum offers “limitless opportunities for personal and career development.” With so many events and topics to choose from, students can explore the vast array of QI initiatives happening across health care and gain insight into a specific area of work that sparks their interest. For example, Florentina attended a session on Lean methodology in the operating room, which is an area she is hoping to pursue.

If you are a full-time student, all you need to vie for the Calkins Scholarship are a passion for health care quality improvement and submission of a 500-word essay describing a health care improvement project that you would like to undertake or have undertaken. The Calkins Scholarship can fund your trip to the Forum and provide you with experiences as powerful as Florentina’s. This year marks the seventh year that IHI has offered students the chance to win a scholarship to the National Forum in honor of David Calkins.

Dr. Calkins (May 27, 1948 – April 7, 2006), MD, MPP, was a physician, teacher, health care improvement champion, and IHI Fellow who played a key role in the 100,000 Lives Campaign. He was devoted to securing the scientific underpinnings of the Campaign and embodied the Campaign’s spirit of optimism and shared learning.

In that spirit, we invite students interested in the Calkins Scholarship to submit a brief essay describing a health care improvement project – one you would like to undertake or have undertaken. Any currently enrolled, full-time student may apply. The scholarship covers the conference fees for the National Forum and reimburses up to $1,000 for travel, lodging, or other Forum expenditures.

We look forward to receiving your submissions and seeing you this year at the Forum!