During the past week, thousands of students, professors, doctors, residents, nurses, and average people like me marched to more than 50 health professional schools and universities with one common aim - to start a discussion on the state of the American health care system. And our talking points were not all that positive - The average cost of health care per person, per year in the United States is about $8,000. That is $5,000 more than the rest of the developed world.- The average American hos ... read full post

Hi! My name is Katie Crimmins, and I’m the new Project Assistant for the IHI Open School. I began a six-month co-op with the IHI Open School in July. I’m a senior year English major at Northeastern University, and I’ll be working with the IHI Open School (and with you) until late December. These first few months of my co-op have been one big crash course in IHI, quality improvement, and health care education – during my second week on the job, the IHI Open School hosted its second annual Student ... read full post

Social media may not necessarily be another topic in your curriculum, but it is something we all need to learn about. Why add another subject to the long list that clinicians, administrators, researchers, and volunteers need to learn? Because social media really is not some invention or passing trend. It is quite simply an evolution in the way that we communicate.   My favorite definition of social media:   "Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing ideas among humans." (Wikip ... read full post