Amanda Hobbs knows that it might sound counterintuitive to try to increase reports of adverse events at a health clinic. But Hobbs, a doctoral student in industrial engineering at Purdue University, believes this is an essential step in improving care. In her winning essay for the David Calkins Memorial Scholarship, Amanda describes her efforts to uncover errors in care delivery at the clinic where she works as a quality improvement analyst, and reflects on the challenge and potential of culture ... read full post

What role can students play in improving care? Justin Slade, fourth-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine and former Open School Chapter Leader, recently appeared on WIHI to share his experience in health care quality improvement. As a first-year medical student, he worked on a project that helped improve care for sickle cell patients at Boston Medical Center. Below, he explains how students can help accelerate improvement.Open School What role can students play in improvi ... read full post

Duke University's Quality and Innovation Scholars Program (QISP) matches students with physicians and leaders in the Duke Health System to carry out health care improvement projects. So far, the program has reached almost 70 students. In the following interview, Chapter leaders Kathryn Hutchins and Maria Andrews explain how the Chapter got the program off the ground and how other Chapters can create their own practicum. OS How did the Quality and Innovation Scholars Program (QISP) get started? ... read full post

There is a growing consensus that improvement science is critical to providing quality care. If you want to get results — if you really want to make a difference — you have to know how to improve. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to make change because you’re passionate about improving care, only to flail about because you don’t have the right knowledge and tools to effect change.But learning improvement is a big investment in time and resources. I know firsthand that most physicians ... read full post

The Open School network is growing — and our Regional Leaders are here to support your Chapter whether you’re a start-up or well-established. What do Regional Leaders do? They’re long-time members of the Open School who can help Chapters on a one-to-one basis. Try them out when you have questions about planning events, finding resources in the Open School, connecting with other Chapters in your region, or brainstorming activities for your Chapter. To highlight the expertise of our Regional Lea ... read full post