On a cold, dreary evening last December, the IHI Open School Chapter at Wright State University held a meeting to talk about the concept of quality improvement (QI) and its growing importance in medical professions. The Chapter Leaders hoped the event would expose students to the ideas of QI and to help them get involved in their own QI projects. Brian Patterson, one of the Chapter Leaders, said that their strategy worked “We were delighted at the questions and attentiveness of the audience. Man ... read full post

This April, the intrepid improvers of the IHI Open School’s West Coast Region held their first-ever conference, drawing about 160 students, professionals, and community members to Portland, OR. Student organizers from the IHI Open School Chapter of Portland State University and Oregon State Health and Science University, in collaboration with the West Coast Region, welcomed speakers from across the country to share their diverse experiences in health improvement, leadership, safety, system redes ... read full post

Mike Briddon, IHI Open School Editorial Director, wrote the following post about a tour this week at Harvard Medical School — where he got a peek into the future of medical education.I didn’t expect to be stressed. I didn’t expect my heart to race or my palms to sweat. Or to hear a patient coughing and asking for help. “Please,” the wheezy patient implored, “just do something!” Mr. Jones, a life-like mannequin who could talk, blink, and tell our untrained group how we were letting him die, was ... read full post

Jonathan Brach is an EMT in Woburn, MA, and an aspiring medical student. He participated in the new IHI Open School course, Leadership ... read full post

Nursing professors unite! Last week, the IHI Open School was at the QSEN conference with this stylish professor of nursing, Marrudda Williams of Cypress College in California. Last week, the IHI Open School was lucky enough to attend the annual gathering of a group of nurse educators who are pioneering the teaching of quality and safety skills in nursing curricula across the country. The group, known as the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses Institute (QSEN), was celebrating its 10th bir ... read full post