There was so much else that happened this year, both at IHI and on campuses around the world, to advance quality and safety skills in the next generation of health care leaders.

More and more mentally ill patients had been leaving without discharge, posing an increasing threat to themselves and the community. If you were in charge of a quality improvement team addressing this problem, what would you do?

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

The 2017 IHI National Forum is around the corner. How can you make the most of this epic event, which draws some 6,000 health care leaders to Orlando, FL, in pursuit of new ideas, new friendships, and new energy? We asked Open School learner Sarah Miano, RN, who has attended three Forums, to share her tips on mastering the Forum — from newbies to veterans, and from students to professionals. 1. Definitely go to the Forum! You’ll be exposed to so many interesting quality improvement initiatives a ... read full post

In hospitals, comprehensive blood tests of inpatients are commonplace — way too common, in some cases. The Society for Hospital Medicine says repetitive blood tests are often unwarranted and can lead to harm in several ways — causing anemia, lost staff time, and significant costs. Matthew Cerasale, MD, a resident in the Henry Ford Health System and IHI Open School learner, decided to try to improve his own practice of ordering regular blood tests as part of a quality improvement elective. He the ... read full post