IHI Open School Online Courses:
Curriculum Overview
Improvement Capability ......................................................................................... 4
QI 101: Introduction to Health Care Improvement* ............................................................. 4
QI 102: How to Improve with the Model for Improvement* ................................................ 5
QI 103: Testing and Measuring Changes with PDSA Cycles* ............................................. 6
QI 104: Interpreting Data: Run Charts, Control Charts, and Other Measurement Tools* .. 7
QI 105: Leading Quality Improvement* ................................................................................. 8
QI 201: Planning for Spread: From Local Improvements to System-Wide Change ........... 9
QI 202: Addressing Small Problems to Build Safer, More Reliable Systems ................... 10
Patient Safety ....................................................................................................... 11
PS 101: Introduction to Patient Safety* .............................................................................. 11
PS 102: From Error to Harm*............................................................................................... 12
PS 103: Human Factors and Safety* .................................................................................. 13
PS 104: Teamwork and Communication* .......................................................................... 14
PS 105: Responding to Adverse Events* ............................................................................ 15
PS 201: Root Cause Analyses and Actions ........................................................................ 16
PS 202: Achieving Total Systems Safety............................................................................ 17
PS 203: Pursuing Professional Accountability and a Just Culture ................................... 18
Leadership ........................................................................................................... 19
L 101: Introduction to Health Care Leadership* ................................................................ 19
L 102: Mental Health and Well-being During and After COVID-19 .................................... 20
L 103: Making Publishable QI Projects Part of Everyday Work......................................... 21
L 201: The Role of Leaders in Workforce Safety................................................................ 22
Person- and Family-Centered Care ...................................................................... 23
PFC 101: Introduction to Person- and Family-Centered Care* ......................................... 23
PFC 102: Key Dimensions of Patient- and Family-Centered Care .................................... 24
PFC 103: Incorporating Mindfulness into Clinical Practice .............................................. 25
PFC 104: Confronting the Stigma of Substance Use Disorders ....................................... 26
PFC 201: A Guide to Shadowing: Seeing Care through the Eyes of Patients and Families
............................................................................................................................................... 27
PFC 202: Having the Conversation: Basic Skills for Conversations about End-of-Life
Care ....................................................................................................................................... 28
PFC 203: Providing Age-Friendly Care to Older Adults ...................................................... 29
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Triple Aim for Populations ................................................................................... 30
TA 101: Introduction to the Triple Aim for Populations* ................................................... 30
TA 102: Improving Health Equity ........................................................................................ 31
TA 103: Increasing Value and Reducing Waste at the Point of Care ............................... 32
TA 104: Building Skills for Anti-Racism Work: Supporting the Journey of Hearts, Minds,
and Action ............................................................................................................................. 33
TA 105: Conservative Prescribing ....................................................................................... 34
TA 201: Pathways to Population Health ............................................................................. 35
Graduate Medical Education ................................................................................ 36
GME 201: Why Engage Trainees in Quality and Safety? .................................................... 36
GME 202: The Faculty Role: Understanding & Modeling Fundamentals of Quality &
Safety .................................................................................................................................... 37
GME 203: Designing Educational Experiences in Health Care Improvement .................. 38
GME 204: A Roadmap for Facilitating Experiential Learning in Quality Improvement .... 39
GME 205: Aligning Graduate Medical Education with Organizational Quality & Safety
Goals ..................................................................................................................................... 40
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Key
100 = Introductory concepts for all health care audiences
200 = Intermediate concepts and specialized topic areas
*Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety = The Open School offers a certificate of
completion to learners who complete 13 essential courses: QI 101–105, PS 101–
105, TA 101, PFC 101, & L 101
GME = Graduate Medical Education
L = Leadership
PFC = Person-and Family-Centered Care
PS = Patient Safety
QI = Improvement Capability
TA = Triple Aim for Populations
About Us
The IHI Open School’s multimedia online courses cover a range of topics in quality
improvement, patient safety, system design, leadership, and population
management. Through narrative, video, and interactive discussion, the courses
offer a dynamic learning environment to inspire students and health professionals
of all levels, across professions.
Courses are broken into digestible 15- to 40-minute lessons — each focused on
practical learning around a narrow topic — designed for busy learners and
educators. Institutional faculty and organizational leaders around the world rely on
the courses as an easy way to bring essential training to students and staff.
Visit ihi.org/education/ihiopenschool/courses to learn more about how the Open
School can help improve your interactions with patients, the safety within your
organization, or any of the systems in which you live and work.
53 State Street 19
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Improvement Capability
QI 101: Introduction to Health Care Improvement*
As the Institute of Medicine (IOM) declared in 2001, in words that still ring true, “Between
the health care we have and the care we could have lies not just a gap, but a chasm.” This
course launches you on your journey to becoming a health care change agent.
In Lesson 1, you’ll get a high-level picture of the current quality of care in the United States
and other nations. You’ll also see how health systems around the world are facing similar
challenges and how countries can study and learn from one another.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn about a 2001 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that laid
out six simple aims that have since guided countless improvements in health care and
inspired people across the globe. Then you’ll hear from agents of change describing
improvements in the real world.
In Lesson 3, you’ll learn why improvement, especially in a complex environment such as
health care, requires us to think about the larger systems in which we live and work. You’ll
learn about the development of theories and tools to help improvers better visualize and
understand the interdependent components of a system. Finally, you’ll practice applying
W. Edwards Deming’s four-part framework for improvement, the System of Profound
Knowledge.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Health and Health Care Today
Lesson 2: The Institute of Medicine’s Aims for Improvement
Lesson 3: Changing Systems with the Science of Improvement
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe common challenges for health care systems around the world.
2. List the six dimensions of health care, and the aims for each, outlined by the
Institute of Medicine in 2001.
3. Explain the value of improvement science in health care.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
QI 102: How to Improve with the Model for
Improvement*
The Model for Improvement, developed by a group called Associates in Process
Improvement, is simple to understand and apply. But it’s powerful.
This course will teach you how to use the Model for Improvement to improve everything
from your tennis game to your hospital’s infection rate. You’ll learn the basic steps in any
improvement project: setting an aim, selecting measures, developing ideas for changes,
and testing changes using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. As you go, you’ll have the
opportunity to use this methodology to start your own personal improvement project.
Lesson 1 will provide an overview of the Model for Improvement. You’ll learn how a
hospital system in Saudi Arabia successfully used it to reduce infections to zero in its
neonatal intensive care unit. We’ll also introduce you to a couple other helpful frameworks
for improving care, Six Sigma and Lean.
Lesson 2 teaches you to craft an effective aim statement. You’ll apply what you learn by
continuing to work on the personal improvement project you began in Lesson 1.
In Lesson 3, we recommend three types of measures for you to define and collect in your
improvement work: outcome measures, process measures, and balancing measures.
Lesson 4 will discuss several methods for developing good ideas for changes to test.
We’ll show you how visual tools can help you think critically about the systems and
processes that you’re part of. Finally, you’ll have the chance to start developing ideas to
test in your project.
In Lesson 5, you’ll learn about testing changes on a small scale and tracking your results
as you go.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 30 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: An Overview of the Model for Improvement
Lesson 2: Setting an Aim
Lesson 3: Choosing Measures
Lesson 4: Developing Changes
Lesson 5: Testing Changes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. List the three questions you must ask to apply the Model for Improvement.
2. Identify the key elements of an effective aim statement.
3. Identify three kinds of measures: process measures, outcome measures, and
balancing measures.
4. Use change concepts and critical thinking tools to come up with good ideas for
changes to test.
5. Test changes on a small scale using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
QI 103: Testing and Measuring Changes with PDSA
Cycles*
In this course, we’ll take you through basic concepts you need to know to run successful
PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles in a clinical setting. Measurement is an essential part of
testing changes with PDSA. It tells you if the changes you are testing are leading to
improvement.
In Lesson 1, you’ll learn how to develop operational definitions for a family of measures
(outcome, process, and balancing measures) during the “Plan” phase of PDSA. Then,
you’ll learn how to track those measures during the “Do” phase. We’ll also provide some
helpful data collection techniques, such as sampling, which can accelerate the pace of
your improvement work.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn the value of displaying your data over time, on a run chart. We’ll
also show you how to break the data down into subsets, according to specific variables,
to bring out additional learning and opportunities for improvement.
In Lesson 3, we’ll show you how to act on your results, in the “Act” phase of PDSA. We’ll
explain how to increase the size or the scope of subsequent test cycles based on what
you’re learning, so that you continue to grow your confidence that your change idea is
leading to improvement.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: How to Define Measures and Collect Data
Lesson 2: How to Use Data for Improvement
Lesson 3: How to Build Your Degree of Belief over Time
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe how to establish and track measures of improvement during the “plan”
and “do” phase of PDSA.
2. Explain how to learn from data during the “study” phase of PDSA.
3. Explain how to increase the size and scope of subsequent test cycles based on
what you’re learning during the “act” phase of PDSA.
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QI 104: Interpreting Data: Run Charts, Control Charts,
and Other Measurement Tools*
In this course, we’ll delve into how to draw an effective run chart to create a compelling
picture of your progress toward improvement.
We’ll teach you to distinguish non-random patterns in your data — that is, evidence that
performance has actually changed.
Once you’ve got that down, we’ll introduce you to three more excellent tools for displaying
and learning from data.
In Lesson 1, you will learn the elements of an effective run chart for improvement work:
an X and Y axis, 10 or more data points, the baseline median, and annotations of tests of
change. You’ll have a chance to practice creating your own run chart for a hospital that’s
trying to reduce wait times.
In Lesson 2, we’ll explain the difference between common cause and special cause
variation. We’ll teach you four rules to distinguish between these two causes of variation,
and we’ll introduce you to another type of chart that can also help with this, called a
Shewhart (or control) chart.
In Lesson 3, IHI’s Dave Williams, PhD, teaches you to use other charts that can also help
you understand variation within data sets: histograms, Pareto charts, and scatter plots.
These tools may help you from time to time in your improvement work.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 30 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: How to Display Data on a Run Chart
Lesson 2: How to Learn from Run Charts and Control Charts
Lesson 3: Histograms, Pareto Charts, and Scatter Plots
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Draw a run chart that includes a baseline median, a goal line, and annotations.
2. Describe the difference between common and special cause variation.
3. Explain the purpose of a Shewhart (or control) chart.
4. Apply four rules to identify non-random patterns on a run chart.
5. Explain when and how to use the following tools for understanding variation in
data: histograms, Pareto charts, and scatter plots.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
QI 105: Leading Quality Improvement*
The first four IHI Open School quality improvement courses taught you basic
improvement methodology, which you can apply to improve health care processes and
make care safer. But when you assume a leadership role in a clinical improvement
project, you’ll need more than just technical knowledge.
In the real world, you’ll need to know the steps for managing the project through to
completion. You’ll need to understand the psychology of change, and you’ll need skills in
interdisciplinary teamwork.
In the real world, the human side of quality improvement — that is, the ability to rally a
group around a cause — is every bit as important as having a good idea for a change.
In Lesson 1, we’ll walk you through the five stages of IHI’s Improvement Project
Roadmap. For each phase, we’ll provide a short checklist of the tasks you’ll need to
accomplish before moving on. We’ll also share tools to help you along, including driver
diagrams and IHI’s Framework for Spread.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn how to assess your own and your colleagues’ natural tolerance
for change. With that understanding, you’ll learn what makes people say “no” to
improvement efforts, and how you can address their concerns to move them closer to
“yes.”
In Lesson 3, we’ll cover who should be on a clinical improvement team and the
interprofessional competencies you’ll need to make that team function. We’ll talk about
strategies to promote teamwork and communication, including getting to know your
teammates and writing down your plan.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: The Four Phases of a Quality Improvement Project
Lesson 2: Change Psychology and the Human Side of Quality Improvement
Lesson 3: Working with Interdisciplinary Team Members
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe how to lead an improvement project through four key phases.
2. Identify and describe the components of IHI’s Framework for Spread.
3. Apply strategies to assess and overcome resistance to change.
4. Apply strategies to work effectively with interprofessional colleagues.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
QI 201: Planning for Spread: From Local
Improvements to System-Wide Change
Previous courses in the Quality Improvement catalog focused on testing and
implementing a change in one location. This advanced course is about the next logical
step: spreading the change.
In Lesson 1, you’ll learn how new ideas typically spread through a population, according to
the work of psychologist Kurt Lewin and sociologist Everett Rogers. With their research in
mind, you’ll learn what you can do to help motivate the more change-resistant individuals
in your population to embrace a new idea, to allow your innovation to spread as far as
possible.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn about how to help a new idea spread across a population, both by
motivating the people within the population to adopt the change and by developing new
ideas that are inherently more likely to spread. Based on the five traits of innovations that
spread, we’ll provide you with a tool, the New Idea Scorecard, to assess your idea for a
change. Finally, we’ll provide you with a roadmap for spreading a change, which we call
IHI’s Framework for Spread.
In Lesson 3, you’ll follow a detailed case study about how a hospital network in Central
Texas used the concepts from the first two lessons to spread a major improvement
initiative — widely improving care across a vast system.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: How Change Spreads
Lesson 2: Tactics for Spreading Change
Lesson 3: Case Study in Spreading Innovations: Transforming Care at the Bedside
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe how change spreads according to Kurt Lewin and Everett Rogers.
2. Assess the likelihood that a new idea will spread.
3. Apply IHI’s Framework for Spread to spread an innovation across an organization.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
QI 202: Addressing Small Problems to Build Safer,
More Reliable Systems
If an organization is to avoid catastrophic failure, staff members need to call out small
problems as they arise in daily work. In this lesson, you’ll learn that organizations that
successfully manage complexity have a deliberate approach to escalating the small
concerns and suggestions of employees. Staff members know how to recognize
problems, whom to contact, and how to get that person’s attention immediately. The
leaders, in turn, avoid blame and provide the resources necessary to solve problems.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain why system complexity requires us to take a methodical approach to
system design, operation, and improvement.
2. Explain how the absence of this methodical approach will cause complex systems
to fail predictably.
3. Propose specific applications of this methodical approach to the design,
operation, and improvement of health care.
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Patient Safety
PS 101: Introduction to Patient Safety*
No one embarks on a health care career intending to harm patients. But much too often,
patients die or suffer injuries because of their experiences within the health care system.
In this course, you’ll learn why becoming a student of patient safety is critical for everyone
involved in health care today, and you will learn a framework for building safer, more
reliable systems of care.
In Lesson 1, you’ll go beyond the numbers to hear from people who have experienced
harm from the health care system and learn how it has changed their lives. You’ll explore
the reasons that providing safe care isn’t always easy in an environment where powerful
drugs, quick decisions, and persistent distractions are the norm.
Lesson 2 discusses the component parts of a culture of safety, including psychological
safety, accountability, and teamwork and communication. Through different scenarios,
you’ll learn about the structures and behaviors that contribute to a culture of safety and
see these elements at work.
Finally, in Lesson 3, you’ll learn that organizations that successfully manage complexity
have a deliberate approach to escalating the small concerns and suggestions of
employees. Staff members know how to recognize problems, whom to contact, and how
to get that person’s attention immediately. The leaders, in turn, avoid blame and provide
the resources necessary to solve problems.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Understanding Adverse Events and Patient Safety
Lesson 2: Your Role in a Culture of Safety
Lesson 3: Your Role in Building Safer, More Reliable Systems
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Summarize why it is essential to improve patient safety.
2. Describe a framework for improving the safety of health care systems.
3. Identify four key elements of a culture of safety.
4. Explain why systematic learning from error and unintended events is the best
response to ensuring patient safety.
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PS 102: From Error to Harm*
This course provides an overview of the key concepts in the field of patient safety. You’ll
learn the relationship between error and harm, and how unsafe conditions and human
error lead to harm — through something called the Swiss cheese model. You’ll learn how
to classify different types of unsafe acts that humans commit, including error, and how
the types of unsafe acts relate to harm. Finally, you’ll learn about how the field of patient
safety has expanded its focus from reducing error alone to encompassing efforts to
reduce harm as well.
Lesson 1 will describe the Swiss cheese model of accident causation, which represents
the ways that serious adverse events are almost always the result of multiple failed
opportunities to stop a hazard from causing harm. We’ll explore how this model informs
thinking about error and harm in health care.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn how the human brain is wired to make certain kinds of mistakes.
You’ll also learn to identify four kinds of unsafe acts, as defined by psychologist James
Reason: slips, lapses, mistakes, and violations.
Lesson 3 looks at how our understanding of harm in the health care system has changed
and expanded over time.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: The Swiss Cheese Model
Lesson 2: Understanding Unsafe Acts
Lesson 3: A Closer Look at Harm
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the Swiss cheese model of error.
2. Define active failures and latent error and discuss their roles in causing harm.
3. List the main types of unsafe acts utilizing James Reason’s classification
system.
4. Explain why patient safety experts recommend focusing less on reducing errors
and more on reducing harm.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 103: Human Factors and Safety*
This course is an introduction to the field of human factors: how to incorporate
knowledge of human behavior in the design of safe systems. You’ll explore case studies
to analyze the human factors issues involved in health care situations. And you’ll learn
how to use human factors principles to design safer systems of care and implement
effective strategies to prevent errors and mitigate their effects. Finally, you’ll learn how
technology can reduce errors — even as, in some cases, it can introduce new
opportunities for errors.
The purpose of Lesson 1 is to build awareness of the ways in which multiple factors in
the workplace, involving both people and their surroundings, can contribute to error.
Lesson 2 introduces several ways to prevent or mitigate the effects of factors that
contribute to error, and provides examples of each.
Lesson 3 discusses the advantages and disadvantages of technology and offers some
suggestions on how people can design technology to mitigate the impact of factors that
contribute to errors.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Understanding the Science of Human Factors
Lesson 2: Design Principles to Reduce Human Error
Lesson 3: The Risks and Rewards of Technology
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain how human factors principles apply to health care.
2. Describe how changes to processes can mitigate the effects of factors that
contribute to error.
3. Define simplification, standardization, constraints, forcing functions, and
redundancies.
4. Discuss the risks and benefits of using technology to improve patient safety.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 104: Teamwork and Communication*
Effective teamwork and communication are critical parts of the design of safe systems.
In this course, you’ll learn what makes an effective team through case studies from health
care and elsewhere. You’ll analyze the effects of individual behavior for promoting
teamwork, communication, and a culture of safety. You will learn several essential
communication tools, and you will learn how to prevent common problems associated
with lapses in communication during inherently risky health care situations.
Lesson 1 discusses why effective team functioning is so critical to protecting patients
from harm, including common types of errors associated with ineffective teamwork and
communication. You’ll learn to distinguish teams that are working effectively from those
that are not.
Lesson 2 provides specific techniques teams can use to improve their communication,
such as SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation), critical language,
and briefings.
Lesson 3 reviews some of the most common problems associated with
miscommunication during critical transitions in health care — when responsibility for a
patient is transferred between providers and/or locations — and how to prevent them.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Fundamentals of Teamwork and Communication
Lesson 2: Tools and Techniques for Effective Communication
Lesson 3: Safety During Transitions Across the Continuum of Care
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain how individual behavior and team dynamics in health care can make care
safer or less safe.
2. Use structured communication techniques to improve communication within
health care.
3. Specify possible interventions to improve patient safety and reduce risk during
times of transition.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 105: Responding to Adverse Events*
In this course, we’re going to describe and advocate a patient-centered approach to use
when things go wrong. This approach to adverse events and medical error centers on the
needs of the patient, but it is also the best way to address the needs of a caregiver in the
wake of an adverse event.
In Lesson 1, we’ll discuss what caregivers should say — and how to say it — immediately
after such an event occurs. Because, as you’ll see through several examples,
communication is important. You’ll also learn who should handle this initial
communication and who else may need to be notified about the event.
Lesson 2 offers suggestions for when and how to communicate with a patient after an
adverse event, including recommendations for crafting an effective, sincere apology when
it is warranted.
In Lesson 3, you’ll hear some caregivers describe how terrible they felt after an adverse
event occurred in a patient’s care. You’ll learn what kind of support caregivers may need
after an adverse event, including counseling, time off, and involvement on improvement
teams. You’ll also learn why sometimes caregivers don’t receive the necessary support
after something goes wrong and how some organizations are working to improve this.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Responding to an Adverse Event: A Step-by-Step Approach
Lesson 2: Communication, Apology, and Resolution
Lesson 3: The Impact of Adverse Events on Caregivers: The Second Victim
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe four steps to take following an adverse event.
2. Explain how to communicate effectively about bad news and when you should
apologize.
3. Discuss the impact of adverse events on providers.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 201: Root Cause Analyses and Actions
This course introduces learners to a systematic response to error called Root Cause
Analyses and Actions (RCA2). The goal of RCA2 is to learn from adverse events and near
misses, and to take action to prevent them from happening in the future. By the end of
this course, you’ll have a step-by-step approach for investigating an event and improving
after something goes wrong.
Lesson 1 introduces RCA2 and describes the key elements of the process, including the
concept of risk-based prioritization.
Lesson 2 describes how to conduct RCA2, focusing on actions that should occur within
45 days of an adverse event or near miss incident. You’ll learn whom to include on an
RCA2 team, how to conduct interviews and draw a high-level flowchart to understand
what happened, and how to use what you learn to develop causal statements.
Lesson 3 takes a close look at the true purpose of RCA2: action. You will learn how to
compose recommended actions so that people with appropriate authority in the system
can use the findings to improve.
RCA
2
is a trademark of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. IHI does not endorse
any software or training for the RCA
2
process that is not directly provided by IHI.
Acknowledgement: This course content is based on the report RCA
2
: Improving Root
Cause Analyses and Actions to Prevent Harm. IHI gratefully acknowledges the members of
the expert panel who contributed to the report.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Preparing for Root Cause Analyses and Actions
Lesson 2: Conducting Root Cause Analyses
Lesson 3: Actions to Build Safer Systems
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain how adverse events and near misses can be used as learning
opportunities.
2. Determine which events are appropriate for Root Cause Analyses and Actions
(RCA Squared).
3. Describe a timeline of activities for the RCA Squared review period.
4. Describe activities that should take place during the action period of RCA Squared.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 202: Achieving Total Systems Safety
This course will review eight key recommendations for achieving safety on a system-wide
level, as proposed by the IHI report Free from Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety
Improvement Fifteen Years after To Err Is Human.
Lesson 1 will briefly review the complete set of recommendations, with a focus on
actions for leaders of health systems.
Lessons 2 will provide a closer review of critical recommendations for supporting the
health care workforce. Failure to support the health care workforce is associated with a
variety of adverse consequences that ripple across the health care system, making it less
safe for patients, families, and providers.
Lesson 3 focuses on how engaging patients and families as respected partners can
improve the safety of care.
Acknowledgement: This course content is based on the report Free from
Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety Improvement Fifteen Years after To Err Is Human. IHI
gratefully acknowledges the members of the expert panel who contributed to the report.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Eight Recommendations for Total Systems Safety
Lesson 2: Supporting the Health Care Workforce
Lesson 3: Partnering with Patients and Families
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. List eight recommendations for leaders to accelerate patient safety and prevent
harm.
2. Explain three key recommendations for promoting safety among the health care
workforce.
3. Identify five strategies that empower patient and family engagement in patient
safety.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PS 203: Pursuing Professional Accountability and a
Just Culture
This course focuses on how organizations can create and foster a culture of safety. It will
assist leaders in creating, shaping, and sustaining the type of culture needed to advance
patient and workforce safety efforts. It is designed to inspire, motivate, and inform you as
you lead your organization on its journey to zero harm.
In Lesson 1, you’ll learn how a wrong-site surgery occurred at a respected Boston hospital
and how the hospital handled it immediately afterward. The lesson will also discuss a
range of responses to error, including whether to disclose the mistake and whether to
punish the people involved.
Lesson 2 will describe six domains of a culture of safety and provide useful tools for
assessing and advancing your organization’s culture of safety.
Lesson 3 will help you determine the current state of your organization’s journey toward a
culture of safety, to help set priorities and drive improvement.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: A Just Culture Case Study
Lesson 2: Building a Culture of Safety
Lesson 3: Understanding and Improving Organizational Culture
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Discuss your opinions on one hospital’s response to a serious adverse event.
2. Describe six domains of a culture of safety.
3. Explain how to use quantitative and qualitative data to assess the culture of an
organization.
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Leadership
L 101: Introduction to Health Care Leadership*
When you think of a leader, who comes to mind? A president? A CEO? This course will
teach you a different idea of leadership: No matter your position or formal title, you can be
a leader. In this course, you’ll learn about a hospital that’s having some trouble with
infection control. As you grapple with the case, you’ll learn that leadership isn’t a position
of authority — it’s an action.
In Lesson 1, you’ll learn how to persuade different types of people and build enough unity
to move forward.
In Lesson 2, you’ll learn how good leaders use different approaches to persuade different
types of people. You’ll learn to develop persuasive arguments based on power, logic, and
emotion. You’ll also learn some specific tactics to help the teams of which you’re a part
achieve what psychiatrist John Gardner calls a “workable level of unity.”
In Lesson 3, we’ll show you how to focus on yourself as you move forward with your
career. We’ll introduce you to a former IHI Fellow who will share her positive experiences
and give you some tips to keep in mind as you start thinking about ways you can improve
care. This lesson will provide several strategies to overcome obstacles and chart a steady
course toward improvement.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: What Makes a Leader?
Lesson 2: Practical Skills for Leading Teams
Lesson 3: Strategies to Sustain Your Health Care Leadership Journey
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe several characteristics of leaders, who may or may not have formal
positions of authority.
2. Describe different techniques for persuading different types of people.
3. Explain why achieving a workable level of unity among teammates is essential for
effective team functioning.
4. List several ways to help sustain your health care leadership journey over time.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
L 102: Mental Health and Well-being During and After
COVID-19
Everyone needs support in times of crisis. For some, informal support from friends,
family, or colleagues is sufficient. Others may need professional counseling or treatment.
And many would benefit from something in the middle: the type of formalized peer
support services we will discuss in this course.
This short course will recommend actions for a difficult time. It will discuss how
individual health care workers can promote their own health and well-being, and how
team leaders can support staff, reduce fear and anxiety, promote psychological safety,
and facilitate peer support and connections everyday — especially during and after the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating existing issues with health care professional
burnout and joy in work that will persist once the more immediate crisis has abated. While
many staff are currently experiencing distress related to their work, others are not but are
at risk of mental health sequelae in the future.
Although this course will cover individual and team leader actions, these are short-term
solutions; the actions of system-level leaders remain paramount to maintain and improve
all aspects of health care quality and safety, including provider mental health and well-
being.
Estimated Time of Completion: 45 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe how you will prioritize self-care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Identify steps you will take to support colleagues during and after the COVID-19
pandemic.
3. Explain the concept of peer support in general and in relation to times of crisis.
4. Describe how you will use open, honest questioning as a tool during times of
crisis.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
L 103: Making Publishable QI Projects Part of
Everyday Work
Health care workers often find it challenging to incorporate disciplined quality
improvement (QI) into their daily work. Planning, managing, and completing improvement
projects with sufficient rigor to generate credible evidence and potentially publishable
knowledge are even more difficult. Nonetheless, careful set-up and agile leveraging of
existing resources and expertise can lead to surprisingly robust results.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe how you will design and execute improvement projects that yield
credible, publishable results.
2. Identify whether or not a QI project is “research” that needs to be reviewed by an
institutional ethics review board.
3. Discuss writing strategies that have worked for published authors
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
L 201: The Role of Leaders in Workforce Safety
In regard to physical injury, hospitals are among the most hazardous job sites in the
United States. Meanwhile, it is well-known that the culture of medicine can be toxic and
emotionally damaging. When workforce safety is a concern, it impacts patient safety and
an organization’s financial well-being. If your organization is on a journey to become a
high-reliability organization, it needs to prioritize workforce safety.
In this short course, experts will explore the foundational role of leaders in keeping the
health care workforce safe and strategies that have succeeded in reducing physical harm
and improving psychological safety across organizations.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the impact of health care worker safety on patients, families, and the
health care workforce.
2. Establish the business case for workforce safety.
3. Describe how you will implement strategies for reducing physical harm and
improving psychological safety across your health care organization.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
Person- and Family-Centered Care
PFC 101: Introduction to Person- and Family-Centered
Care*
The relationship between patient and provider is changing. Many health care systems aim
to provide not only high-quality services, but also patient-centered care that advances the
unique health goals of each person and family. In this course, you’ll learn about the ideal
relationship to promote health — especially for underserved people who face the greatest
barriers to health — as well as some practical skills to make the relationship a reality.
In Lesson 1, you’ll learn about several models of patient-provider relationships, and we’ll
introduce a new model: patient-provider partnerships. You’ll also hear from a patient
about her experience with illness and treatment.
In Lesson 2, you’ll see how social conditions, trust in health care, and culture affect the
patient-provider relationship.
In Lesson 3, you’ll learn several concrete skills any provider can use in clinical interactions
with patients to foster such partnerships. You’ll also learn about new models of care that
position patients at the center.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hours 30 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Patient-Provider Partnerships for Health
Lesson 2: Understanding Patients as People
Lesson 3: Skills for Patient-Provider Partnerships
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe the partnership model of patient-provider relationships.
2. Explain why the partnership model can improve health.
3. Discuss how social conditions, faith, culture, and trust affect the patient-provider
relationship.
4. Identify at least four skills to improve clinical interactions with patients.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 102: Key Dimensions of Patient- and Family-
Centered Care
What are the key attributes of patient- and family-centered care, and how can you bring
them into health care? In this course, you’ll learn the four core concepts of patient-
centered care as described by the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care and how
to apply them. You’ll also see how your health care system can involve patients in
redesigning care.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe four dimensions of patient- and family-centered care.
2. Identify practices of health care providers that can promote patient- and family-
centered care.
3. Discuss how health care systems can collaborate with patients and families on an
institution-wide level.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 103: Incorporating Mindfulness into Clinical
Practice
Clinicians juggle many tasks all day long: assessing patients, making critical decisions,
administering medications, documenting care, admitting and discharging patients, and
much more. But when the clinician is able to embrace an aware, focused, and present
state — that transcends the execution of tasks — that is practicing mindfulness.
This course will show you how to incorporate mindfulness into your practice. You’ll learn
how it can improve patient safety, quality of care, the patient experience, and joy in work
in any health care setting.
This content was made possible through grant funding awarded to the primary author,
Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, ACNP, NEA-BC, FAAN, by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation (Executive Nurse Fellowship Program, 2014 Cohort).
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe the need for mindfulness practices in the health care setting, including
how these practices relate to quality of care, patient safety, patient experience,
and joy in work.
2. Explain the difference between informal and formal mindfulness practice.
3. List several examples of mindfulness exercises for the health care setting.
4. List four situations in health care when mindfulness is especially important.
5. Conduct a body scan.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 104: Confronting the Stigma of Substance Use
Disorders
How does the language we use to describe health conditions affect the way we treat
patients? In this short course, you’ll learn to recognize substance use disorders (SUD) as
a chronic disease — like diabetes — that can be prevented and treated. You’ll practice
swapping stigmatizing phrases that frame SUD as a moral failing with language that
emphasizes the person, rather than the condition, and emphasizes the possibility and
power of recovery.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define substance use disorder as a chronic disease rather than a moral failing.
2. Describe how you will use person-first, recovery-focused language to help
destigmatize substance use disorders.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 201: A Guide to Shadowing: Seeing Care through
the Eyes of Patients and Families
In this one-lesson course, we’ll introduce you to patient and family shadowing, a valuable
exercise for health professions students and health care professionals at any stage of
their career. You’ll learn five steps for using shadowing to better empathize with patients
and families. You’ll see how empathy can help you in your daily work, and how it can drive
a sense of urgency to start testing and spreading changes to improve care.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define patient and family shadowing.
2. List five steps for conducting a successful shadowing project.
3. Describe how to interact with patients, families, and clinical staff involved in a
shadowing project.
4. Discuss how you can use your shadowing experience to create a care experience
flow map, observational summary, and final report.
5. Explain how shadowing can help you come up with ideas for changes to improve
care.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 202: Having the Conversation: Basic Skills for
Conversations about End-of-Life Care
In conjunction with the Boston University School of Medicine and The Conversation
Project (an initiative of IHI), the IHI Open School offers this course to introduce students
and health professionals to basic skills for having conversations with patients and their
families about end-of-life care wishes.
This course will also help you develop skills to have conversations with patients and their
families about their preferences for care at the end of life. As part of developing these
skills, the course invites you to “have the conversation” yourself, with a family member or
other loved one.
In Lesson 1, we’ll talk about why it’s important to communicate with patients and families
about their wishes regarding end-of-life care. People are dying for different reasons today
than they were a century ago, but too often they aren’t dying where (or how) they’d like to.
Lesson 2 will guide you step by step through the delicate, but meaningful process of
having the conversation about end-of-life care. We’ll show you a video of people who have
had the conversation with their families, and we’ll introduce you to something called The
Conversation Project.
In Lesson 3, we’re going to focus on practical skills for having the conversation with
patients and their families about their wishes regarding end-of-life care; about how best to
respond to questions they might ask you; and about difficult family situations and how to
deal with them.
We are focusing on talking about end-of-life care, but the truth is, these are skills that will
help with all important conversations you have with patients and their loved ones.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 30 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Conversation: An Essential Element of Good End-of-Life Care
Lesson 2: The Conversation Begins with You
Lesson 3: Understanding and Respecting Your Patients’ Wishes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Conduct conversations with patients and families to learn their wishes for end-of-
life care.
2. Explain available treatment options to patients and families in terms they can
understand.
3. Demonstrate how to answer difficult questions related to end-of-life care.
4. Facilitate conversations with patients and families to help them make decisions
about end-of-life care, based on an understanding of what matters most to them.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
PFC 203: Providing Age-Friendly Care to Older Adults
The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in
partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health
Association of the United States (CHA), set a bold vision to build a social movement so
that all care with older adults is age-friendly care. This means all older adults receive care
that: follows an essential set of evidence-based practices; causes no harm; aligns with
what matters to the older adult and their family caregivers
Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System entails reliably providing a set of four evidence-
based elements of high-quality care, known as the “4Ms,” to all older adults in your
system. When implemented together, the 4Ms represent a broad shift by health systems
to focus on the needs of older adults.
Lesson 1 will review the 4Ms Framework. Follow along with the Guide to Using the 4Ms in
the Care of Older Adults to learn how to become an Age-Friendly Health System.
In Lesson 2, we will review a series of steps (a “recipe”) for integrating the 4Ms into your
standard care: understand your current state; describe care consistent with the 4Ms;
design or adapt your workflow; provide care; study your performance; improve and
sustain care.
In practice, you can approach steps two through six as a loop aligned with Plan-Do-Study-
Act (PDSA) cycles. Lesson 3 will review how to do this.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 15 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Overview of Age-Friendly Health Systems
Lesson 2: Putting the 4Ms into Practice: A Recipe
Lesson 3: Integrating the 4Ms into Care Using PDSA
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define age-friendly care.
2. Describe the 4Ms framework, which presents four evidence-based elements of
high-quality care for older adults.
3. Explain how you will assess the current state of the 4Ms in your health system and
how to act on those findings to incorporate the 4Ms into routine care.
4. List six steps you will take to integrate the 4Ms into standard care for older adults.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
Triple Aim for Populations
TA 101: Introduction to the Triple Aim for
Populations*
You might think we do a pretty good job of providing care to individuals with illnesses and
diseases. But it’s important to take a step back and consider the factors contributing to
illness. It’s important to realize that things like education, the environment, and wealth
(and how it’s distributed) play an enormous role in health outcomes, too.
In this course, you’ll learn that to make progress against many of the most important
threats to human health, it’s not enough to improve clinical care for one patient at a time.
We also have to focus on improving the health of entire populations.
The Triple Aim for populations is a three-part aim: better care for individuals, better health
for populations, all at a lower cost. This course will explore why each dimension is an
essential part of improving health and health care, and how you can promote the Triple
Aim in your organization and daily work.
Lesson 1 will introduce you to the concept of population health — a different way of
thinking about how and why some of us enjoy healthy lives and others do not.
In Lesson 2, we’ll share strategies for providing excellent care experiences at the
individual level and maximizing health care’s impact on overall health.
Lesson 3 will explain why lowering costs of care is an essential component of improving
the quality of health care and the health of populations. We’ll step back to show you how
organizations and communities are working together to make a difference for the
populations they serve — part of which is lowering costs.
Estimated Time of Completion: 2 hours
Lessons
Lesson 1: Improving Population Health
Lesson 2: Providing Better Care
Lesson 3: Lowering Costs of Care
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe the three components of the IHI Triple Aim for populations.
2. Explain the responsibilities of clinicians and health care systems in optimizing
population-level outcomes with available resources.
3. Understand medical care as one determinant of the overall health of a population,
and the relationship of health care quality and safety to population health.
4. Provide examples of population-level interventions designed to improve overall
health and reduce costs of care.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
TA 102: Improving Health Equity
This three-lesson course will explore health disparities — what they are, why they occur,
and how you can help reduce them in your local setting. After discussing the current (and
alarming) picture, we’ll learn about some of the promising work that is reducing
disparities in health and health care around the world. Then, we’ll suggest how you can
start improving health equity in your health system and community.
Lesson 1 uses statistics and videos of experts to highlight disparities in health care and
health — and to consider what’s causing these gaps to widen among populations.
In Lesson 2, it’s time to examine work that is reducing inequities by better serving people
with poor health and inadequate health care. We’ll introduce IHI’s Framework for Health
Care Organizations to Achieve Health Equity and give examples of organizations pursuing
equity by taking a tour of several successful initiatives.
Finally, it’s your turn. You have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients
and their communities. In Lesson 3, we offer several strategies for getting started.
Estimated Time of Completion: 2 hours
Lessons
Lesson 1: Understanding Health Disparities
Lesson 2: How Health Care Can Advance Health Equity
Lesson 3: Your Role in Improving Health Equity
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Recognize at least two causes of health disparities in the US and around the
world.
2. Describe at least three initiatives to reduce disparities in health and health care.
3. Identify several ways you can help reduce health disparities.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
TA 103: Increasing Value and Reducing Waste at the
Point of Care
This course will provide you with an overview of value in health care. We’ll start by
distinguishing between cost and value, and understanding how both of these concepts
relate to quality.
We’ll introduce you to the growing problem of health care spending, as well as the health
care practitioner’s role in managing these costs. Finally, we’ll explain how to identify and
overcome barriers to providing high-value, cost-effective care.
Estimated Time of Completion: 45 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the potential harm of low-value tests and procedures.
2. Distinguish between cost and value in health care.
3. Define resource stewardship in health care.
4. Describe the ethical case for resource stewardship in health care.
5. Identify common barriers to resource stewardship and enablers of inappropriate
resource use.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
TA 104: Building Skills for Anti-Racism Work:
Supporting the Journey of Hearts, Minds, and Action
In this course, we will build skills to counter structural racism and improve health equity.
We will examine the ways racism and anti-racism operate in our organizations and
systems, with a focus on addressing inequities in health and health care. You will learn
strategies for starting or continuing your work in this area individually and collectively.
This course largely focuses on the history of anti-Black racism and resistance in the
United States. These specific learnings can fuel work to address inequities worldwide so
that all people can achieve their full potential.
In Lesson 1, we will begin by defining racism and the way it operates not simply through
individuals, but through our organizations, policies, and structures. Then, we will focus on
anti-Black racism from the 1600s to today.
In Lesson 2, we will focus on racism and anti-racism in health and health care. We will talk
about the history of mistreatment and mistrust between communities and health care
providers, as well as other institutions that play a crucial role in health and well-being. We
will look at implicit bias and the ways racism can influence our actions without our
awareness. And, we will hear about “curb cut thinking” and how we can address inequities
facing groups experiencing disadvantage to improve health and health care for all.
In Lesson 3, we offer several strategies for getting started or continuing your work as an
individual and in your workplace, school, or community. Finally, we’ll share resources to
continue to learn, explore structural and systemic change, and improve health equity and
well-being.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 35 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Racism and Anti-Racism in the US: History and Context
Lesson 2: Focus on Health and Health Care
Lesson 3: What You Can Do
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define anti-racism and four types of racism.
2. List ways that structural racism creates and reinforces inequities in the US.
3. Name examples of structural and institutional racism in health and health care.
4. Define implicit bias and list ways to reduce and mitigate it.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
TA 105: Conservative Prescribing
This course provides an overview of conservative prescribing, an approach that
encourages health care professionals to ask questions and carefully weigh the risks and
benefits of a medication before starting or continuing a prescription. You’ll learn how to
prescribe drugs strategically and to recommend non-drug therapy where appropriate.
You’ll learn to watch for adverse events and consider long-term, broader health effects.
Finally, you’ll learn critical skills to create a shared agenda with patients and families, and
to evaluate data to improve the health and quality of life of patients.
Although medications can provide great benefits for patients, they can also cause great
harm. Lessons 1 and 2 introduce the concept of conservative prescribing and explore the
six domains of conservative prescribing: think beyond drugs, prescribe strategically,
watch for adverse effects, use caution with new drugs, engage patients and families, and
consider the long term.
Lesson 3 examines drug approval pathways and key features of clinical trial design that
play a role in evidence about new drugs. When a medication is approved, information
about the drug is shared through different formats, including published studies, clinical
guidelines, thought leader opinion articles, and advertising by pharmaceutical companies.
A variety of tools can support conservative prescribing, including use of non-
pharmaceutical therapy, shared decision making with patients, and collaboration across
the care team. Lesson 4 builds on earlier lessons, offering practical strategies and
resources to inform more conservative prescribing.
This content was made possible through grant funding to Brigham and Women’s Hospital
and Dr. Gordon Schiff by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Dr. Schiff was the
principal investigator for the project.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 40 minutes
Lessons
Lesson 1: Balancing Risks and Benefits
Lesson 2: Six Domains of Conservative Prescribing
Lesson 3: Evaluating Evidence for New Medications
Lesson 4: Strategies and Resources for Better Prescribing
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Define conservative prescribing.
2. Interpret claims about the risks and benefits of drugs, especially new drugs, based
on an understanding of the strengths and limitations of available evidence.
3. Describe historical and current examples of serious adverse drug effects.
4. Apply the six domains of conservative prescribing to optimize the safety and
effectiveness of drug therapy.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
TA 201: Pathways to Population Health
While health care leaders increasingly recognize the opportunity to improve the health of
the communities they serve, the pathways to do so remain the roads less traveled.
In the words of one CEO, “I’m on the bus for population health; in fact, I’m driving the bus.
But I need help shifting my core business — all of which focuses on sick care — to focus
on health and well-being. I need a roadmap to help me know how to do that.”
In this course, we present a roadmap for those involved in setting and operationalizing
their organization’s population health strategy. It’s a new way for health care change
agents at all stages of their population health journeys to organize efforts and guidance
to start making improvements in health, well-being, and equity for patients, populations,
and communities.
Estimated Time of Completion: 35 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Identify the four portfolios of population health and list associated activities and
examples.
2. Describe how to organize your strategy around the four portfolios and equity.
3. Explain the uses of tools and tips for accelerating your progress in population
health, well-being, and equity.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
Graduate Medical Education
GME 201: Why Engage Trainees in Quality and Safety?
In this course, we’ll discuss several reasons why organizations should strive to
incorporate trainees (medical residents and fellows) in quality and safety work. You will
hear from faculty and residents about why this effort is so important — and how it can
enhance the overall quality and safety of health care delivery.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. List at least two reasons why it is important to engage medical residents and
fellows in quality and safety work.
2. Describe the benefits of starting quality and safety training during a residency or
fellowship.
3. Identify at least three barriers to engaging residents and fellows in quality and
safety work.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
GME 202: The Faculty Role: Understanding &
Modeling Fundamentals of Quality & Safety
Just because you agree that quality and safety are priorities doesn’t mean you will feel
well prepared to lead the charge in these complex areas. You may be at the very
beginning of your own journey toward becoming proficient in quality improvement and
patient safety (QI/PS) — and that’s okay.
In this course, you’ll gain a better understanding of your current knowledge of QI/PS, and
then have the opportunity to expand your knowledge where it may be lacking. Even if you
haven’t received formal training in these areas, we’ll show you that teaching QI/PS skills
to the next generation relies on faculty like you.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain why it is important for faculty members to engage trainees in meaningful
QI/PS work that is tied to everyday clinical care.
2. Describe four principles for designing educational experiences in QI/PS.
3. List the core competencies in QI/PS that every faculty member should possess.
4. List several ways faculty can model the use of improvement principles in everyday
work.
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
GME 203: Designing Educational Experiences in
Health Care Improvement
In this course, we’ll discuss how to create an effective curriculum to teach quality
improvement and patient safety. We’ll provide some examples of organizations that have
been successful in this endeavor, along with a planning checklist any institution can use.
We’ll also highlight some organizations that are successfully integrating didactic
sessions with experiential training — a topic we’ll discuss further in the next course in this
series.
Estimated Time of Completion: 30 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain what kinds of topics are important to include in a didactic curriculum on
QI/PS for trainees.
2. Give examples of available QI/PS training materials, and explain how they could be
integrated into a curriculum.
3. Describe the characteristics of a successful QI/PS curriculum for adult learners.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
GME 204: A Roadmap for Facilitating Experiential
Learning in Quality Improvement
In this course, we’ll provide a roadmap that will help you engage trainees in experiential
learning at the point of care. We’ll cover three different models of experiential learning
within an adaptable framework. Based on your setting, role, and evolving comfort with
quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) concepts and tools, you’ll choose the best
approach for you.
Estimated Time of Completion: 60 minutes
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the importance of supplementing didactic instruction with experiential
training.
2. Describe three different models for experiential learning, and list several pros and
cons of each.
53 State Street 19
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Floor, Boston, MA 02109 ihi.org
GME 205: Aligning Graduate Medical Education with
Organizational Quality & Safety Goals
In this course, we’ll present innovative strategies that training programs around the
country are using to engage residents in institution-wide quality improvement and patient
safety (QI/PS) efforts. This toolbox of change ideas will help you or your institution’s
quality leaders build successful collaborations between existing QI/PS infrastructures
and graduate medical education (GME) programs.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. List and describe four change ideas that are being implemented in training
programs around the country to accelerate QI/PS education at the graduate
medical education level.
2. Discuss the cultural shift that is occurring, in which organizations are focusing on
root cause analysis and systemic improvement as opposed to placing individual
blame.
3. Suggest at least two reasons why trainee participation in institutional QI/PS
activities and committees is critical.
