Scholarship and Professional Development Opportunities

We can think creatively about ways to disseminate our results with others – from a blog, to commentaries, to presentations, to a QI report, to a more traditional peer-reviewed publication. Here are some avenues to consider.

Blogs

• Share your improvement experiences with other colleagues engaged in improvement work via Quorum (hosted by Ontario Health)

• Share your experience with patients through HealthyDebate 

• Many medical journals have associated blogs that would be good venues to share reflections

Presentations

The following conferences offer great opportunities to present primary care QI work:

• Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO)

• Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (C-QuIPS)

• Family Medicine Forum (FMF)

• North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) 

• North American Primary Care Research Group - Practice Based Research Network (PBRN)

• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 

Peer-reviewed publications

Full research papers can be published in a number of reputable journals. If a full research paper seems out of reach, here are some other options to consider:

• QI report in BMJ Quality Open

• Program Description or Commentary in Canadian Family Physician

• Innovations section in CMAJ

• Innovation report in Annals of Family Medicine

Maintaining knowledge and skills to improve quality is required to nurture a culture of curiosity and desire for ‘better’. There are many opportunities to continue your education in this regard:

Certificate programs:

• Centre for Quality Improvement & Patient Safety - https://www.cquips.ca

• Institute for Health Care Improvement  - Improvement Advisor - http://www.ihi.org/education/InPersonTraining/improvement-advisor/Pages/default.aspx

Degree programs:

• Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) Open School -http://www.ihi.org/education/Pages/default.aspx

• University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) Master of Science in Quality Improvement & Patient Safety - https://ihpme.utoronto.ca/academics/rd/qips-msc/

• Queen’s University - Master of Science in Healthcare Quality - https://healthsci.queensu.ca/hqprograms/programs/master-science-health-quality

• Queen’s University - Doctor of Philosophy in Quality - https://healthsci.queensu.ca/hqprograms/programs/doctor-philosophy-health-quality

Fellowships:

• VA Quality Scholars - https://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/veteran-affairs-quality-scholars-vaqs

Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (CQuIPS) Certificate Course & Excellence in Quality Improvement Certificate Program (EQUIP) 

The DFCM Quality and Innovation program offers funding to offset $2,500 of the cost for the CQuIPS Certificate Course or the EQUIP Certificate Program . More information about each program is listed below. 

Certificate Course 

• Fundamental QIPS skills including process mapping, change concepts, PDSA, run charts and how to lead change
• Prepares participants for successful execution of QI initiatives
• Intended audience:
  • Health professionals in practice (e.g., clinicians, allied health professionals, administrators) whose work or role actively involves QI or patient safety
  • Senior trainees seeking to make QI or patient safety a career focus in either an academic or a community-based setting
• Taught through 20 half-day in-person sessions delivered over ten months 
• Longitudinal QI project with one-on-one faculty membership
• $4,995 for physicians; $2,995 for residents, fellows, trainees, and health professionals

EQUIP

• Deeper dive into QI methodologies prepares participants to maximize project impact and receive academic recognition for their work
• Builds capacity in academic departments and universities
• Intended audience:
  • Academic faculty looking to integrate QI more meaningfully into clinical or scholarly activities
  • Health professionals in advanced practice or leadership positions working in academic health centres
  • Senior trainees seeking to make QI an academic career focus
• Taught virtually – six full-day sessions with monthly webinars in between
• Longitudinal QI project with one-on-one faculty coach
• $6,500 CAD

For more information about this opportunity please email dfcm.quality@utoronto.ca.