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-healthcare-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

QI Publication Funding

Purpose

To help support DFCM faculty who have had peer-reviewed articles focused on improving quality accepted for publication.

Award

The DFCM will award 50% of a publication acceptance fee up to a maximum of $1,000 CAD per publication. An applicant must demonstrate availability of matching funds. Awards are based on availability of funds.

Eligibility

All faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to Quality and Innovation Program Directors. The faculty member must be either first author or senior responsible author. Publications should relate to improving quality in primary care and summarize results of an original intervention. A maximum of one award will be granted per person per calendar year (January 1 - December 31).

Requirements

Completion of the online form.