Feb 15, 2023
Fourteen physicians and clinicians in Saskatchewan will be joining 82 other health care professionals from across the province to become quality improvement leaders through the Clinical Quality Improvement Program (CQIP).
This training program is hosted by the Saskatchewan Health Quality Council (HQC) and is run in partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Saskatchewan Medical Association and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. This will be the fifth cohort of participants to take part in this 10-month program, which is designed to build leadership in quality improvement work in health care, with a focus on clinical quality improvement projects.
Participants of this applied learning program will learn how to incorporate continuous quality improvement initiatives into their practice. This program is intended for physicians and other health care providers who are actively practicing in a clinical context or setting in Saskatchewan.
HQC Manager of Learning Programs Chelsea Schwartz explained every CQIP participant will carry out a clinical improvement project in their work setting during the program.
“Each CQIP participant leads a project as part of their learning, collecting data and testing changes to make improvements that impact the health care system,” Schwartz said, adding there have been a range of topics covered in the past. “Every cohort brings with it new ideas, areas of focus, and even some different fields within the health system where quality improvements can be made. To me, this shows that quality improvements can be found anywhere if we’re trained to look for them.”
CQIP participants are selected based on their prior experience with quality improvement, the feasibility of their proposed improvement project, the support from their organization for their improvement project, and the extent to which that project aligns with health system priorities.
Cohort 5 participants include:
- Dr. Kayla Flood, Pediatric Nephrologist, Saskatoon
- Dr. Sarah Liskowich, Family Physician and Hospitalist, Regina
- Dr. Matthew Bradshaw, Pediatric Critical Care, Saskatoon
- Dr. Allison Finningley, Anesthesiologist, Saskatoon
- Nicole Bootsman, CPSS Pharmacist Manager, Saskatoon
- Dr. Silken Stone, OBGYN Medical Resident, Saskatoon
- Dr. Kali Gartner, Family Physician, Saskatoon
- Dr. Rajan Govender, Family Physician and Area Division Lead, Maple Creek
- Dr. Olabode Ige, Family Physician and Family Physician Lead, Melfort
- Kristen Fox, Clinical Support Pharmacist, Regina
- Dr. Joel Mamchur, Physician and Hospitalist, Regina
- Dr. Irini AbdelMallek, Family Physician, Saskatoon
- Dr. Erin Cuddington, Hospitalist and Area Division Lead, Regina
- Cara Chow, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Team Lead, Moose Jaw
Dr. Erin Cuddington, a Hospitalist and Area Division Lead in Regina, said she works in a clinical area where there is continuous quality improvement happening all around her. She explained that environment has made her more curious about how she can become involved in her own quality improvement projects and support ongoing projects that her peers are undertaking.
“I have wonderful mentors who have helped me develop my ability to recognize trends in a system – both good and bad – and start to ask the ‘why’ behind these trends,” Dr. Cuddington explained. “However, I do not yet have the skill set to turn those ‘whys’ into more formal quality improvement projects that can help impact meaningful change on the system as a whole.
“I decided to sign up for CQIP to develop the skill set to be able to act on the ‘why’ when it comes up.”
Cuddington added that through the CQIP program, she is hoping to gain the skill set necessary to take her questions and turn them into QI projects that will help make changes in the system.
Modelled on the internationally recognized mini-Advanced Training Program at Intermountain Healthcare in Utah, Saskatchewan’s CQIP program combines classroom and online learning with individual coaching and a community of practice. CQIP is accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In 2018, the program received praise from an external evaluation conducted by Dr. Lois Berry.
This week, cohort 5 participants came together for their first virtual learning lab, marking the official launch of the program. Cohort 5 will conclude at the end of May 2022.
Click here to view past participant projects.
