Dr. Tom Ivester, Chief Medical Officer of UNC Medical Center, led the Improvement Leader Program Kick-Off on April 25, 2019 in Bondurant G-030. “The Improvement Leader Program is the culmination of many months of planning,” he explained. He described the program as an immersive learning experience designed to develop competencies in leadership and quality improvement for clinical leaders. It is a year-long program structured around the identification and completion of a quality improvement project within a clinical setting. Participants in the Improvement Leaders Program will develop competencies in the following areas:
- Building, leading and managing teams
- Designing, planning and implementing clinical improvement
- Running Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles
- Self-awareness as a leader
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Handling conflict and contentious situations
- Prioritizing projects
- Preparing for sustainment
The program is currently in a “pilot” stage, and includes a certification process via IHI Open School and project resources provided by IHQI. Service Line Leaders who participate in the program will have a team that includes a clinical facilitator and a quality coach from PIPS. Dr. Ivester remarked, “A lot of weight is being put behind this program, with a lot of people invested in making sure this is successful.”
Matt Huemmer, IHQI Program Manager, elaborated, “We are very interested in evolving the program to make it effective for all participants, and welcome your feedback.”
IHQI is excited that the Improvement Leader Program is off to a great start, and will provide updates on how the program evolves. In the meantime, send inquiries to IHQI Program Manager, Matt Huemmer.
