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Equipping you to lead and participate in quality improvement projects in your organization.

Quality Improvement: A Tool for Transformation

The 2023 Quality Improvement: A Tool for Transformation course will be held Sept. 28–Dec. 15 at a location TBD in Seattle.

This 11-week hybrid professional development course is designed in partnership with the UW Medicine Center for Scholarship in Patient Care Quality and Safety. Physicians are critical in leading the transformation of care delivery systems to fulfill the duty to our patients. While leading QI efforts is not a skill learned in medical school, physicians can acquire these skills over time to guide health care organizations to deliver safe and effective care.

“I’ve been to many talks that refer to QI strategies, but it seemed too daunting to try to learn on my own. This class was exactly what I was looking for—a solid education on basic QI techniques that is manageable and practical. The instructors catered to physicians and PAs from both large and small organizations. I appreciate the acknowledgment of the barriers we face and the helpful strategies on how to work around them. I would highly recommend this course to other physicians and PAs.”
– Bridget Sipher, MD, Olympia Pediatrics

The cost of the course is $2,100/WSMA member and $2,600/non-WSMA member.

Topics include:

  • Aim statements
  • Process maps
  • Plan-do-study-act cycles
  • Process and outcome measures
  • Driver diagrams
  • Equity and disparities in improvement work
  • Data in improvement
  • Change management

Who Should Attend

  • Physicians, physician assistants, and health care professionals interested in learning and applying a quality improvement framework into their current workflows.

Faculty

Russell Migita, MD

Russell Migita, MD, is a practicing physician and assistant clinical director in the emergency department at Seattle Children's Hospital. Dr. Migita is the co-director of education at the UW Medicine Center for Scholarship in Patient Care, Quality & Safety, where he co-directs a certificate program in quality and safety. He has trained hundreds of health care staff in the WWAMI region and led dozens of QI efforts using A3 methodology, Six-Sigma tools, Model for Improvement, Lean, and Lean facility design.


Nicholas Meo, MD

Nicholas Meo, MD, is a hospitalist and associate medical director for quality and safety at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. As an educator, he has developed curriculum and taught hundreds of medical students, residents, faculty, and staff in principles of quality improvement and patient safety.


Sabreen Akhter, DO

Sabreen Akhter, DO is a pediatric emergency physician and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics/Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has been active in leading efforts to center equity, justice, and anti-racism in her work through leading a track for pediatric residents focused on health equity and justice, leading the EDI Committee for faculty in the Department of Pediatrics, as well as leading committees focused on improving equity within the Division of Emergency Medicine. She is also interested in narrative writing and using storytelling for advocacy and has been published in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, and others.


Emily Hartford, MD, MPH

Emily Hartford, MD, MPH, is a is an assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Washington. She provides clinical care and teaching in the Seattle Children’s Hospital ER. She conducts research using quality improvement methodologies to improve equity for patients and families presenting for emergency care, particularly for patients with different languages for care and racial/ethnic backgrounds. She teaches and works on EM curriculum for the Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care fellowship at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and is a part of a working group to implement pediatric teaching curricula with the African Federation of EM. She is also a faculty director for the UW resident pathway in community/global health and advocacy.

Cancellation Policy

Refunds are available for live event registration depending on when the refund is requested in relation to the start of the course.

  • 91 days or more until start of event: a 100% refund less a $100 processing fee per person
  • 61–90 days until start of event: a 75% refund
  • 3160 days until start of event: a 25% refund
  • 30 days or less until start of event: no refund

WSMA reserves the right to cancel the course. If so, preregistered participants will be notified and full refunds provided. No-shows will receive no refund. Registrations may not be transferred to another person at any time. A participant may transfer registration one time to the next available course if space permits. All subsequent transfers of registration will incur a change fee of $250. All refunds will be issued to the original form of payment.

For in-person courses, the WSMA cannot be held responsible for other costs or expenses, including cancellation/change charges assessed by airlines, travel agencies, or hotels.

CME Credit

The WSMA is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The WSMA designates this other (blended live and online enduring material) activity for a maximum of 14 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ . Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity meets the criteria for up to 14 hour(s) of Category I CME credit to satisfy the relicensure requirements of the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission.

Objectives

  • Apply fundamental QI tools physicians and front-line health care workers can use to lead improvement projects in their clinical setting.
  • Use a systematic approach to develop QI project ideas.
  • Outline ways QI efforts can impact equity and approaches to reduce health care disparities.
  • Use strategies to overcome barriers to implementation and maximize the impact of interventions.
Join or renew your membership today!