Applied Health Care Quality Improvement Through Simulation

In this course, learners will be able to: 

1. Articulate the key challenges in healthcare quality and explain the rationale for a science-based approach to improvement  

2. Describe the dimensions of quality care and apply them to their own professional context  

3. Explain the frameworks that guide organized improvement efforts, including the distinction between discovery and delivery  

4. Identify the core principles of improvement science and describe how each shapes the design of effective improvement initiatives  

5. Explain why standards, training, or measurement alone are insufficient drivers of sustained improvement  

6. Draw on real-world improvement examples to recognize how improvement methods are applied across diverse healthcare settings  

7. Draft the building blocks of an improvement project for their own setting: an aim statement, a team map, a process analysis, a measurement plan, and a time-series display  

This course is intended for healthcare leaders and professionals who are ready to lead an improvement initiative, such as: 

• Mid-level health care leaders who want a practical approach and means to contextualize their learnings for current or future health care improvement projects 

• Senior leaders who have had previous training in health care improvement and want more practical application in their learning for a current or future projects 

• Various health care personnel with titles that may include: Health Care Project Managers; Director of Quality Improvement; Director of Patient Experience; Director of Hospital Operations; Director of Patient Safety; Physician and Nurse Leaders; Director of Engagement; Service Line Leaders; Executive Directors; Ministry of Health Team Leaders; Directors of Programs; and more 

This is an online blended course, consisting of both self-paced (asynchronous) and live (synchronous) sessions.

The core of this course is a live online simulation of a healthcare improvement project. It starts with setting the aim for improvement and goes through achieving the desired results. Course participants are divided up into small groups to work on this simulation of seven 1.5-hour sessions. Each session consists of a 10-minute introduction, group exercises, guided work in small groups, and a discussion.  

Leading up to the simulation are self-paced modules which introduce healthcare quality improvement concepts, principles, methods, and examples.  

Following the simulation exercise, advanced concepts are introduced using a combination of self-paced content and live sessions. 

Week	Module	Format	Live Session Date & Time
Week 1 – Begins Mon, April 12	Module 1: Quality of Healthcare	Self-paced	—
Week 2 – Begins Mon, April 19	Module 2: Overview of Improving Healthcare	Self-paced	—
Week 3 – Begins Mon, April 26	Module 3: Examples of Improving Healthcare	Self-paced	—
	Modules 1–3 Synthesis + Q&A	Live	Thu, April 29, 9:00–10:00am ET
Week 4 – Begins Mon, May 3	Module 4: Defining Improvement Aim(s)	Live	Mon, May 3, 9:00–10:30am ET
	Module 5: Forming the Improvement Team	Live	Tue, May 4, 9:00–10:30am ET
	Module 6: Understanding the Current Process	Live	Wed, May 5, 9:00–10:30am ET
Week 5 – Begins Mon, May 10	Module 7: Developing Indicators I	Live	Mon, May 10, 9:00–10:30am ET
	Module 7: Developing Indicators II	Live	Tue, May 11, 9:00–10:30am ET
	Module 8: Developing, Testing, and Implementing Changes	Live	Wed, May 12, 9:00–10:30am ET
	Module 9: Setting Up and Plotting a Time Series Chart	Live	Thu, May 13, 9:00–10:30am ET
Week 6 – Begins Mon, May 17	Module 10: Additional Concepts and Approaches in Improving Health Care	Self-paced	—
Week 7 – Begins Mon, May 24	Module 11: Additional Concepts and Approaches in Improving Health Care	Self-paced	—
Week 8 – Begins Mon, May 31	Module 12: Additional Concepts and Approaches in Improving Health Care	Self-paced	—
	Module 13: Leading Improvement	Live	Wed, June 2, 9:00–10:00am ET
Week 9 – Begins Mon, June 7	Module 14: Final Discussion – Pseudoinnovation, The Question of Improvement & Final Q&A	Live	Wed, June 9, 9:00–10:00am ET

Current faculty, subject to change

Please return to our website at a later date for credit information.