Strategies for facilitating the transformation of local healthcare through improvement teams and networks were discussed at the latest Grand Rounds hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).
Dr Deborah White, full professor, dean and CEO of the University of Calgary in Qatar, gave a presentation explaining the capacity of high-performing teams for initiating positive changes in healthcare, as well as the challenges facing them.
Speaking at WCM-Q to an audience of physicians, pharmacists, nurses and allied health professionals, Dr White identified various facilitators and barriers to the creation of quality and safety improvement teams, which are often termed ‘quality circles’.
She explained the key skills required of clinicians and leaders as members of high-performing improvement teams, and the impact of shared culture, attitudes and beliefs on teams and improvement initiatives. In particular, Dr White said that a shared commitment to quality must pervade not just within the entire teams but within entire organisations, and that this is facilitated by opportunities for multi-level engagement.
Culture is really important and quality is everyone’s business, all the way from the people who do the cleaning in the hospital right through to senior leadership. In some of my experiences across Canada, that was demonstrated in the hospitals in quality circles where nurses, physicians and support workers all talked together about what they were doing. That sort of engagement is necessary as a platform for innovation and success.’
Dr White’s lecture also explained how to distinguish between a variety of different models, frameworks and approaches to plan and implement improvement initiatives.
The lecture, titled Leading Local and Health System Transformation: Forming Teams from the Bedside, C-suite and the Community, was accredited by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners and by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
For updates and more information about WCM-Q Grand Rounds, visit qatar-weill.cornell.edu.
Cover Image: Dr Deborah White
