HSC NEWS - UT Health Science Center San Antonio

Registration open for Summer Institutes on EBQI

Posted: Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Kathleen R. Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN, director of the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice in the School of Nursing, has been leading the improvement science conferences for 12 years.
Kathleen R. Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN, director of the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice in the School of Nursing, has been leading the improvement science conferences for 12 years.

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Health care providers, educators and now students interested in boosting their IQ for QI (quality improvement) are invited to attend the 2012 Summer Institutes on Evidence-Based Quality Improvement July 17-21 in San Antonio.

The Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice (ACE) and the Improvement Science Research Network (ISRN) of The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio have brought together the Summer Institute on Evidence-Based Practice (SIEBP) and the Improvement Science Summit (ISS) to form the Summer Institutes on Evidence-Based Quality Improvement (SIEBQI).

The SIEBQI feature national and international experts in evidence-based practice (EVP) including:

Patricia Benner, RN, Ph.D., FAAN, professor emerita from the University of California at San Francisco;
Stephen P. Schmaltz, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate director and senior biostatistician in The Joint Commission’s Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation; and
John Øvretveit, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Phil., Ph.D., C.Psychol., C.Sci., M.I.H.M., director of research and professor of health innovation implementation and evaluation at The Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

New Student Program
New this year is the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to attend a special student program being offered in conjunction with the SIEBQI. “Reaching out to students is the next step in educating our workforce. By educating students upstream on the principles of evidence-based quality improvement we assure a future of excellent health care,” said ACE Director Kathleen R. Stevens, RN, Ed.D., ANEF, FAAN, professor in the School of Nursing’s Department of Health Restoration and Care Systems Management. “They are our future health care providers, and giving them the tools to incorporate research evidence into clinical care is critical in improving patient care and safety on a continuing basis.”

Pioneers in quality improvement
The UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Nursing established the ACE in 2000 as the nation’s first evidence-based center in nursing shortly after the Institute of Medicine issued its landmark report, “To Err is Human.” This and subsequent “Crossing the Quality Chasm” reports urged health care institutions to improve patient safety and quality of care by reducing human errors and basing care on scientifically proven best practices. Now in its 12th year, ACE has been on the forefront in this nationally endorsed agenda through the promotion of EVP ― providing patient care based on scientifically proven principles.

“Although it’s taken more than a decade to get health providers and educators on board with using EBP, there is quite a bit of interest in it now. ACE has been a national leader in developing the expertise, methodologies and models used to improve quality and patient safety,” Dr. Stevens explained.

Influence the national agenda for patient safety
“Each year we have more than 500 health providers and educators attend our conferences. In a new effort, we are actively seeking experienced investigators to contribute to our body of knowledge through the ISRN. This is a unique opportunity to influence better health care and patient safety on a national scale,” Dr. Stevens added.

Improvement Science Summit July 17-18
This specialty research conference builds the science foundation for improving health care. With the theme “IQ for QI – Discovery and Spread,” the ISS will be of particular interest to researchers, patient safety professionals, magnet coordinators, academic-practice partners and change champions. The summit will connect academic and clinical scholars to maximize efforts in investigating improvement strategies. The ISS is the official conference of the ISRN.

ISS highlights

Keynote: Improvement Science and the Future of Health Care Transformation,” presented by Patricia Benner, RN, Ph.D., FAAN, professor emerita at the University of California at San Francisco;
“Stepped-Wedge Design: From Principle to Clinical Practice,” presented by Jack Needleman, Ph.D., FAAN, professor and director of health services Ph.D. and M.S.H.S. programs at the University of California, Los Angeles’ School of Public Health; and
“Multisite Research on Scale Up and Spread,” presented by Stephen Hines, Ph.D., vice president of research at the Health Research and Education Trust of the American Hospital Association.

Specialty preconferences July 18
The three specialty preconferences are designed to introduce specific groups, including health professions educators, health professionals and anyone new to quality improvement to various aspects of EBP and team performance before attending the Summer Institute on Evidence-Based Practice.

Summer Institute on Evidence-Based Practice July 19-21
The SIEBP, with the theme “IQ for QI – Evidence, Action, Outcomes,” will be of particular interest to clinicians, researchers, educators and administrators. The SIEBP will prepare health care providers from multiple disciplines for an increasing role in EBP with the ultimate goal of improving care and ensuring patient safety.

SIEBP highlights

“Keynote: Moving Health Care Improvement Forward – You Can Do it!” presented by clinical leaders from the military health care system;
“How to Change Anything,” presented by Dave Angel, BA, master trainer at Vital Smarts;
“Panel: Workforce Fatigue and Patient Safety – From Evidence to Reality,” presented by Jeanne Geiger-Brown, Ph.D., RN, CNS, associate professor of family and community health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing; Lois L. Bready, M.D., senior associate dean for graduate medical education in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio; and Victoria Rich, Ph.D., chief nurse executive and associate executive director of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and assistant dean of clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Student Program
New for 2012, a special student program will be held in conjunction with the SIEBQI. The student program is open to all undergraduate and graduate students and will provide opportunities to interact with experts in EVP and improvement science. Students will participate in roundtable and poster discussions with leaders in the field. A special rate is available for qualifying students. Contact Kandice Hall at HallKM@uthscsa.edu or call 210-567-1486 for details.

Continuing Education Credit
Continuing education credit is available for all of the conferences. For more information, to register and for a complete list of the speakers and presentations, visit http://www.acestar.uthscsa.edu/institute/su12.asp and download the conference brochure or call 210-567-1486.