Quality and Patient Safety Academy
This 12-month program delivers high quality performance improvement education. Sponsored by NYP and the Center for Patient Safety Science at Columbia, the Academy teaches healthcare professionals the necessary skills to lead health system QI and patient safety initiatives. Participants learn a variety of tools and strategies to become the next generation of clinical quality leaders.
Who is this for?
- Any healthcare professional interested in learning about quality and patient safety and applying learned skills to the clinical settings in which they are currently employed
- Clinical and departmental leaders interested in developing as quality leaders and educators
- Can attend all program sessions, complete assignments, and develop and complete a QI project
Course Schedule
Thursdays from 3-5 PM at Milstein on the following dates:
Topic |
Date |
| Model for Improvement & History of QI | Apr 10, 2025 |
| PDSAs | Apr 25, 2025 |
| Driver Diagrams, Ishikawa/Fishbone Diagrams, Pareto Charts | May 15, 2025 |
| Behavior Change Concepts | May 29, 2025 |
| Process Mapping and Value Stream Mapping | Jun 12, 2025 |
| 5 Whys, 6S and 8 Wastes | Jun 26, 2025 |
| Learning from Variation: Run Charts and Control Charts | Jul 10, 2025 |
| Leadership, Teams, and Teamwork in QI | Aug 7, 2025 |
| Coaching and Influencer Grid | Sep 11, 2025 |
| Just Culture, High Reliability, Quality, and Cost | Oct 9, 2025 |
| Thinking Across Silos and Outside the Box | Nov 6, 2025 |
| Health Equity and QI | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Mini Sessions: Project Presentations and Peer Review | Jan 8, 2026 |
| Sustainability | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Final Project/Poster Presentations | Mar 5, 2026 |
Course Requirements
Participants will complete a QI project
- Projects should be a priority area for NYP/CU and the participant’s clinical setting
- Meet regularly with a course mentor
- Regularly present project outcomes/updates to your work areas and the Academy
- Final projects will be presented in March 2026
Participants must attend 14 two-hour course sessions
- 2 Sessions each month April–June 2025, then 1 session monthly through March 2026
- Classes will be held Thursdays from 3-5 PM in Milstein Hospital
- All sessions must be attended in-person, and missing 2 or more sessions may require the participant to drop out of the course
Participants will complete the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) online Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety
Curriculum
- Each session will teach new QI concepts and tools through hands-on interactive classes and reinforce these learnings using online IHI modules.
- Participants will be asked to actively engage in each session and regularly submit deliverables based on course learnings.
- Receive feedback from the course instructor, mentor, and classmates.
Time Commitment
- Pre-course: Includes the completion of 2 online IHI modules introducing you to the Model for Improvement and meeting with course mentors who will help you develop the basic components of a QI project including a revised aim statement, project measures, stakeholder team, baseline data, and proposed interventions.
- Course: Requires at least 15 hours/month, especially in the first 3 months of the course, given in-class meetings, on-line IHI modules, submitting deliverables before each session, meeting monthly with course mentors, and completing a QI project.
Faculty and Staff
Instructor: Jason Adelman, MD
Director: Maureen Kelly, MD
Executive Sponsor: Baruch Fertel, MD