THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Deanery of Clinical Sciences : Internal Medicine

Postgraduate Course: Principles of Quality Improvement in Healthcare (IMED11023)

Course Outline
SchoolDeanery of Clinical Sciences CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course aims to enable participants to explore the different meanings of quality in the context of healthcare and to develop critical appraisal skills concerning a range of approaches and tools for promoting quality in health care including Deming's Profound Knowledge. Students will be able to assess the role of governments, organizations, professionals and service users in quality improvement initiatives. They will also be confronted with the impact of quality improvement initiatives and understand how to address errors which may be highlighted through these initiatives.
Course description This course is an online learning course that will address the impact and challenges associated with quality improvement initiatives within the healthcare context. Quality improvement In medical practice focuses on reducing medical errors and needless morbidity and mortality. However, quality improvement initiatives in healthcare can be very complex as there are numerous stakeholders in the medical industry who may have different expectations and are impacted differently through these initiatives. These stakeholders include providers, patients, families of patients, and medical employers. Providers tend to view quality in a technical sense, accuracy of diagnosis, appropriateness of therapy,and resulting health outcome, while patients want compassion as well as skill with clear communication. Balancing the concerns and challenges of all of these stakeholders is a difficult yet essential skill when producing and implementing quality improvement initiatives.

Thus, this course will focus on the following priorities for meeting the requirements for optimal quality improvements in healthcare. First, students will review the core principles of improvement science and systems thinking in health care in order to develop creative responses to emerging problems. Students will also critically review the Model for Improvement specifically and understand how best to extend its use in practice. Students will also be asked to identify the scope of medical errors and conceptualise the impact on patients, families, and providers. By evaluating and understanding how medical errors occur, students will be expected to demonstrate initiative in developing a culture which allows new ways of thinking and learning from such failures.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5, Online Activities 30, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 63 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework 100%
The assessment is coursework: Online asynchronous discussion boards and written assignment
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Work with a critical understanding of the core principles of improvement science and systems thinking in health care
  2. Develop creative responses to emerging problems by understanding and applying Demings Profound Knowledge
  3. Critically review the Model for Improvement and extend its use in practice
  4. Identify the scope of medical errors and conceptualise the impact on patients, families, and providers
  5. Demonstrate initiative in developing a culture which allows new ways of thinking and learning from failure
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordsquality improvement,QI,healthcare initiatives,internal medicine
Contacts
Course organiserDr Frances Parry
Tel: (0131 5)37 1822
Email: F.Parry@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Brian Burgon
Tel: 0131537 2506
Email: Brian.Burgon@ed.ac.uk
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