Behind the scenes, many healthcare professionals are leading quality improvement activities to ensure patients receive safe, effective, and timely care.
For Dr. William (known to most as “Billy”) Silverstein, quality improvement has always aligned with his ambition to improve the value of care in Canada’s healthcare system. With past experiences undertaking quality improvement initiatives, Silverstein knew a concentration in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) at IHPME would advance necessary skills and expertise in order to lead change within the healthcare sector.
“I hoped to continue focusing on promoting resource stewardship and high-value care,” says Silverstein. “To do so, I felt that I required a deeper understanding of quality improvement methodologies and fundamentals of improvement science.”
Silverstein shares that the QIPS program’s ability to pair in-class learnings with real-world quality improvement projects as well as opportunities to work toward peer-review publications meant he was able to build his professional portfolio throughout the program.
Most importantly, Silverstein highlights that collaboration with peers from different professional backgrounds and access to mentorship creates connections that may have not been possible elsewhere.
“Being taught and mentored by internationally recognized experts and the wealth of expertise at IHPME is staggering,” says Silverstein. “To be able to learn from some of the pioneers of this field was a privilege.”
Silverstein recommends anyone with an interest in quality improvement and patient safety to consider the MSc concentration in QIPS.
“QIPS is an immersive, innovative, and flexible degree that equips you with the fundamentals and connects you with mentors for future guidance,” says Silverstein. “It leaves you ready to tackle our biggest problems in health care and ultimately improve the quality of care health care systems provide to patients.”
For what’s next, Silverstein continues his clinical training in General Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto and pursuing further research training through a joint fellowship between the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Choosing Wisely Canada, as well as the Centre for Excellence in Education and Practice at the University Health Network.
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