On Saturday 19th March, as part of my involvement with the Wales Student Chapter, I had the opportunity to attend the IHI Open School England Conference. The event was hosted by NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement in association with Birmingham University Medical School.The conference was a fantastic opportunity to learn from different Chapters, and how they run workshops and other activities for their members, from across the UK, and also promote the excellent work that we are doing within the Wales Student Chapter, with regards to our membership and structure
The day commenced with a welcome from Bernard Crump, Chief Executive for the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, who was very pleased to see so many students engaging with healthcare quality improvement and patient safety.
Sue Lister, a Senior Lecturer at Coventry University on Quality and Service Improvement in Healthcare, gave a presentation where she reiterated that quality and safety are not electives, and need to be integrated into our health professions training.
She explained that no one goes into work looking to cause harm, but that it is the system that prevents us being able to do our job to the best of ability.
Shannon Mills, Community Manager of the IHI Open School, gave a history of the IHI and the tremendous progress the Open School has achieved in just over 2 years where almost 300 Chapters have been established across the world.
A keynote address was delivered by Helen Bevan (Chief of Service Transformation at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement) who explained the fundamentals to becoming a change agent.
I was very interested in her explanation of the different energies that inspire people to change, and become change agents, which is important because we want more people to become change agents within NHS Wales through the Wales Student Chapter.
In this session delivered by students highlighting their involvement with their Chapters, I gave a presentation explaining my involvement with the Wales Student Chapter. Alongside this, an article I wrote about the Wales Student Chapter was then featured in the delegate packs. The main messages from the conference was the importance of faculty involvement when conducting improvement projects, but also the need for a committed group of students to ensure the good work of the Chapter is continued.
If you’re interested in gaining leadership experience in the Wales Student Chapter, and shaping the future of quality improvement across Wales please contact Victoria Evans, Wales Student Chapter Coordinator: Victoria.evans2@wales.nhs.uk
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