Vanderbilt Healthcare Improvement Group
- A Chapter of the IHI Open School for Health Professions -
About Us: The Vanderbilt Healthcare Improvement Group (VHIG) is an interdisciplinary community of Vanderbilt management, medicine, and nursing students committed to advancing education and student participation in quality improvement in healthcare. We are part of a global network of Open School chapters supported by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
- Founded in December 2008 as the 99th Chapter of the IHI Open School for Health Professions
- Featured in the 2011 IHI Annual Report "Leading the New Way”, accessible from: http://ihi.org/IHI/About
- Awarded “Special Recognition for Excellence in a Student-Led Curricular Initiative” in the Duncan Neuhauser Curricular Innovation Award competition at the 2010 Academy for Healthcare Improvement International Scientific Symposium on Improving the Quality and Value of Health Care
Objectives:
- Create a network of health professionals and foster increased collaboration between health professions students
- Educate health professions students in the principles of patient safety and quality improvement and develop their quality improvement skills
- Accelerate the pace of quality improvement in the Nashville, Tennessee community
- Participate in scholarly research in patient safety and quality improvement
Education Projects:
- Fundamentals of Quality Improvement in Health Care: An Interdisciplinary Elective
- Quality Improvement Practicum
- Biweekly Quality Improvement Newsletter
- Interactive Interdisciplinary Educational Sessions
- Annual Speaker Series
Student-Run QI Projects:
- Implementation of a safety checklist into the electronic white board system of our operating rooms to increase operative team compliance with pre-incision safety practices
- Collection of patient documentation and patient and volunteer satisfaction data at the student-run Shade Tree Family Clinic to identify opportunities for process improvement
Strategic Partners for Project Generation:
- Hospital Corporation of America
- Shade Tree Family Clinic
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
2
Student Leadership Team:
Founders and Co-Presidents:
- Piotr Pilarski (VMS IV)
- Irving Ye (VMS IV/Owen I)
Administration:
Communications Director
- Natalie Ausborn (VMS II)
Education Director
- Matt Kynes (VMS IV)
Research & Projects Director
- Jake McClure (VMS II)
VP, Owen School of Management:
- Janice Babbs (Owen II)
- Julie McNeil (Owen II)
VP, School of Medicine:
- Scott Hagan (VMS II)
- Tim Lockney (VMS II)
VP, School of Nursing:
- Amanda Brantley (SON II)
- Ben Ferrell (SON II)
2
3
Dean Advisors:
- Jon Lehman, MBA (Associate Dean for Health Care Management and Associate Dean of Students, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management)
- Bonnie Miller, MD (Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
- Linda Norman, DSN (Senior Associate Dean for Academics, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing)
Faculty Advisors:
- Tom Cristenbery, MSN, PhD (Assistant Professor of Nursing, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing)
- Terri Crutcher, MSN (Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing)
- Jacob Hathaway, MD, MPH (Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine and Public Health, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
- Rangaraj Ramanujam, PGDM, PhD (Associate Professor of Management, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management)
- Richard Watters, MEd, PhD (Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing)
Membership:
- Over 70 students and 40 faculty and health professionals across 3 graduate schools in mailing network
- 49 management, medical, and nursing students enrolled in fall 2010 Fundamentals elective
- 4 medical students enrolled in fall 2010 Quality Improvement Practicum
For More Information:
- E-mail us at
- Visit our website: www.vanderbilt.edu/vhig
- Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/VanderbiltIHI
3