Learn about quality improvement

The Safer Care Victoria Capability Development Program supports sector capability to strengthen clinical governance for the delivery of high quality care that is safe, effective and person-centred. 

We can help develop your skills and abilities in:

• quality improvement
• working effectively with people who have lived experience, including patients, families, and caregivers (consumers).

Our programs are based on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement. The model is a simple, powerful tool that helps organisations accelerate their improvement efforts. It’s designed to help teams achieve small, quick wins and apply lessons learned to new targets for improvement. 

Our programs are structured into a three-stage learning pathway: 

1. Foundations 
2. Implementing and leading 
3. Coaching 

Read more about our programs below or register your interest.

Foundations for quality improvement

• Time: 1 full day + 30 min online pre-work 
• Delivery: Face-to-face workshop (virtual program in development)

This program is designed for healthcare workers, managers, and consumers who are interested in improving the quality and safety of healthcare. It’s an introductory course that will help participants understand the IHI Model for Improvement and how to apply it. It will also cover the type of data used to inform quality improvement.

By the end of this program, participants will:

• understand quality improvement and how it can improve healthcare
• understand the IHI Model for Improvement, which is a framework for quality improvement
• understand how data and data variations can help you improve quality
• create a theory of change using a driver diagram and a family of measures to track progress
• understand and use tools and frameworks, such as the Plan Do Study Act cycle, to test your ideas and improve quality.

Participants must complete all elements of the program to achieve certification. 

‘Great! Amazing presenters who were very engaging and the content taught was great.‘ - 2022 Participant 

Introduction to partnering and co-design 

• Time: 3 hours 
• Delivery: Online virtual program

This program is designed for healthcare workers, patient experience teams, quality improvement leads, managers, and consumers who work in quality improvement in the health sector.

The course introduces our Partnering in healthcare framework domains for effective consumer partnerships. It familiarises participants with different types of partnering, including co-design, and covers important considerations, such as identifying lived experience expertise to support your work. It also explains how to create psychologically safe and effective partnerships.

By the end of this program, participants will:

• understand how partnership and co-design can add value to projects
• unpack and demystify some of the main challenges to partnering with consumers
• understand the difference between co-design and other types of partnerships
• know about reflection and planning tools to help identify the right people to partner with and the things required to support effective partnerships.

Participants must complete all elements of the program to achieve certification. 

Quality improvement lead (QI Lead)

• Time: 3-day workshop + 5 online modules released weekly 
• Delivery: Face-to-face workshop (virtual program in development)

This program is designed for healthcare workers, managers and consumers who already have foundational knowledge of quality improvement methodology. This experiential and participatory learning program provides 13 modules to help participants develop the knowledge and skills they need to lead quality improvement work in healthcare. 

By the end of this program, participants will:

• understand how continuous quality improvement helps support good clinical governance
• understand how to build a team to support effective quality improvement work
• understand how to use the IHI Model for Improvement to develop aims, identify change ideas, test them and measure their impact 
• be able to collect, interpret and appropriately respond to data for improvement
• understand how to use a variety of tools to support quality improvement work
• be able to identify when to scale, spread, implement and sustain changes in processes in the healthcare system
• be able to successfully lead quality improvement projects.

A demonstration of prior knowledge of the Model for Improvement and foundations for effective consumer partnerships, i.e., our Foundational learning package or similar, is a pre-requisite for this program. 

Participants must complete all elements of the program to achieve certification. 

I found the course fantastic. I liked that I was given the opportunity to learn with like-minded professionals. I’ve learned a huge amount and already have changed some of the ways I deliver information. I’ve enjoyed the whole program. – 2021 Program participant

Co-design NOW! Partnering in Action 

• Time: 2 days face-to-face or 5 x 2 hour virtual sessions 
• Delivery: Face-to-face and virtual programs available

Co-design NOW! Partnering in Action is a program co-designed and co-delivered by our staff and consumer representatives to support people putting the five key domains of the Partnering in healthcare framework into action for effective consumer partnerships. 
This program is designed for healthcare workers, policy makers, patient experience teams, quality improvement leads, managers and consumers who work in health sector quality improvement.

By the end of this program, participants will:

• have a deeper, practical understanding of effective consumer partnerships theory and concepts, including co-design
• understand the differences between co-design and other types of partnerships
• be able to identify opportunities and barriers to co-design
• understand change ideas to improve consumer partnerships and support healthcare quality improvement
• increase confidence to advocate for consumer partnerships, including co-design projects
• have a network of peers also working towards using co-design in their work
• have practice using tools to implement effective consumer partnerships and co-design.

Participants must complete all elements of the program to achieve certification. 

Once you have done co-design, you won't be going back to what you have been doing before. And that's exactly what's happened to me because I love it. So now there's no way that I'm going back because I can see the result. And I'm so glad that I have been a part of this because just developing the course and then being a part of delivering the course has been very empowering for me. And I believe that we can do anything really

Coaching quality improvement and partnering 

• Time: 2 days
• Delivery: Face-to-face 

This workshop is a practical learning program for quality improvement teams who will be coaching and supporting others to implement quality improvement activities. Learn and practice coaching and adaptive leadership skills for leading and guiding teams undertaking collaborative work to improve quality and safety in healthcare. 

This program is aimed at quality improvement team leaders who have completed the Foundational and Implementing and leading training programs. 

Register your interest in joining our learning program

Upcoming course dates are available on the registration form.

IHI Improvement Advisor Program is an advanced and intensive year long program for people who are working or want to be senior quality improvement advisors. Safer Care Victoria will be sponsoring a cohort for the Improvement Advisor program in 2024. 

To be eligible for this program, participants need to demonstrate previous experience and knowledge about quality improvement at an intermediate level (i.e. completed Improvement Coach or Project Lead and Coaching) and have experience implementing quality improvement work. Executive sponsorship is also required as this program does require a substantial time commitment. 

Please email Culture.Capability@safercare.vic.gov.au if you're interested in learning more about sponsored places once the Expressions of interest is open for 2024. 

Do you want to start learning about quality improvement but can’t join the learning programs we offer? We’re proud to offer access to the IHI Open School for people working in Victoria’s health sector. Limited places are available and registration is required. 

The IHI Open School is platform of quality and safety focused self-directed learning programs. It's an easy way to bring essential quality improvement and patient safety training to people working in the health sector, creating a common language around improvement and teaching learners important skills to become leaders and agents of change for healthcare improvement.

Through IHI Open School, users can complete the Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety, which consists of 13 self-directed courses (17.75 total hours). The basic certificate provides a well-rounded introduction to quality, safety, population health, equity, healthcare leadership, and person- and family-centred care. Advanced courses are also available.

Obtain an IHI Open School access code:

1. Register to create an IHI account.
2. Request an SCV sponsored IHI Open School access code to get free access until end March 2025. You will need to provide: 

• name and contact details
• work email address
• position/title
• a brief statement about the project you are working on
• agreement to the IHI Open School terms and conditions. 

NOTE: Access to the Safer Care Victoria IHI Open School subscription is only available for individuals working in the Victorian health sector. The subscription works on an annual cycle and SCV sponsored access codes expire every April. If you wish to continue using the SCV sponsored access, a new access code will need to be requested each year. 

For further information, please email culture.capability@safercare.vic.gov.au.