Sixth Annual
2007 Summer Institute on Evidence-Based Practice
Quality and Safety

Overview

This Institute prepares healthcare providers for an increasing role in evidence-based practice (EBP) to improve safety and quality in healthcare through translation of research into practice.

Designed for multiple disciplines, this conference builds on the success of the previous five Institutes. The 2007 Institute focuses on "Quality and Safety" and emphasizes important how-to principles in organizational change and team building to improve patient outcomes and enhance safety in harmony with efforts such as Magnet Recognition Program and The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO). Clinicians, educators, researchers, managers and all health professionals will have the opportunity to master pragmatic, foundational, and advanced evidence-based quality and safety skills, with specific emphasis on transdisciplinary strategies for practice and outcomes improvement.

Public accountability is crucial to demonstrate adequate return-on-investment from the more than $250 billion spent on US health research. The Summer Institute on EBP is a direct response to this national call for healthcare providers to bridge research and quality care by preparing our workforce to redesign health systems that are safe and effective.

During the 2 1/2 day Institute, noted EBP leaders and experts will present a coordinated, interactive curriculum. Major topics will include urgency of using evidence to improve clinical care, research evidence available for priority clinical conditions, organizational culture for quality and safety, team building, infrastructure development, and impact of EBP on selected roles within the health professions (clinician, manager, educator, and researcher).

The program is planned by clinicians, educators, researchers, librarians, managers, and administrators from multiple disciplines and from private, VA, and military healthcare agencies. The program has received repeated funding by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Special features of the 2007 Institute include:

  • Pre Conference Workshop, "The Educators' EBP Workshop®"
  • Pre Conference Session for First Time Attendees, "Essential Elements of EBP"
  • **New this year**  Pre Conference Session for Clinicians, "Library Skills to Locate Clinically Useful Evidence"
  • Presentations of best practice projects (See Call for Abstracts at  www.acestar.uthscsa.edu)
  • Graduate, Pre and Post-Doctoral Coursework (Contact Dr. Kathleen Stevens at acestar@uthscsa.edu for further information)

Objectives

Specific objectives guided selection of topics and design of learning strategies for the Institute. This Institute will offer participants the opportunity to:

  1. Access, appraise, and rate various forms of evidence such as systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines, and EBP toolkits, for employing evidence-based quality improvement and safety.

  2. Adopt strategies for organizational change and team building to achieve healthcare safety and evidence-based improvement.

  3. Explore infrastructure, processes, and oversight factors necessary to create a culture of safety and improvement.

  4. Specify and acquire competencies needed in the healthcare workforce for expanded roles in evidence-based safety and quality improvement.

  5. Design a plan to evaluate impact of evidence-based practice on patient safety and outcomes in priority health issues.

Who Should Attend

The Institute is of particular interest to the following groups:

  • Clinicians, nurses, physicians, advanced practice nurses, pharmacists, librarians, and other health professionals who wish to improve practice with evidence

  • Researchers who represent the science of various disciplines

  • Educators who prepare health professionals including nurses, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and other health clinicians for implementing quality care

  • Administrators, executives, and managers who shape healthcare services