Some of Queensland’s future healthcare leaders participated in an ‘amazing’ leadership program in Sydney recently, with a strong focus on patient-centred care.
Four staff from CEQ attended the Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety (AELPS), run by the New South Wales Clinical Excellence Commission. The program is an early leadership academy for clinicians selected for their commitment and potential to improve the quality and safety of patient care. It is based on the well-established Telluride model from the USA.
Dr John Wakefield, Deputy Director-General CEQ and Dr Michael Tresillian, faculty lead for CEQ’s Improvement Fellowship program, attended in their ongoing AELPS faculty roles. Michael, who values the opportunity to connect with the scholars said “the program continues to grow and improve each year, and we are always impressed with the variety and depth of discussion the scholars bring.”
Michelle Padget, faculty for the CEQ Improvement Fellowship and inaugural Fellow herself, attended as observing faculty for the academy. She said the four-day event was a ‘one-of-a-kind’ learning environment. “It encourages participants to think, feel and do things differently in healthcare. It’s a place to collaborate with, and get to know, global patient safety through leaders from the frontlines of healthcare, patient advocacy, industry and academia,” Michelle said.
Matthew Burstow, a current CEQ Improvement Fellow and Consultant Surgeon, Clinical Lead Acute Surgical Unit, Logan Hospital, attended AELPS for the first time this year. “I have done many courses during my training, but the AELPS was something unique. We are always encouraged to practice patient-centred care, but in this case, having individuals present who have personally been affected by an episode of healthcare made it significantly more profound. The faculty were excellent and being in an environment with them and enthusiastic peers was a great experience,” Matthew said.
Michelle agreed with Matthew’s observation. “There was a great deal of discussion about transparency; the need to be open, honest and clear in communication, and to make sure everybody is on the same page. Having patients in the middle of these conversations is essential [because] the patient is the beginning, the middle and the end. There were patients and patient advocates sharing their stories and explaining what it is like to be on the other side of the fence,” she said.
“AELPS was an amazing peer networking experience. It was a place to begin to build a larger community of patient safety and improvement change agents, who are prepared to take action and support one another,” she said.
For more information on CEQ’s Improvement Network, contact the team via email or by phoning +61 7 3328 9169.
PICTURED ABOVE: The 30 Emerging Leaders from across Australia finishing up their experience with the Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety (AELPS), run by the New South Wales Clinical Excellence Commission. Photo courtesy of the New South Wales Clinical Excellence Commission (source: Twitter).
