World Innovation Summit for Health provides training academy to improve patient safety in Qatar

Raising awareness about issues related to patient safety, the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), recently hosted the first edition of the Global Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety in Doha.

WISH organized this event against the backdrop of disturbing global patient safety situation in which, according to the World Health Organization, 1 in 10 people may be harmed while receiving hospital care.

Held in association with Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar, and Sidra Medical and Research Center, the academy educated nearly 100 Qatar-based faculty and health science students on the best practices in patient safety prevalent today and offered intensive training sessions on how to reduce preventable medical errors.

 “The Global Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety provided exceptional training for faculty and students in the health care field on how to reduce preventable medical error,” WISH CEO Egbert Schillings, told the Gulf News Journal. “The training program was originated in the United States. The academy in Doha was the first time this training had been conducted outside of the United States.”

The academy included intense training programs that combined interactive activities, discussions and lectures. It offered attendees the opportunity to learn about specific strategies and tools that help them improve the delivery of high-quality health care. After they complete their training, participants can apply these strategies and tools in many ways to their professional lives.

WISH, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has a longstanding commitment to patient safety.

In 2013, WISH published a landmark report based on a research forum led by Dr. Peter Pronovost, one of the world’s leading experts in patient safety. WISH also carries out many ongoing projects in patient safety through its health systems network, which brings together health care policymakers and providers from around the world to share insights into best practices.

Bringing the Global Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety to the Gulf nation was proposed by one of WISH’s young innovators, Rebal Turjoman, a third0year medical student at Weill-Cornell in Qatar. He attended a training conducted by MedStar Health, a leading health care system, in the United States, and thought it would be ideal for WISH to host the program in Doha, to share the benefits of the training with students and faculty in Qatar.

 “More than 100  students and faculty participated in the academy,” Schillings said. “It was a resounding success. The feedback WISH received was unanimously positive. Learners felt that it was a unique experience and one that would have a real impact on their professional lives moving forward. An added benefit of the training is that it helped create a community of people across various disciplines who believe in the value of improving patient safety. This community will endure, even after the training ends.”

The motto of the academy is “Educate The Young," in recognition of the importance of helping people at the start of their careers understand why patient safety really matters.

Shillings  said that many of those who attended the academy are future health care leaders. Their commitment to patient safety will have an impact on the health care sector for many years to come.

“Our work on patient safety is ongoing," Schillings said. "WISH recognizes patient safety as one of the most important health care issues in the world today, and we are delighted to help facilitate the first global edition of the Global Academy for Emerging Leaders.”