There’s much to celebrate at the George Washington University (GW) this year. Not only is the university marking its bicentennial, but the Health Care Quality (HCQ) Program at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is commemorating its 10th anniversary.

“We are excited to celebrate this important milestone by honoring our history and our people,” said Dr. Sabrina Figueiredo, director of the SMHS HCQ program and assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership.

The fully online, asynchronous program that can be completed in two years was launched in 2010. The program evolved from a partnership with the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to respond to industry and employer’ needs. “Since then, we grew at a quick pace, and our curriculum and our online capabilities have evolved and adapted to the needs of the market,” said Dr. Joseph Bocchino, associate professor and former senior associate dean of health sciences at SMHS.

The program is intense given that content covering 15 weeks is delivered in an eight-week structure. Dr. Kenneth Harwood, former HCQ program director, was instrumental in implementing this initiative after consulting faculty and stakeholders. Most importantly, Dr. Harwood and collaborators found that seven-week and 15-week online courses resulted in similar student satisfaction and performance outcomes (Harwood et al. 2018).

Fast forward to 2021: the SMHS HCQ program is now offered in an online format in eight-week terms with two terms per semester. “This format is more compatible with the busy lifestyles of our students, who are predominantly full-time healthcare professionals or military personnel,” Figueiredo said. The GW SMHS HCQ curriculum includes 20 quality and safety-related competencies, and focuses on quality and safety improvement, leadership and evidence-based practice, which is in line with the program’s mission and focus. Toward the end of the program, a capstone project allows for high-level integration of HCQ competencies.

To enable learners’ transformation into leaders, the curriculum is delivered by scholars in their field and includes members of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the National Association for Healthcare Quality® (NAHQ), former national government employees, healthcare system administrators, and private consultants. For instance, Dr. Kazi Ahmed, a long-standing adjunct faculty member, helped implement HEDIS; and Esther Emard, a professor of patient safety, was recently elected to the NAHQ Board of Directors.

Students and alumni appreciate GW’s excellent faculty members. Michael Bars, an alumnus from the first cohort in 2012, said that he chose the SMHS program, “to learn from people who are advancing the HCQ agenda.”

Equally important, courses have a lower student-to-faculty ratio than on-campus courses, allowing students to interact and receive personalized attention. Online students benefit from a dedicated advisor throughout the program and round-the-clock tech support.

The SMHS HCQ program is considered by the Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) as a founding program of healthcare quality and safety in North America. “We appreciate that we received CAHME certification in 2019, and now we are preparing to be one of the first in North America to receive full accreditation,” Dr. Figueiredo said. “Most recently, we have launched a partnership with NAHQ, where professionals holding the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality® (CPHQ) credential are exempt from taking an introductory three-credit course,” she added. “This 10th anniversary of our HCQ program gives us much to look back on and appreciate. We couldn’t be more excited about the next 10 years and what future success our program and students will enjoy.”

Reference:
Harwood, K.J., McDonald, P.L., Butler, J.T. et al. Comparing student outcomes in traditional vs intensive, online graduate programs in health professional education. BMC Med Educ 18, 240 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1343-7

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