Watch Parker Palmer's "A Movement Model of Social Change" plenary speech at the 10th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care (December 1998).

When you make a mistake that affects a patient, what should you say? Should you apologize, or will that put you at greater risk of being sued? Lucian Leape, MD, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, describes how to talk with patients and families after a mistake has occurred.  

How did you become a surgeon and a writer?  (Part one in a series of interviews with surgeon and The New York Times columnist Pauline W. Chen.)

What advice would you give to someone interested in writing?  (Part two in a series of interviews with surgeon and The New York Times columnist Pauline W. Chen.)

Think you’re powerless because you’re a student?  Think again.  In this video, four students explain how they pursued real-life improvement projects – and turned their experience into presentations and publications. 

[Presented at the 20^th Annual IHI National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, December 10, 2009.]

Our leaders look to us to spread the importance of changing the quality of care for our patients. On October 22^nd, we held two national webcasts to discuss the first opportunity for all Chapters to unite for a common cause, help spread the WHO Safe Surgery Checklist, and work to implement, measure, or raise awareness of its use.

For years, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has been keenly focused on making care more effective and patient-centered.  Uma Kotagal, the hospital’s senior vice president for quality and transformation, explains what that looks like in practice – and what it takes to work at her hospital.

Keynote plenary sessions and 10 other sessions from the 2009 International Forum in Berlin, Germany are available to view online, for free, for your continued learning.

Eighteen-month-old Josie King died from medical errors incurred at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her mother, Sorrel King, later worked with hospitals to develop a way for patients and their families to summon a Rapid Response Team to the bedside within minutes. 

Desiree de la Torre’s grandfather acquired an infection in a hospital.  Now, Desiree, a recent business school graduate, wants to ensure that other patients have a better experience. 

Nursing student Liam Shields has always liked to take things apart and then repair them.  Now he’s trying to understand how to care for patients more effectively.     

Medical student Saranya Kurapati wants to improve care for people with diabetes who come to her student-run health clinic.  The IHI Open School, she says, has empowered her to make real changes in the world around her. 

What’s the single biggest challenge the US health care system will face within the next five to ten years? We put the question to a doctor, a nurse, a professor, a student, a hospital CEO, and a patient. 

A patient suffers horrible burns. An operation takes twice as long as it should. A child dies from internal bleeding. All because a doctor, a nurse, or another care provider made a mistake. In this video, prominent clinicians describe the errors that still haunt them today — and point out ways those errors could have been prevented.

A baby falls gravely ill after a botched blood transfusion. A student nearly commits a medication error. A patient dies after a clumsy surgery. In this video, current and former clinicians (including IHI’s CEO Don Berwick) describe the errors that still haunt them today — and point out ways those errors could have been prevented.

What's the most pressing problem you could work on today?  According to Dr. Patrick Lee, it's the problem of global health disparities.  Here's what you can do to help.

Linda Kenney went into the hospital for an ankle replacement. She came out with a host of complications resulting from a mistake that no one was willing to admit. Until Rick Van Pelt, her anesthesiologist, stepped forward. In Part One of this video case study, you’ll find out what happened in the immediate aftermath of the surgery — and learn about common barriers to the open disclosure of errors in health care.

Linda Kenney went into the hospital for an ankle replacement. She came out with a host of complications resulting from a mistake that no one was willing to admit. Until Rick Van Pelt, her anesthesiologist, stepped forward. In Part Two of this video case study, you’ll watch Kenney and Van Pelt describe their first meeting after the surgery — an awkward but pivotal experience for both. You’ll also see how they banded together to help other patients and clinicians.

Linda Kenney went into the hospital for an ankle replacement. She came out with a host of complications resulting from a mistake that no one was willing to admit. Until Rick Van Pelt, her anesthesiologist, stepped forward. In Part Three of this video case study, Kathy Duncan, RN, and Don Berwick, MD, analyze the case.

Curious about what IHI actually looks like from the inside?  Take a video tour. 

In 2001, 18-month-old Josie King died of dehydration and a wrongly-administered narcotic at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  How did this happen?  Her mother, Sorrel King, tells the story and explains how Josie’s death spurred her to work on improving patient safety in hospitals everywhere.  [Excerpt from a speech given at IHI’s National Forum in 2002.]

What's the IHI Open School?  Donald Berwick, IHI's president and CEO, explains.

Not every program offers coursework in safety and improvement.  But with a little effort, you can get the training you need.  Nursing student Montana Schultz suggests a few ideas to get you started.

Millions of people suffer every year from mistakes in health care.  Lucian Leape, MD, explains why those mistakes happen — and how to prevent them.

With all the challenges that health professionals face, their jobs are still among the most rewarding out there. Former IHI Fellow Joanne Watson talks about the patient she can’t forget, and why being a doctor brings her joy every day.

Carol Haraden, a Vice President at IHI and patient safety expert, tells us why safety is at the top of the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) dimensions of quality for health care list.