Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program

To effectively meet the demands of the job, Improvement Advisors (IAs) need a solid foundation, advanced knowledge and skills in the art and science of improvement. They also need the ability to work with and coach front-line teams in achieving and maintaining successful changes. IAs communicate effectively with senior management to summarize progress on improvement projects and clearly articulate needed sponsorship and support when projects stall.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) offers the Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program to help individuals in this critical role build and hone such skills. This richly-packed, 10-month program is an “all teach, all learn” experience that offers:

• The advanced knowledge and skills you need to excel in the art and science
  of improvement
• Instruction on how to use a framework comprising practical skills and
  theory to drive whole system changes
• A collaborative learning environment and actionable ideas that will help you
  achieve maximum results

Each participant is required to direct one or more improvement projects (connected to her or his organization’s business plan) during the program. The project provides a double benefit — a chance to achieve results in an active improvement project and a living laboratory to apply learning. The improvement project may be in any one of three categories:

• Improving quality of care and services
• Reducing costs while maintaining or improving quality
• Expanding patient or customer satisfaction with the development of new
  services or innovative ways of providing existing services

The design of this program allows participants to achieve maximum results by immediately applying the skills they learn to everyday work situations.
It is this combination of theory applied to daily work that makes the Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program unique and provides a foundation for making improvements long after the program is completed.

Health care professionals who are currently regarded as leaders of improvement efforts within the organization and want to deepen their knowledge and enhance their effectiveness in this role should attend this program. Often these individuals hold titles such as:

David M. Williams, PhD, Improvement Advisor, DMW/Austin, is a scholar-practitioner in the science of improvement. He supports individuals and teams in learning the theories and methods of the science of improvement to enhance processes and systems. He works with leaders pursuing Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). He supports IHI’s work as an improvement advisor and is faculty for the IHI Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program. Previously, he was Senior Lead in Improvement Science and Methods at IHI and developed the IHI Chief Quality Officer Professional Development Program. A paramedic by background, Dr. Williams practiced in urban EMS systems for many years and is an expert on paramedic care and emergency medical services systems. 

Rebecca Steinfield, MA, Senior Director and Improvement Advisor, has been with IHI since 1996.  She currently serves as Director of IHI’s Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program, teaches IHI courses on improvement methods, and mentors “improvers-in-training.” Rebecca sits on IHI’s Improvement Science and Methods team and serves as an Improvement Advisor on results-oriented work.

Karen Baldoza, MSW Executive Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), is co-lead of IHI's Improvement Science and Methods portfolio of work and teaches in IHI's programs aimed at building individual and organizational capability for improvement. As a trained Improvement Advisor and Lean Facilitator, she also leads and coaches staff in improvement within IHI. Previously, Ms. Baldoza was the Continuum of Care Portfolio Operations Director overseeing IHI's work that addresses the patient journey in health and chronic disease care outside of acute care settings. She also managed relationships with strategic partners and several large strategic initiatives, such as Pursuing Perfection. Prior to joining IHI in 2000, she worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an assistant director in the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, and in public health prevention and policy efforts. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Boston College, focusing on community organizing, social policy and planning, and not-for-profit administration.

Lloyd P. Provost, Statistician and Senior Improvement Advisor at Associates in Process Improvement, helps individuals and organizations learn the science of improvement to enhance their processes and systems. Mr. Provost's experience is in applications of statistical process control and in designing research and quality improvement studies. For the past 16 years, he has worked as an IHI Senior Fellow as an improvement advisor. He also serves on the IHI faculty for the Improvement Advisor Development Program, provides improvement advisor support for IHI's developing countries programs, and coordinates the development and work of other improvement advisors that support IHI. He provides support for the QI curriculum for the IHI Open School. Mr. Provost co-authored the books Quality Improvement Through Planned Experimentation, The Improvement Guide, and The Health Care Data Guide. 

​Due to the intensity of this program and the work on real improvement projects for the client organizations, the class size is limited.

Registration and pre-program assessments are currently being accepted on a rolling admission. This program usually fills up fast, we, therefore, encourage interested participants to register and send in their pre-program assessments as soon as possible. ​

• IA Application
• IA Knowledge Self-Assessment Form​

Please refer to the Glossary of Terms to complete the self-assessment and read the Improvement Project Selection Guide​ for more information on appropriate project criteria and guidelines.

Please email the completed IA Application and the IA Knowledge and Self-Assessment Form to:​

Elena Origlio, Associate Project Manager
Email: improvementprograms@ihi.org​
Phone: +1 617-391-9946