Teachers of Quality Academy 6.0

On September 15, 2022, the Teachers of Quality Academy (TQA) program welcomed their sixth cohort of 34 scholars from ECU Health Physicians, ECU Health, and Eastern Radiology. TQA is led by Dr. Mary Catherine Turner, Department of Pediatrics, and is jointly sponsored by ECU Health with Vice President of Community Hospitals Lou Reida serving as the executive sponsor for the program. Jenna Garris, Office of Medical Education, has served as the Administrative Director since 2015 and is responsible for program operation and administration.

The program, which began in 2014, is a professional development program designed to provide health professions clinicians and educators with the skills necessary to practice, model and teach the new competencies of Health Systems Science: patient safety, quality improvement, systems thinking, population health and team-based care.

Participants in TQA are competitively selected based on individual applications and their potential to become change agents in these competencies. TQA provides advanced training toward achieving a greater capacity to design and implement quality improvement activities and to apply these skills across the health system. Additional training in leadership of self, others, and leading change are included so participants can continue to advance the culture change needed to transform the delivery system.

The sixth iteration of the program is comprised of 12 half-day sessions alternating concepts of Health Systems Science and Leadership Development. The program also includes a new Wellness Thread woven into each learning session where participants engage in supplemental activities to further enhance the experience of life while at work. The concepts are taught in an authentic setting using an experiential design. By designing experiences that span the continuum of professional development in the context of clinical microsystems with other health care professionals, learning is augmented, and participants are better prepared to meet real-world challenges.

“TQA is a great example of ECU Health promoting the Quintuple aim for clinical leaders in the healthcare system.” Turner said. “This is truly an interdisciplinary cohort from across the healthcare system, our current scholars are building relationships with each other as they explore their own leadership style and implement QI projects in their clinical areas, with support from prior TQA graduates serving as small group coaches. Our TQA 6.0 scholars are well positioned to promote positive change as we move forward together as ECU Health!”