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July 17, 2018

29 Saskatchewan health care professionals accepted for third round of in-depth quality improvement training program


Twenty-nine health care professionals, including 27 physicians, a physiotherapist and an epidemiologist, will learn how to improve health care quality as part of the training program developed and hosted by the province’s Health Quality Council (HQC).

The group is the third to take part in the 10-month Clinical Quality Improvement Program (CQIP), which teaches physicians and other health system professionals how to build quality improvement into their daily practice, and to facilitate, coach, and teach quality improvement to others. As part of their learning, every participant carries out a clinical improvement project in their work setting.

Wave 3 participants

  • Dr. Geeta Achyuthan, family physician, Regina
  • Dr. Lauren Allen, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Khami Chokani, public health consultant & medical health officer, Prince Albert
  • Dr. Mathew Chui, family physician and hospitalist, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Bruce Cload, assistant chief emergency medicine, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Egbujuo Collins, chief of rural family medicine, Shellbrook
  • Dr. Megan Deck, PGY2 resident anesthesiology, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Dorie-Anna Dueck, medical oncologist, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Carla Holinaty, family physician, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Corrine Jabs, physician obstetrics & gynecology, Regina
  • Dr. Yusuf Kasim, physician obstetrics & gynecology, Yorkton
  • Dr. Yemi Laosebikan, general surgeon, Melfort
  • Dr. Christine Lett, physician obstetrics & gynecology, Regina
  • Dr. Ryan Lett, anesthesiologist, Regina
  • Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer,  Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, Prince Albert
  • Dr. Segun Oyedokun, emergency physician, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Pierre Pepler, emergency physician & hospitalist, Regina
  • Dr. Ghazala Radwi, hematologist, Regina
  • Dr. Katie Rooks, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Chris Rusnak, emergency physician, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Rathimala Sabaratnam, pathologist, Prince Albert
  • Dr. Alexandra Schweitzer, anesthesiologist, Regina
  • Dr. David Stammers, pediatric hematologist, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Michael Stoll, family physician, Melfort
  • Dr. Andrey Vizhul, general surgeon, Regina
  • Dr. Sheldon Wiebe, provincial head medical imaging, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Jordan Wingate, NE Area chief of staff, Melfort
  • Meredith Faires, epidemiologist, Regina
  • Curtis Newton, physiotherapist, Swift Current

CQIP participants are selected based on their prior experience with quality improvement, support from their home organization for their improvement project, and the extent to which that project aligns with health system priorities.

Clinicians accepted into Wave 3 participants cite a number of reasons for getting involved in CQIP:

  • “By learning these skills, I hope to strengthen my ability to lead fellow front-line workers in not just quality improvement work, but all aspects of organizational engagement in order to build a sustainable system that is focused on patient outcomes.”  Dr. Mathew Chui, family physician and hospitalist, Saskatoon
  • “CQIP would give me the opportunity to share lessons learned with others to support wide-scale, rapid improvements that benefit northern First Nations community members and the Saskatchewan health system in general.”  Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer, Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, Prince Albert
  • “There is a lot of room in the emergency department to apply this line of thinking as we attempt to increase patient flow and efficiency in our department and the Saskatchewan Health Authority.”  Dr. Chris Rusnak, emergency physician, Saskatoon

Modelled on the internationally recognized mini-Advanced Training Program at Intermountain Healthcare in Utah, Saskatchewan’s CQIP program combines classroom and online learning with individual coaching and a community of practice. CQIP is accredited by the CFPC and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The program recently received two thumbs up from an external evaluation conducted by Dr. Lois Berry. CQIP is funded through a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA).

CQIP graduates have gone on to share their improvement work at a national and international level, and are continuing to champion their efforts right here at home:

  • Dr. Nicolette Sinclair, CQIP Wave 1 grad, presented her QI project in May at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Amsterdam.
  • Dr. Rabia Shahid, CQIP Wave 1 grad and Wave 2 coach, presented her CQIP project in May at the Perioperative Care Congress 2018 in Toronto for the Jr-Mid Career Oral Competition and received second place.
  • Dr. Shaqil Peermohamed, CQIP Wave 1 grad, has spearheaded the use of SpectrumMD, a mobile application designed to help healthcare workers optimize antimicrobial prescribing and minimize antimicrobial resistance. To date, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has over 500 active Spectrum users.

The first learning workshop for Wave 3 participants takes place Friday, September 7th in Saskatoon. Wave 2 of the program ends this September with 22 clinicians on course to complete the QI training.

HQC accelerates improvement in health care by building improvement capability and spreading innovation across the province, through education, improvement initiatives, and research.

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact:

Girard Hengen
Communications Advisor (Saskatchewan Medical Association)
306-657-4596 (office)
girard.hengen@sma.sk.ca