Quoteworthy
As clinician-educators, we are tasked with teaching our patients, trainees, peers, and the community. It is our professional responsibility to contribute to the growth of others by being sensitive to their needs and fostering an environment that is conducive to learning.
Kathleen Timme

Most Recent
Holiday Procrastination is Not Your Friend

Believe it or not, the holidays have arrived. But have no fear, Senior Value Engineer Cindy Spangler is here with three steps you can take to carve out time now and avoid the woes of the holiday rush.

How to Conduct a Rapid Critical Appraisal

Performing a rapid critical appraisal helps evaluate a study for its worth by ensuring validity, meaningful data, and significance to the patient. Contributors Barb Wilson, Mary Jean Austria, and Tallie Casucci share a checklist of questions to complete a rapid critical appraisal efficiently and effectively.

What Improvement Taught Me About Gardening

Every summer, senior value engineer Cindy Spangler stocks our offices with an abundance of tomatoes, zucchini, and squash. We asked her to share how improvement thinking influences her gardening. Turns out, there are parallels–learn from others, stick to your scope, and learn from the mistakes.

Zero Suicide - How Do We Get There?

The Zero Suicide initiative has been shown to significantly reduce suicides—and working toward zero suicides is our mission. Rachael Jasperson, Zero Suicide program manager, shares the framework for how we strive for this aspirational goal.

Fishbone Diagram: A Tool to Organize a Problem’s Cause and Effect

Problems. We all have them. Whether it’s a check engine light or an adverse patient safety event, we first need to discover what’s causing the problem before trying out solutions. Senior Value Engineer Luca Boi and a team of Oncology residents get to the root cause using a fishbone diagram.

Understanding Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

Quantitative and qualitative methods are the engine behind evidence-based knowledge. Tallie Casucci, Gigi Austria, and Barbara Wilson provide a basic overview of how to differentiate between the two.

How ARUP Makes it Safe for Teams to Thrive in Complexity

Why do some organizations thrive during a crisis while others flounder? Iona Thraen, director of patient safety, joined forces with her ARUP Laboratory colleagues to learn how the world-renowned national reference lab adapted to the pandemic. Leaders created a culture of safety by putting innovation, learning, and patient-centered care at the heart of all their efforts.

The Complete Clinician Model

Relationship building isn’t typically the focus of medical training but is a necessary skill for truly excellent clinicians. Deirdre, Joni, Jared and colleagues developed a model to integrate relationship management skills into medical training, helping create a more well-rounded, complete clinician.

Adapting and Improving Through Adversity

Almost one year ago the novel coronavirus turned longstanding educational approaches on their heads. Savvy educators responded to the challenge. Learn how U of U Health Medical School faculty pivoted to online learning in just three days, improving long-term education decision-making along the way.

Small Goals Can Help You Get to Great Heights

Setting goals is part of human nature, and the beginning of a new year always seems to accelerate it. Senior Value Engineer Cindy Spangler provides a framework for breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps so you’re set up for success.

How To Plan a SMART Thanksgiving

Large gatherings are out for the holidays this year. Thankfully, Senior Value Engineer and Thanksgiving enthusiast Cindy Spangler is prepared. She’s drawing from her improvement toolbox to rethink both what and how to celebrate safely this year.

Find the Root of the Problem to Achieve Long Term Solutions

Anesthesiology techs are essential to the care team, but they are challenged by high turnover. Anesthesia resident Michael Van Tienderen, who was a tech for seven years before going to medical school, worked with fellow resident Matt O’Neal, anesthesiologist Emily Drennan, and senior value engineer Cindy Spangler to develop a lasting solution focused on culture change and career growth for these crucial care team members.