Graduate Certificate in Patient Safety Organizations

The Global Campus in partnership with the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Program Information

The College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in partnership with the Institute for Patient Safety Excellence (IPSE) at UIC, offers this Graduate Certificate in Patient Safety Organizations through The Global Campus, providing working professionals the opportunity to expand their experience and knowledge base through quality online education.

Learners enrolled in the Patient Safety Organizations certificate program will explore ways to develop a patient safety culture in their organization and to design quality health care practices. Competencies for optimal patient care outcomes in the clinical environment include knowledge, skills, and attitudes in critical disciplines not traditionally taught in health science education. With hospital and health care agencies increasingly designing and implementing new patient safety practices, health care workers will benefit from the professional credentials earned in the Patient Safety Leadership program. In today's complex health care environment, expanding one's skills and knowledge will increase opportunities for career growth and having a positive impact on one's organization or hospital.

With a learner-focused environment, the Graduate Certificate in Patient Safety Organizations equips learners with opportunities to become leaders in the advancement of patient safety and quality health care. The curriculum provides learners with an understanding of the economic and personal impacts of patient safety, as well as methods for creating change in health care organizations to view patient safety in a proactive manner. Students will benefit from the focus on inter-professional teamwork, organizational change, and health care leadership in a culture of safety.

An additional benefit of the Patient Safety Leadership program is that learners with professional licenses may be able to use courses in program toward continuing education requirements. Students are encouraged to contact their licensing accrediting body for details.

The Patient Safety Organizations certificate program delivers courses using online instruction that emphasizes self-directed learning and team collaboration.

The partnership with the UIC Institute for Patient Safety Excellence (IPSE) makes this program unique in its interdisciplinary approach, as reflected in the IPSE mission to improve the safety and outcomes of patient care through:

1. Continuous improvement of the patient care process through analysis and measured change to current clinical programs in the inpatient and outpatient environments.
2. Translating the knowledge gained from these interdisciplinary care processes to develop the research and education programs necessary to advance the national patient safety agenda.
3. Sharing this interdisciplinary patient safety research and improvements in patient safety and patient care outcomes through educational programs, bringing benefit to all the people of Illinois and beyond.
4. Fostering translational curricula, research and clinical practice that targets novel interdisciplinary approaches to patient care involving, but not limited to, all of the Health Science Colleges, the College of Engineering and the College of Architecture and the Arts.

Upon successful completion of all coursework, you will earn a Graduate Certificate in Patient Safety Organizations from the College of Medicine at the fully accredited University of Illinois at Chicago.

Degree/Certificate: Certificate

Total Credit Hours: 12

Course Starts:

The Global Campus will offer the following start dates for the Graduate Certificate in Patient Safety Organizations:

• September 3, 2008
• May 6, 2009
• January 6, 2010

Additional start dates will be determined soon.

Eligible students may use all credits earned in the certificate courses to satisfy course requirements for the Master of Science in Patient Safety Leadership.

Required Campus Visits: 0

Completion Schedules: Each course will be eight weeks in length. The typical course load is one course per eight-week term. You can complete your certificate in 24 weeks if you take courses in back-to-back terms.

Program Contact:
Global Campus Student Services
510 Devonshire
Suite H
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (866) 896-3939
E-mail: gcadvisor@uillinois.edu