Master of Science in Patient Safety Leadership

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 (UIC) offers this comprehensive Master of Science Degree in Patient Safety Leadership through The Global Campus, providing working professionals the opportunity to expand their experience and education in an online environment. Developed in partnership with the Institute for Patient Safety Excellence (IPSE) at UIC, the new Patient Safety Leadership program will equip health care professionals with opportunities to become leaders in the advancement of patient safety and quality health care.

The most important advantage for professionals who enroll in the Patient Safety Leadership program is the opportunity to explore ways that they can become part of a patient safety culture and lead the development of quality health care practices. Patient Safety Leadership master's students will explore ways to develop a patient safety culture in their organizations and to design quality health care practices as they relate to patient safety. Students will benefit from the focus on inter-professional teamwork, simulation training, communication and collaboration, medical error science, organizational change, and health care leadership.

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 likely increase opportunities for career growth as well provide options for supporting patient safety in any health care system.

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 Leadership program delivers courses using online instruction that emphasizes self-directed learning and team collaboration. An on-site residency in Chicago, Illinois, embedded within one of the courses, provides the opportunity for students to practice and apply the tools and principles introduced in online courses, and to participate in active learning with cohort members in a face-to-face format.

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 Master of Science Degree in Patient Safety Leadership from the College of Medicine at the fully accredited University of Illinois at Chicago.

Degree/Certificate: Masters Degree

Total Credit Hours: 36

Course Starts:

The Global Campus will offer the following start dates for the Master of Science in Patient Safety Leadership:

• September 3, 2008
• January 7, 2009
• May 6, 2009
• September 1, 2009

We will explore additional start dates based on demand.

Required Campus Visits: One 5-day on-site residency in Chicago, Illinois

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 degree in 18 months 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