The three-person teams participating in the inaugural Clinical Quality Track of the Kanof  Institute for Physician Leadership held the third part of their training last week at the NCMS Center for Physician Leadership in Raleigh. The focus of this two-day session was the TeamSTEPPS® Train-the-Trainer tool, which teaches evidence-based teamwork to optimize patient outcomes by improving skills among health care professionals. The Train-the-Trainer session prepares individuals to plan, teach and implement a TeamSTEPPS® intervention.

The presentation by the NC Quality Center was well received with many of the participants commenting on how the techniques for clear communication within a health care team that were part of the TeamSTEPPS training were easy to implement and empowering to patients.

The 2014 Clinical Quality track class has one more session left this spring in their year-long course, which allows a team of up to three members — a physician and up to two additional team members — to participate in intensive clinical quality training that gives them the tools necessary to contribute to excellence in health care quality within their practice setting (small or large physician practice, hospital, health system). Team members may include additional physicians, physician assistants, nurses, social workers, administrators and other health care professionals. For more information about the Clinical Quality Track and the Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership, visit the website.