Dr Carsten Engel – Celebrating my One Year Anniversary as ISQua CEO

Dr Carsten Engel

As I approach my first anniversary as CEO, I have taken some time to reflect on my past year with ISQua.

As I approach my first anniversary as CEO, I have taken some time to reflect on my past year with ISQua. It has been a pleasure to be welcomed into the ISQua family. A global community, complete with enthusiastic and passionate members striving toward a common goal. When appointed CEO in May 2021, ISQua was navigating its path as an organisation against the backdrop of a global pandemic. We continue at the forefront of innovation and versatility within the industry. We have overcome many challenges this past year, and I am very proud of our accomplishments.

A retrospective of the past year recalls several key milestones. Perhaps, most notable is ISQua’s capability to adapt to new ways of working and our willingness to continue sharing knowledge and connecting with our community. ISQua virtual conference in 2021 was one example of our commitment to keeping our members engaged and connected. The conference was a resounding success, with 1,000 registrants in attendance. Community, Resilience, and Sustainability are the theme of our upcoming conference in Brisbane. These topics are pertinent now, and we are delighted to discuss them again with our ISQua community in person. My excitement is building as I look forward to our first in-person conference in three years. The conference on October 17-20 is an opportunity to be a part of designing the future of healthcare as we network and connect again. We are also in the preliminary planning phases for Seoul, Korea 2023, so there is plenty of fundamental work ahead.

The ISQua Fellowship programme has had a landmark year. Seeing the Fellowship grow in popularity and attract a record number of learners has been incredible. We recently established a group of tutors, Experts, and Fellows to provide feedback on assignments for our growing base of learners. As part of our mission to cultivate a global community of passionate healthcare professionals, we successfully signed two agreements on joint fellowships with CAHO India (South-East Asia Joint Fellowship Programme) and Nama Medical, Saudi Arabia (the Middle East Joint Fellowship Programme). In April of this year, I had the privilege of attending the CAHOCON Conference for the launch of the South-East Asia Fellowship Programme by ISQua and CAHO in Kochi, Kerala, India. ISQUA’s mission requires collaboration, and partnerships such as this are the organisation’s greatest asset.

In terms of partnerships, the successful launch of IJCOMS in July 2021 was another notable achievement for the organisation. The International Journal for Quality in Health Care Communications (IJQHC Communications) is a joint publication with our publishing partner, Oxford University Press (OUP). All papers published in IJQHC Communications are freely available online, assisting ISQUA in its goal of providing open access to essential research on health care. ’Network’ is a pillar of ISQua’s core values and our growing community of partners reflects this. ISQua has consolidated the Patient and Family Centred Advisory Council’s commitment to promote, enhance, and champion person-centered care within ISQua, and to drive improvements in the quality and safety of healthcare worldwide. Additionally, we have entered a partnership with the International Coproduction of Health Network (ICoHN). By combining networks and increasing our reach, we can share innovative ideas and educational materials with the broader community, allowing us to make a positive impact on patients and their families. We are reaching out to other potential partners to strengthen our contribution to the promotion of person-centered care.

As you probably know, my personal background is from accreditation, and I have been working with ISQua for many years in this field. Accreditation has been and will continue to be one cornerstone of ISQua. Thanks to the loyalty of our clients and the commitment of our surveyors and staff, we have been able to continue activities throughout the last year. Of necessity, organisational surveys have been virtual. I look forward to a busy year and to being able to offer onsite surveys again. The International Accreditation Programme has a long and proven track record. We wish it to remain at the cutting edge and therefore foresee a thorough review of it. Meanwhile, I also look forward to launching two new programmes later this year, offering recognition to Quality and Patient Safety Training Programmes and to standards with a more focused scope than the standards accredited under the International Accreditation Programme.

Looking ahead, I have been working extensively on the ISQua Strategy. The Board will soon approve an updated strategy for the next few years. The Strategy will launch and be made available to all ISQua members via the website – with an announcement over the coming weeks. Hopefully, it will serve as a positive touchpoint and structure for aligning our vision moving forward. First and foremost, I see myself and the rest of the team as facilitators. I hope we will meet the desire for learning and sharing that is so evident in our network, grow our network and thus be, as our vision says, the global leader of transformation in healthcare quality and safety.

Warmly,

Carsten

Dr. Carsten Engel

CEO 

International Society for Quality in Health Care

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Nourhan Kawtharani

Nourhan, a quality and safety coordinator with eight years of experience in ambulatory healthcare in Lebanon, aims to deepen her understanding of the systemic and holistic approach to healthcare through this fellowship.

She aims to identify gaps and develop tailored interventions that address specific contexts rather than applying general solutions. Engaging with diverse professionals and perspectives during this educational journey will expand the application of these concepts across different cultural settings.

Nourhan emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement within healthcare institutions, considering it a vital leadership responsibility to integrate quality and safety initiatives into the organizational culture.

Nourhan's commitment to patient safety and quality management includes sourcing practical resources and transforming insights into actionable knowledge to drive continued progress in healthcare practices and outcomes.

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Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

He has also worked extensively across all levels of care in the health sector of Ghana, including leading the Quality & Patient Safety program in its largest teaching hospital.

I would like to use this Fellowship as a learning platform and an opportunity to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies to complement ongoing efforts by like-minded individuals and organizations to continuously advance improve the quality and patient safety in Ghana and the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun

Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Stephen says "Quality and safety is a major wheel through which universal healthcare coverage can be achieved. The goal is to be a bridge in the gap between the International Quality Improvement and Patient Safety community and my country to ensure rapid spread, adoption, implementation and practice."

We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu

Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

It is one thing to institute measures and processes for improvement, but quite another to change the culture of an environment. Rhoda's ambition to lead others in this change inspired the panel.

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

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