ISQua Education
ISQua believes that further education in healthcare quality and safety is one of the most effective ways to inspire change and champion improvement across all areas of healthcare. We aim to inspire improvement through fostering a thriving global community of passionate healthcare professionals who are united by a single common goal: safer healthcare.
The Fellowship Programme provides this community with the knowledge to improve, an opportunity to expand their network, and to develop confidence for being a changemaker and implementing improvement.
ISQua Ambassadors are current Fellows who exemplify the core values of the ISQua Community. They are available to speak with both current and prospective Fellows and will openly share their experiences, thoughts, feedback and guidance relating to the programme.
ISQua Ambassador
Nilufar Rakhmanova
"I am an ISQua Fellow since 2014 and I maintain my fellowship because it truly gives me an edge as I work with colleagues to improve the quality of health services. I feel very honoured to be named as an ISQua Ambassador and I look at this as a next phase in my professional journey to share joy and confidence in the power of improvement science. This status provides a creative opportunity to influence a larger network of health providers and engage more people in the fun science of bridging a gap between patient expectations and their real experience, and designing solutions to complex problems in the health system."
Nilufar Rakhmanova, MD, MPH is a Public Health specialist, with 17 years of experience in global health programs management and health systems strengthening (HSS) with a focus on the application of Quality Improvement (QI) science. Nilufar is project director of a USAID Flagship project implemented by FHI 360 in Cambodia, called Enhancing Quality of Healthcare, that encompasses all angles of quality from health regulation to quality improvement and competency based education. An ISQua Fellow since 2015, Nilufar has applied QI science to various public health programs in more than 15 countries, including Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central and South East Asia. Nilufar is the lead author of FHI 360 The Quality Improvement Handbook: A Guide for Enhancing Performance of Healthcare Systems. In her free time, Nilufar is a professional folk dancer.
ISQua Ambassador
Stephen Balogun
"Being recognised by ISQua as an Ambassador makes me so proud and happy because it shows that I am doing right in my contributions to patient safety, quality improvement, and the ISQua community. I became involved with ISQua in 2013 and have since then continued to learn, practice and share my ISQua knowledge and skills. This recognition is so important to me, especially now because it is a reward for my passion and further encourages me to work harder for global health, the ISQua community, and to continue the good representation worthy of an Ambassador."
Stephen Balogun is a Public Health expert, Project Manager, Data Scientist and Quality Improvement expert with 10 years of experience working with international non-governmental organizations, and in the private and public healthcare sectors providing institutional support to primary and secondary health facilities, leading quality improvement projects, and engaging government stakeholders on health-related activities. He has been involved in the management of The Global Fund, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, PEPFAR and Vitamin Angels grants. He believes in a blend of predictive and agile principles and methodologies to maximise projects benefits and achieve deliverables.
He won the Delegates’ Choice Best Poster Award and was the Runner-up of the First ISQua QI competition at the 36th ISQua Conference in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019. Together with a team of QI champions, he is currently working in Nigeria to establish a community of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety experts. Stephen holds a MBBS degree and Master of Public Health from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He is both a Fellow and Member of ISQua.
ISQua Ambassador
Hossam Elamir
"Joining the ISQua Fellows community last November, I did not expect to be selected as one of the first ISQua ambassadors. I am honoured for such nomination. It is extremely important for me to represent this part of the world when discussing healthcare quality and patient safety matters with my colleagues and this international organisation. I trying to change the people believes and practices regarding the essence of accreditation programmes. Hence, the ISQua ambassadors initiative provide this platform for us to be the voice of healthcare workers and organisations in front of ISQua. I think we will be the representatives of our communities more than representing the ISQua."
Dr Hossam Elamir holds a graduate degree in medicine, a postgraduate diploma in quality, and a master’s degree in healthcare management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He worked in the National Guard Health Affairs and the Specialized Medical Centres, before joining the Quality and Accreditation Directorate, where he was appointed as the head of quality and accreditation department in one of the general hospitals for seven years, then as a leader of the Technical Support Team to this day.
Dr Elamir has published 3 peer-reviewed full articles, 1 peer-reviewed abstract and 11 academic posters. He led 4 different hospitals to achieve the National Accreditation Award, in addition to many other improvement projects. Moreover, he was involved in developing the National Incident Reporting System and updating some Patient Safety Guidelines.
Dr Elamir is a lean healthcare promoter, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) by the Healthcare Quality Certification Commission, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM) by the American Hospital Association Certification Center, a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health care (FISQua), a Team STEPPS Master Trainer, an international speaker and a peer reviewer.
ISQua Ambassador
Akio Hirata
"Fellowship programme is a great opportunity to learn. Hope many people come and join us. I am so grateful for wonderful support of ISQua Education Team. Huge thanks to Caroline and Brian."
General Manager, Division of Education and Training, Japan Council for Quality Health Care.