First International Emergency Department Leadership Institute (IEDLI) Meeting Held in Boston for Foreign Healthcare Leaders Hailed as a Great Success
The first weeklong program of the IEDLI has been hailed as an overall great success by attendees. The inaugural program, jointly sponsored by Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians’ Department of Emergency Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Emergency Department, was held at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston with the goal of providing leadership and administration training to international health care professionals, many of whom are attempting to reorganize their emergency departments.
Thirty-seven ED leaders, including physicians, nurses, and administrators from 11 countries, heard from faculty from the US, Europe and Australia discuss up-to-date theories of leadership, administration, and facility design. The 5-day program, held between September 28 and October 2, was the first of its kind for many of the attendees as few programs discussing these topics are available internationally.
Many of the attendees came from hospitals which use the ED model common to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in which surgeons, internal medicine doctors, and orthopedists see the majority of patients in the ED. Many of the attendees are also dealing with a variety of complex issues which include triage, overcrowding, and staffing.
Course topics included leadership, conflict resolution, change strategy, strategic planning, developing QA systems, and developing triage systems. Many lively discussions were held in which participants discussed the state of emergency departments in their respective countries and, in some cases, disagreed on a standardized model. Each day consisted of didactic sessions and workshops that allowed the attendees to use the principles that were taught. Unlike most conferences, attendees were expected to attend 90% of all presentations to earn a certificate of completion.
On Thursday night, the group went for a memorable dinner at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge. An additional highlight was the subsequent tour of the Harvard campus led by Harvard graduate and course director, Stephanie Rosborough, MD, MPH.
The IEDLI course directors are currently reviewing the post-program assessment and will be meeting in November to plan for next year’s program. At present, the location for the 2010 course is yet to be decided, with both a return to the Boston site and a European venue being contemplated. While in all likelihood there will be the 5-day basic IEDLI program, the course directors are also contemplating a separate Graduate Program for those who have completed the Basic Program. We are looking forward to welcoming you at our next IEDLI course in 2010! Please contact Brian Daly (bdaly1@partners.org) with any questions about our programs.
The IEDLI course directors:
Philip Anderson, MD
Robert Freitas, MHA
Elke Platz, MD, RDMS
Stephanie Rosborough, MD, MPH
IEDLI participants at the Harvard Faculty Club.