Educational Programs
The Center for Healthcare Improvement & Patient Safety offers multidisciplinary programs that provide the opportunity to study with, and be mentored by, the nation’s leaders in Healthcare Quality & Safety within a top university and renowned health system.
Pathways to Education
The CHIPS leadership has created visuals below to assist prospective students with thinking about their career goals and to illustrate the differences in our educational programs. We are happy to speak with individual students about their unique backgrounds, needs, and goals.
Masters in Healthcare Quality &
Safety
The Master in Healthcare Quality and Safety provides in-depth didactic instruction and hands-on experience to current healthcare professionals who aim to improve the quality and safety of healthcare, locally, regionally or nationally. This program prepares students to pursue careers in healthcare administration and leadership that may be broad (e.g. director of quality and safety for a healthcare system) or more focused (e.g. positions that oversee population health, health equity, patient safety for a department, or organization). Some graduates will combine their clinical and academic careers with a focus on healthcare quality and safety leadership, others will go on to pure leadership positions.
Certificate in Healthcare Quality & Safety
The Certificate in Healthcare Quality and Safety is designed for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dentists, veterinarians, administrators, and other personnel who are interested in acquiring a robust foundation in the science of quality improvement and patient safety. Certificate students complete two core courses, an elective, and complete a mentored capstone QI project as part of the program.
Concentration in Healthcare Quality & Safety
The Concentration in Healthcare Quality Improvement and Patient Safety is a 3 course series embedded within the Masters of Science in Health Policy Research Degree Program. Additional longitudinal programming and mentorship is provided to concentration students by CHIPS faculty. Graduates from this program are well prepared to practice, lead, and study quality improvement efforts in the healthcare delivery system.
Medical Student Summer Internship
CHIPS offers a summer internship opportunity for one or two, first-year medical student(s) at the Perelman School of Medicine. During the 6 – 8 week program, the selected candidate receives an introduction to the field of healthcare quality and safety, and participates in a quality improvement project under the direction of a fellow or faculty member. Compensation is a $3,000 stipend.
Healthcare Leadership in Quality Residency Track
Penn Medicine's track is one of the few programs in the country to offer a distinct pathway for residents aspiring to be leaders in health care quality, patient safety, or informatics. During this two year longitudinal pathway, which is embedded within Penn Medicine’s residency programs, residents participate in various sessions that provide them with knowledge in health care quality, measurement, patient safety, informatics, and health care management.
“PennCHIPS provides access to an incredible community of thought leaders—from whom I learned a great deal about safe, reliable, effective, and equitable healthcare delivery. I am so grateful for the tangible skills and experience I gained from the CHIPS Program, as I believe these strengthened my candidacy for faculty jobs I applied to during my final year of clinical fellowship.” – Meghan Galligan, MD, MSHP, PennCHIPS Graduate