​In celebration of the Canadian Patient Safety Officer (CPSO) Course tenth anniversary of the in-person workshop and the first anniversary of the online course, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and HealthcareCAN are  offering  a limited time discount on tuition. A $375 cost saving is available for the 2016 in-person workshop; and a $125 rebate for registrants of the online program. The CPSO Course is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals and leaders across Canada and internationally wanting to learn more about patient safety.

Since the CPSO Course was first launched in 2007, more than 375 healthcare providers have been trained in the fundamentals of patient safety and equipped with the information, tools and techniques to build a strong patient safety culture in their organization.

​Helen Margiotta

Helen Margiotta of Headwaters Health Care completed the CPSO Course in 2008. The 87-bed acute care hospital in Orangeville, Ontario, was going through accreditation at that time and Helen was appointed the lead. The CPSO Course helped her to build a patient safety program and the hospital has achieved exemplary status not only the first, but on all subsequent accreditation evaluations. Three other healthcare professionals from the hospital have since completed the CPSO course and it is now a recommended prerequisite for their patient safety and quality leads.

"The CPSO Course is a really good primer for those responsible for leading patient safety efforts in an organization," says Helen Margiotta, Director of Acute Care Programs. "It provides you with very good base knowledge of patient safety concepts and phenomenal tools to get started on building a patient safety program."

​Dr. Jonathan Gilleland

When appointed as the inaugural Patient Safety Officer at the McMaster Children's Hospital (MCH) in Hamilton, Ontario,  Dr. Jonathan Gilleland signed-up for the CPSO Course in 2013. He found that the sessions on human factors and diagnostic errors provided a good foundation and he was then able to do a deeper dive to learn more about these and other  concepts.  

"We did not have a plethora of people in the department with patient safety training at that time and I needed to provide direction to the leadership  on the development of a local program and get it up and running very quickly, says Dr. Gilleland, medical site lead of the MCH Pediatric Medical Emergency Team. "The course provided the introduction to patient safety that I needed. It afforded the opportunity to ask questions of and learn from content experts, and to network and build relationships with other healthcare practitioners." 

​Gabrielle Richard

The married healthcare duo, Gabrielle Richard (pharmacist) and Dr. Kieron McGibney (surgeon), work at the Colchester Regional Hospital in Truro, Nova Scotia. When her husband signed up for the CPSO Course last year, Gabrielle decided to enrol as well and paid for the program out of her own pocket. Gabrielle says she had not done this kind of patient safety training before and it was a great investment. She absolutely loved it!

"The course was fantastic and a real eye-opener that gave me a whole new way of thinking about my role in patient safety," says Gabrielle Richard. "Every frontline worker should take this course - it is not just for managers responsible for quality and patient safety, but is valuable for anyone who works in healthcare.  The content should be a part of every hospital's orientation program to support a patient safety culture."

The Canadian Patient Safety Officer Course is jointly developed and delivered by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and HealthCareCAN, and supported by experts from across Canada and internationally.

The next in-person CPSO Course will be held in Ottawa, Ontario from May 31 to June 3, 2016. The four-day workshop is limited to a maximum of 45 participants, so enroll early! A $375 early-bird discount is available to those who register before February 15, 2016.  Click here for more information, or visit www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca

The CPSO online course is open for enrolment at any time. It provides more flexibility and is designed for professionals who are unable to travel or who prefer to learn at their own pace. The course can be completed in less than 100 hours of study, delivered entirely online using readings, videos, webinars, discussion forums, hands-on project work, and expert faculty to provide support and feedback.  Click here to save $125 on the cost of tuition. Register today, as this discount is only available until December 15, 2015! More information on the online course is available on the HealthCareCAN learning website, www.healthcarecan.ca/learning/