Stanford Medicine Advanced Course in Improvement Science

The goal of the Stanford Medicine Advanced Course for Improvement Science (ACIS) is to develop physicians, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals who can effectively lead sustained improvement in complex sociotechnical systems in healthcare. This course is designed to develop the knowledge and skills needed to lead and to coach others successfully to lead and conduct improvement work in the local setting. 

This eight-month course is for individuals who have been trained in improvement science and are interested in becoming improvement leaders capable of driving change in complex healthcare systems.

Structure of the Program:
The training includes twenty full day (8 hour) sessions spread throughout the year at approximately 4 week intervals beginning in October 2026 through April 2027. The same group of participants experiencing the training together aligns leadership with organizational strategies and builds an internal network of leaders sharing common concepts and available to each other for problem solving and advice. Spreading the sessions over time supports applying concepts and skills between sessions and build on participants’ own experience. Learning methods included case study, small group discussions, brief reflection and writing assignments, responses to video vignettes, brainstorming, and small group problem-solving assignments, with minimal emphasis on didactic lectures. Participants will be expected to do 2-3 hours of reading in preparation for each session. Each participant will lead an interdisciplinary team to carry out an action learning project based on their own real leadership roles. A certificate of completion will be presented to those completing the program.

Participant Expectations

Participants must be able to:

Attend all courses on the following dates, approximately 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day: (Dates are still being finalized)

• Oct 5-7, 2026 (In-person)

• Nov 16-19, 2026 (Virtual Week)

• Jan 25-29, 2027 (In-person)

• Apr 12-15, 2027 (In-person)

Obtain written approval from their executive sponsor: Division Chief and/or Department Chair for Faculty, Chief Nursing Officer for Nursing attendees, or VP and above/Senior Associate Dean (as applicable) for Administrative attendees

Commit to a course-related project, which will require a significant time investment outside of class and is expected to extend beyond the final in-person session to present at the annual QI Symposium event in May.

Complete all course assignments, including required pre-work and readings, participants should anticipate a substantial time commitment outside of scheduled sessions for both preparation and follow-through.

Review the course curriculum in advance and attest to their readiness to engage the course content, particularly in the data science domain. Preparatory resources and optional pre-course sessions will be available for those who would benefit from additional support.

Stanford Medicine Participants: $7,000

Non-Stanford Participants: $10,000

1. Effectively plan and manage a challenging project to achieve significant improvements over a sustained period of time
2. Employ principles of statistical process control, perform intermediate-level comparative statistical analyses to effectively survey a group of individuals
3. Apply skills, methods and tools to establish effective human interactions, form and support successful teams and effectively manage conflict
4. Successfully design, execute, and analyze experiments to answer relevant questions related to improvement initiatives and develop models to use evidence to increase the consistency of clinical practice
5. Use principles of systems management and engineering to drive safety and quality through an integrated system

In support of improving patient care, Stanford Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. 
 
Credit Designation 
American Medical Association (AMA) 
Stanford Medicine designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 91.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) 
Stanford Medicine designates this Live Activity activity for a maximum of 91.50 ANCC contact hours. 

Cancellation Policy
Live Activities: Cancellations received in writing no less than 20 days before the course will be refunded. No refunds will be made on cancellations received after that date.

Stanford University School of Medicine reserves the right to cancel or postpone this program if necessary; in the event of cancellation, course fees will be fully refunded. We are not responsible for other costs, such as non-refundable airline tickets or hotel penalties.

Accessibility Statement
 Stanford University School of Medicine is committed to ensuring that its programs, services, goods and facilities are accessible to individuals with disabilities as specified under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008.  If you have needs that require visual, auditory, cognitive, or mobility accommodations, including dietary concerns, please contact the CME office.

Cultural and Linguistic Competency
The planners and speakers of this CME activity have been encouraged to address cultural issues relevant to their topic area for the purpose of complying with California Assembly Bill 1195. Moreover, the Stanford University School of Medicine Multicultural Health Portal contains many useful cultural and linguistic competency tools including culture guides, language access information and pertinent state and federal laws.  You are encouraged to visit the Multicultural Health Portal: https://laneguides.stanford.edu/multicultural-health

For activity related questions, please contact
ACIS Admin Team

Email: [email protected]

For CME general questions, please contact 
Email: [email protected]

This is a hybrid activity.

3 weeks in person in Palo Alto, CA, and 1 week virtual.

This course starts in September and requires three weeks of in-person attendance and one week of virtual attendance

At this time, we anticipate that Week 2 of the course will be offered virtually.

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Stanford Medicine adheres to the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

The content of this activity is not related to products or the business lines of an ACCME-defined ineligible company. Hence, there are no relevant financial relationships with an ACCME-defined ineligible company for anyone who was in control of the content of this activity.