Episodes

  • S4 Ep4: S04E04 What Matters to You? Maternity Nurses in Smithers BC featuring Dr. Kate Niethammer.

    S4 Ep4: S04E04 What Matters to You? Maternity Nurses in Smithers BC featuring Dr. Kate Niethammer.
    Nov 22 2024
    Recruitment and retention of front-line staff is a major challenge across healthcare systems globally right now, and no more so than in small, rural communities across Northern British Columbia. Today’s guest Dr. Kate Niethammer, a rural GP and obstetrician based in Smithers, BC, explains how she, using a QI approach and asking what mattered to them, was able to reverse nurse shortages and help re-establish full staffing levels in her unit. In this episode we talk about the benefits of living in the North and the universal power of pizza.

    Links:
    Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Framework for Improving Joy in Work
    Northern Health PQI
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    29 mins
  • S4 Ep3: The Great X-Ray Bake Off – Improving Joy at Work one cookie at a time - featuring James Cheesman

    S4 Ep3: The Great X-Ray Bake Off – Improving Joy at Work one cookie at a time - featuring James Cheesman
    Nov 1 2024
    With the current challenges faced by healthcare organizations around the world, maintaining staff morale and Joy in Work is a daunting task. The response of one medical imaging department in Northern British Columbia? Competitive baking! This week we interview James Cheesman, a Medical Radiation Technologist at The University Hospital of Northern British Columbia about “The Great X-Ray Bake Off”. With staff bakers competing for the Grandmaster Baker title and trophy, all other staff tasting and scoring the delicious entries and a resulting improvement in departmental morale and camaraderie, it’s a win-win solution for everyone.

    If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel. If you have a question about healthcare quality improvement or feedback for us at Qualitycast North, email us at qualitycomms@northernhealth.ca and your question could feature on a future episode.

    Links:
    Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement Program
    Cake by Numbers – The UHNBC Grandmaster Bake off
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    18 mins
  • S4 Ep2: Putting Patients at the Centre featuring Kim Eggers

    S4 Ep2: Putting Patients at the Centre featuring Kim Eggers
    Oct 11 2024
    When improving or making changes to the way organizations provide health care, it often seems the last person consulted is the patient themselves. This seemingly perverse order of priority is a lingering throwback to a more historical and paternalistic model of care. One person looking to change this is today’s guest Kim Eggers, the Patient Partner Advisor for Northern Health’s Physician Quality Improvement program. In this episode we learn about Kim’s background, her motivation for patient advocacy and her vision for the co-creation of health care services.

    Resources:

    Patient Voices Network of British Columbia

    Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement Program
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    31 mins
  • S4 Ep1: Special Episode: Northern Health’s new CEO - the first 9 months featuring Ciro Panessa

    S4 Ep1: Special Episode: Northern Health’s new CEO - the first 9 months featuring Ciro Panessa
    Sep 20 2024
    We’re back for our fourth season with our new co-host, Lee Cameron. Our season opener is a cracker featuring special guest Ciro Panessa, the new CEO of Northern Health. In this episode we talk about Ciro’s journey to CEO, his first 9 months, and Northern Health’s priorities over the next 5 years. We also touch on life on the road and why ultimately, he’s grateful.

    Resource links:

    Northern Health

    Northern Health Physician Quality Improvement

    “The First 90 Days” book by Michael D. Watkins
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    37 mins
  • S3 Ep9: Deanna reflects on her favorite 3 episodes from the last 3 seasons of Qualitycast North

    S3 Ep9: Deanna reflects on her favorite 3 episodes from the last 3 seasons of Qualitycast North
    Jul 12 2024
    It’s our Season 3 finale and a special episode tinged with a little sadness as it’s our Producer and Co-host Deanna’s last episode with QCN. This week I turn the tables on Deanna and ask about her experiences on the show and to take us through her favourite interviews from our first three seasons. Which guests did she choose? You’ll have to listen to find out!


    Qualitycast North will return in the Autumn with Season 4 and we’re planning a special QI clinic episode in which we answer listeners’ questions on healthcare quality improvement. Where are you struggling? What advice do you need? We want to hear from you so email us at qualitycomms@northernhealth.ca with your question.
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    48 mins
  • S3 Ep8: Mind Space. Building successful skills for wellbeing across British Columbia with Dr. Fiona Petigara

    S3 Ep8: Mind Space. Building successful skills for wellbeing across British Columbia with Dr. Fiona Petigara
    Jun 21 2024
    According to Statistics Canada, Canada is currently experiencing a huge increase in unmet mental health needs. The prevalence of anxiety, depression and social phobia have jumped since the Covid pandemic. How can our health systems cope with this surge in demand for mental health services when the medical community itself is in crisis with physician shortages and burnout commonplace?

    Well, there’s good news in British Columbia. A hugely successful, community-based, mental health service based on in-person and virtual group medical visits is spreading throughout the province. It’s called Mind Space and, in this episode, we interview one of it’s founders, Dr. Fiona Petigara, about its origins, how it operates and why it’s been so successful.

    More information about Mind Space for interested patients and physicians can be found on their website at https://mind-space.ca and the BC Medical Journal at https://bcmj.org/shared-care/cbt-skills-spread-initiative-building-program-support-doctor-and-patient-mental-health
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    23 mins
  • S3 Ep7: Introducing Ketamine Infusion Therapy for Refractory Depression featuring Dr. Darren Jakubec

    S3 Ep7: Introducing Ketamine Infusion Therapy for Refractory Depression featuring Dr. Darren Jakubec
    Jun 3 2024
    Depression is a common and debilitating mental health condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite the availability of various treatment options, a significant proportion of individuals
    with depression do not achieve adequate symptom relief. One promising newer treatment is ketamine infusion therapy, but its current availability is relatively limited.
    Dr. Darren Jakubec is a GP anesthetist practicing in Smithers, where in addition to supporting surgeries at Bulkley Valley Regional Hospital, he provides pain management, counselling, and runs a dream clinic. Dr. Jakubec saw a unique quality improvement opportunity to use his skills and experience with anesthesia and mental health to bring ketamine infusion therapy to patients experiencing refractory depression in his local area of Northwest BC. The QI project was a true team effort that included patient partners, a patient peer advocate, a psychiatrist, clerical and nursing support. The project achieved positive patient outcomes and received very positive patient feedback. Dr. Jakubec shares the successes and challenges of this innovative approach to supporting mental health, and also discusses the joys of hockey, impromptu dance parties, and the value of paying attention to our dreams.
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    27 mins
  • S3 Ep6: Maintaining Physician Quality and the Provincial College – Featuring Dr. Patrick Rowe, Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC)

    S3 Ep6: Maintaining Physician Quality and the Provincial College – Featuring Dr. Patrick Rowe, Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC)
    May 10 2024
    One of the most important aspects of quality in healthcare is patient safety. We often read or hear media reports of healthcare failures in patient safety, system errors and patients falling between the gaps but there is another piece to patient and public safety which is ensuring that our licensed physicians are safe to practice medicine in the first place. This role usually falls to the Provincial and Territorial Colleges and is a crucial one when it comes to protecting the public. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Patrick Rowe, who has practiced emergency medicine in Northern BC and provided leadership for emergency medicine and trauma programs in Northern Health for many years before recently taking on a new role as the Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. Dr. Rowe provides some insights into what the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC does to protect the safety of patients accessing medical care in BC, the various quality programs it oversees, and the upcoming initiatives the CPSBC is engaged in to maintain and improve the quality of care in BC.
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    24 mins