HealthTeamWorks Coach University
Who is the ideal candidate to attend HealthTeamWorks' Coach University?
HealthTeamWorks' Coach University trains individuals who will oversee their organization’s quality-improvement (QI) program and provides the skills necessary for on-site practice coaching. A quality-improvement background from any industry and experience working in a medical practice can be helpful, but are not required. You can become an effective coach if you:
• Can motivate and engage people, and follow up effectively with post-training guidance;
• Are a self-starter and problem solver; and
• Know where to turn for guidance.
When should someone receive coach training?
HealthTeamWorks’ Coach University prepares attendees to be successful in a quality improvement or coaching position immediately upon completing “boot camp.” Coach University is ideal for organizations ready to apply formal QI efforts to processes and clinical outcomes in primary care settings. It’s best if the organization has practices ready to begin work once the trainee finishes the boot-camp week in Colorado. Just as you need to use a foreign language promptly after learning it to retain your knowledge, so new coaches need to apply their skills right away, while the wisdom and skills are fresh.
What components make up the HealthTeamWorks Coach University program?
HealthTeamWorks developed the Coach University program from years of experience training our own QI coaches and implementing numerous patient-centered medical home (PCMH) initiatives. HealthTeamWorks Coach University includes:
- QI Coach Boot Camp: A week-long, intensive training session in Colorado, where HealthTeamWorks is located. The curriculum includes introductory-level theory on current U.S. health system issues, the state of primary care, QI methodologies, QI simulations, in-practice observations and experiential learning.
- Ongoing mentoring by experienced HealthTeamWorks coaches: Newly trained coaches beginning QI applications in their organizations receive two calls a month from their mentors. One is a personal call for the mentors to assist with coaching start-up, problem solving and implementation issues. The second is a conference call with other new coaches as part of a social learning community to share experiences and tips.
- Monthly HealthTeamWorks webinars to support quality improvement coaches and their professional role. The webinars increase QI coach knowledge and coaching skills.
- Opportunity to attend a Colorado Learning Collaborative: Newly trained QI coaches can to return to Colorado to attend a HealthTeamWorks Learning Collaborative that brings together members of regional practices working to adopt medical home concepts, along with PCMH experts who share their knowledge. We offer three Learning Collaboratives a year — in February, June and October — drawing more than 50 primary care practices to share their experiences in the practice transformation process. The newly trained QI coach can learn more about her/his role in planning and implementing Learning Collaboratives and benefit from the presentations.
There is no charge for a new coach to attend a Learning Collaborative, but the coach or her/his organization is responsible for travel and other associated costs.
How can I hold a spot at HealthTeamWorks Coach University?
Use this link: Hold my spot for an upcoming HealthTeamWorks Coach University session
Fill out the form and send it back to us. We’ll contact you within three business days to let you know whether we have space available for the dates requested.
Must you know the trainee’s name to hold a space in the program?
No. We will gladly hold a space for an attendee from a named organization with a $1,000 deposit, regardless of whether we know the individual’s name. The deposit is refundable up to three weeks before the program date.
Is the deposit refundable?
Yes, your $1,000 deposit is refundable up to three weeks before the date of your selected program. However, we will not refund the deposit if you cancel after the three-week point. Candidates may attend HealthTeamWorks Coach University at a later date if they must cancel after the three-week point has passed.
Why do you require a week in Colorado? Can’t someone just come to our location?
We offer a unique training program in Colorado where attendees observe our experienced QI coaches at work in medical practices. This experiential learning is invaluable. It’s combined with didactic sessions teaching the PCMH theory and simulations of facilitation techniques with Colorado coach mentors.
We may provide training at your site if a project or health system has enough trainees. However, it’s more challenging to recreate the varied learning environments that trainees need. We would need to customize the program to ensure we meet the goals of coach training. We believe that the combination of the boot camp week in Colorado, followed by telephone mentoring, creates a well-rounded curriculum with components unavailable elsewhere.
Can the trainee arrive in Denver on the first day of HealthTeamWorks Coach University, or does she/he need to come in the night before?
HealthTeamWorks Coach University’s five-day curriculum starts on Monday at 1 p.m. and finishes Friday at 1 p.m. It is up to attendees to determine when they arrive in Denver, but we strongly encourage them to attend the entire session. Modules build on each other. Travel costs and lodging are at attendees’ expense.
How many practices can one coach support?
The answer depends on a number of variables, such as practice size, geographic proximity of the practices (because of travel time), the practices’ progress in adopting and integrating PCMH elements, and the skill level and experience of the coach. However, a newly trained coach can usually handle six to eight learning and growing practices. A fully trained and experienced coach can generally manage 15 to 20 practices, but again, this depends on the level at which the practices are functioning, the practices’ size and whether they have certain processes in place, such as registry functionality and quality-improvement measures.
Do you have a job description for QI coaches?
Yes. We have a number of resources that might help an organization in hiring QI coaches —job descriptions, consulting and more to assist you in optimizing the design of your program.
How can I best prepare for HealthTeamWorks Coach University?
Once you have completed your registration and paid for the year-long Coach University training program, we will send you a package with reading and other preparatory work to complete before your week in Colorado.
How large are the training sessions?
We limit the number of attendees for each boot camp session at eight to 10 to ensure the optimal mix of peer-to-peer learning and personalized attention from QI coach mentors.
Where do I stay if I’m attending HealthTeamWorks Coach University from out of town?
We provide HealthTeamWorks Coach University participants with a list of hotels near the training site. We’ll send it when we receive your deposit and confirm your attendance. We’ll also send directions to the training site. Travel costs and lodging are at the attendee’s expense.
What happens after the year is up? Do you have other programs I can attend?
If your organization is interested in further training for your QI coaches, please contact us.