For Health Professionals

ACT 2007/2008 Resources

ACT is a graduate level interdisciplinary curriculum for systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement. The original ACT curriculum was developed by Harvard's Partnerships for Quality Education (PQE), a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It has been piloted over the past four years with over 350 graduate health professional learners in 20 leading US teaching hospitals.

The course brings learners together with faculty and health system leaders to learn about systems and practice improvement. Learners work together in teams to identify a health care system-based performance improvement opportunity, review best practices and relevant literature, and design and present an evidence-based performance improvement project plan.

Past participants have had opportunities to present at the ACT national conference, and at least one team has published their results. ACT learners include nursing staff, graduate nursing students, advanced practice nurses, resident physicians, pharmacy residents, allied health professionals, and others. All sessions will include team work time to develop the final project plan.

The original course content was designed as a four-week intensive curriculum with online as well as traditional face-to-face lectures/discussions. The current curriculum has been modified to be completed in 12 weeks, allowing participants to increase retention; practice and improve interdisciplinary team skills; and enhance opportunities to synthesize and apply the course content.