VPSA wants to bring more physicians and nursing and allied health staff together to connect, collaborate and care. The Small Steps, Big Idea initiative will provide selected VPSA applicants with funding ($1,000 to $5,000) to develop concepts that will engage physicians and their colleagues, improve patient care, develop better communication, and/or build relationships across specialties, departments and with community members.

If you have an idea, we want to hear from you.

The first Small Step towards realizing your Big Idea is to download the application form. Don’t wait! Proposals will be reviewed as they are received and funding will be awarded on an ongoing basis (approximately six weeks following submission). How long we accept applications depends on the initiative’s success and participants’ feedback.

Projects underway

In 2017 VPSA funded several projects designed to support physician engagement, wellness and improved provider and patient experience. These inspiring projects are currently in progress:

• Kaitlin Lee and Joseph Bednarczyk are organizing a communications workshop to improve relationships between Emergency physicians and Internal Medicine consultants.
• Brian Kwon’s project is improving hemodynamic management of acute spinal cord injury patients.
• Mypinder Sekhon and his team are developing a post-cardiac arrest, hypoxic ischemic brain protocol.
• Kelly Mayson is creating a multidisciplinary working group to optimize cancer patients’ readiness ahead of major oncological surgery.
• Derry Dance and Jennifer Yao aim to enhance the continuum of stroke patient care by learning from multiple stakeholders the current care gaps in post-stroke care.
• James McKinney and his team are creating and implementing an institutional best practice and clinical pathway for perioperative cardiac risk evaluation and perioperative management.