Thank you for your interest. Our L3 application will open from December 8, 2025 – January 23, 2026.
Please read through the below information about Level 3 training and pre-requisites and find the application link at the bottom of the page.
Level 3 (L3) Advanced Cohort Training is our flagship training program, which runs from August to May (10 months) each year. Eligible* physicians will receive up to $30,000 in funding to help them protect their time to train and work on QI. Physicians from VCH and PHC, as well as those working in the community (for example, at privately owned clinics) are eligible to apply to our PQI Level 3 training. Other medical staff can also apply, though preference may be given to physicians, since the program is funded by the Specialist Services Committee.
A 'dyad' is comprised by representatives from two sides of care provision (i.e., medical and operations). You may choose to apply with a dyad partner (e.g., someone from Operations such as a nurse, allied health professional, or administrative staff who may be integral to your project). Your dyad partner can attend training and work with you on your QI project.
Please note the dyad partner needs to get approval from their manager and be released from care for training and QI work. Funding is not available for these dyad partners. The dyad partner can help with team member formation, brainstorming ideas, work jointly on deliverables, and encourage each other! The ultimate responsibility for the project lies with the physician or medical staff.
*Physicians whose time is compensated by the Health Authority under a service contract or employment may not be eligible for additional compensation for hose hours paid under that contract. Hours outside of the contract can be supported for PQI participation.
Why take L3 Training?
- Access to interactive training including lectures, group activities and workshops.
- Physicians receive full project support and mentorship from PQI coaches and faculty, quality improvement leaders, and data analysts.
- Projects are endorsed by VCH and PHC medical and operational leaders.
- Opportunity to work on a quality problem in the system or close a gap in care that you have identified.
Requirements
If you are selected for L3 training, in order to graduate and recieve sessional funding*, you are expected:
- To complete the assigned homework
- To attend all the training sessions (illustrated in Training session)
- To check-in with your assigned Quality Improvement Leader monthly
*Applicable only to eligible physicians (see above section for the details)
A detailed description of the prerequisites, ideal QI projects and L3 trainiung is available below;
Prerequisites
1. Obtain a basic understanding of QI fundamentals within health care - in order to acquire this:
- Complete L1 Training (ideally before submitting your L3 application, or at the very least, prior to the application deadline: January 23, 2026) .
- Commit to completing L2 Intermediate QI Training prior to the start of the cohort (August 2026) - E.g. signing up early for a L2 session will help you secure a spot.
2. Ensure the intended project approach align with a Quality Improvement methodology that emphasizes root-cause exploration and testing of different ideas. The project is not simply an implementation of a single pre-conceived change idea. Below table allows you to do a self assessment for your intended project idea. If you are still unsure, email MedicalQuality@vch.ca and we are happy to assist you.
3. Confirm the problem is a system priority (refer to the section below "System Priorities.") that has local and organizational support through conversations with the leadership at your site.
o For Community-based physicians: connect with the administrative and medical leadership at your site to gain endorsement of your idea.
o For Health-Authority: the Operations/Program Director of the area where your QI project will take place, as well as with your Health Authority (not UBC) Department/Diviision Head.- If you are not sure who the Operations/Program Director is, take a look at these resources at VCH or PHC, or inquire with the manager of the area.
- If you are still unsure, email us at medicalquality@vch.ca and we will be happy to assist you.
4. Focuses on a problem that occurs frequently enough (at least having 12 incidents/patients in a month) for meaningful data to be collected over a 10 month period, so improvement can be seen for the several ideas you want to test out.
Highly Recommended
The patient voice is important to understand what matters to our patients in order to effectively improve not only patient care, but also the patient experience. Please watch the video on why patient experience is important. We will help you with this step during our Level 3 QI training.
An ideal quality improvement (QI) project:
- Targets a problem that has supporting evidence (e.g., baseline data, scholarly evidence of care gaps), or common agreement within your Department/Division that an issue exists
- Addresses one or more of the Quintuple Aim:
- Improved patient experience
- Better outcomes
- Lower costs
- Clinician well-being
- Health equity
- While also focusing on one or more system priorities such as: (please note the list is not exhaustive and subject to change)
- Access to care
- Provider wellness (e.g. joy in work, reduce burnout0
- Indigenous cultural safety / Indigenous specific anti-racism
- Planetary health
- Equity, diversity and inclusion
- Cancer care
- Mental health and addictions care
- Surgical care
- Senior care
- Maternity / reproductive care
- Other priorities of the Health Authority or the Department/Division as applicable, for example, VCH Quality and Patient Safety priorities include:
- Suicide prevention
- Venous thromboembolism prevention
- Medication reconciliation
- Person centred care
- Hand hygiene
No project idea yet?
If you do not yet have a project idea, kindly please discuss with your Health Authority (not UBC) Department Head/ Division Head to identify a system priority in your working department/ unit/ team. If you need help to identify who they are, please email medicalquality@vch.ca.
If the discussion doesn't lend you in any ideas, please click here to share your details and we will get in touch with next steps. This year we are trialing an approach to help 5 interested applicants connect with key partners (Operations and Medical Leadership, and/or Quality Department) to help them find a relevant QI project idea. (Intake close earlier on January 12, 2026)
Training details
Level 3 Tentative Training Dates (Schedule may change slightly as we update our content or delivery)
o Session 1: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
o Session 2: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
o Session 3: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
o Session 4: Tuesday, November 17, 2026
o Session 5: Tuesday, December 15, 2026
o Session 6: Tuesday, January 12, 2027
o Session 7: Tuesday, February 2, 2027
o Session 8: Tuesday, February 23, 2027
o Session 9: Tuesday, March 30, 2027
o Year End Presentations 1: Wednesday, April 28, 2027
o Year End Presentation 2: Thursday, May 6, 2027
Level 3 training topics include the following:
o Model for Improvement – Plan Do Study Act (PDSA)
o Privacy and Ethics in QI
o Project management
o Root cause analysis
o Human Side of Change – Key Partner Engagement
o Data planning and testing Changes
o Team Work & Communication
o Sustaining and Spreading Improvement
Level 3 participants collaborating during a breakout session
Ready to apply?
If you have a project idea, go here to apply: https://pqivchphc.smapply.io/ (Intake open December 8, 2025 – January 23, 2026)
If you do not yet have a project idea after discussing with your Department Head/ Division Head, please click here to share your details and we will get in touch with next steps (please note this is a pilot trial, subject to capacity). (Intake close earlier on January 12, 2026)
