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ACR ImPower Program

Providing improvement collaborative project teams with a unique opportunity to learn alongside other organizations while simultaneously solving the same problem.

The ACR® ImPower Program allows teams to collaborate and support one another in implementing sustainable best practices at each local site. ImPower was developed on the premise that when frontline staff are taught and empowered to solve problems, the solutions are more comprehensive, staff become champions of change and organizational improvement capabilities expand.

ImPower cohorts are offered twice a year, beginning in March and September. The program duration is six months for the entire team and eight months for individuals in the roles of physician leader, team leader and quality improvement coach.

How to Participate

There are three critical commitments to successfully participate in ImPower:

  1. An organizational sponsor and a clinical leader to provide resources, support change management efforts and protect staff time to complete project work.
  2. An individual with quality improvement experience, or interest in learning quality improvement, to serve as the quality improvement coach and support the project team in the application of quality improvement concepts and tools.
  3. The capability to perform manual audits and report data throughout ImPower.

I learned to look beyond my own silo and engage with my team members in radiology as well as across the institution. The other sites were also a terrific and inspiring resource for best practices.

Cohort 1 ImPower Graduate

ACR ImPower Program

Who Comprisesa Project Team?

The core project team consists of a project sponsor, physician leader, team leader, quality improvement coach and team members. It is optional to include a data analyst, as needed, if the team leader or quality improvement coach cannot access data from across departmental systems.

A department leader with organizational authority who provides project resources, protects staff time and is highly committed to achieving the project goal; usually a director or manager.

Time commitment: 1 hour/week

A physician who leads clinical decision making within the organization and for the project and ensures alignment with the physician team.

Time commitment: 4 hours/week

A quality improvement professional who supports the team in the application of ImPower concepts and tools. Partners with the team leader.

Time commitment: 8 hours/week

An individual in a leadership position or with leadership potential who manages the project team, regularly communicates with the sponsor, partners with the quality improvement coach and completes project work.

Time commitment: 6–8 hours/week

Frontline staff who represent the process that will be improved and are liaisons for their departmental roles. Two to four team members are ideal to include for each project.

Time commitment: 4–6 hours/week

The ImPower Structure

Preparation Phase

A two-month long phase during which the physician leader, team leader and quality improvement coach are supported in selecting their local team members, building and refining their problem scope, and starting to collect baseline data.

Quality Improvement Coaches Training

All quality improvement coaches attend five training sessions, each designed to strengthen their skills in facilitating quality improvement. The topics cover: how to lead improvement, develop measures, visualize data, manage teams and projects, mitigate barriers and create a culture of change.

Optionally, quality improvement coaches can join quality improvement application meetings, which take place the day after each learning session.

During these meetings, an ImPower quality improvement leader provides more guidance on the application of quality improvement tools and upcoming assignments.

Learning Sessions

Team members participate in 10 two-hour long learning sessions spread throughout the course of ImPower. The objectives of each learning session include:

  • Building improvement leadership skills.
  • Understanding improvement methods.
  • Applying improvement methods to ImPower projects.

Walk the Wall

In between learning sessions, participants engage in regular project report out sessions called "Walk the Wall". During these sessions, teams present progress, discuss challenges, consider solutions and learn from one another. Progress is acknowledged and tracked using a project progress scale, which shows a team's advancement towards established improvement milestones.

Program Participation Fees

Organizations can bring a single project through one of the ImPower improvement collaboratives for a fee of $6,000. Every third project will be discounted at a rate of $3,000.

Infographic visually depicting the 10 sessions involved in participating in the ACR Learning Network IMPower program
ImPower Session 1: Starting Improvement; Session 2: Structured Problem Solving Using A3 Thinking: The Left Side; Session 3: Identifying and Understanding Root Causes; Session 4: Structure Problem Solving Using A3 Thinking: The Right Side; Session 5: Visualizing Data and Responding to Variation; Session 6: Problem Solving in a Complex Environment; Session 7: Creating High Reliability Processes and Solutions; Session 8: Developing a Culture of Improvement; Session 9: Closing Improvement Projects; Session 10: Graduation: Presenting Improvement
Working with the ACR helped us develop a new philosophy of problem solving for our team and gave us the tools we needed to meet our unique challenges and improve our ability to serve our patients. The guidance and support they provided us were invaluable, and working with other healthcare systems provided us with a community of support.

Cohort 2 ImPower Graduate

Link Up With the Learning Network

We’re here to help your team succeed. Please reach out with any questions to the ACR Learning Network team.

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