Pediatrician leads in quality improvement while advocating for the most vulnerable children
Michelle Bailey, MD, FRCPC, is this year’s recipient of the Prix d’excellence — Specialist of the Year award for Region 1
Dr. Michelle Bailey’s reputation for excellence has two distinct pillars. One is her active commitment to the highest standard of patient care and quality improvement, the other is her tireless advocacy for the most vulnerable children and families served by the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Calgary, where she is quality and safety lead of Hospital Pediatrics.
Dr. Bailey is widely regarded as an outstanding role model to medical students, residents and colleagues — a leader who embodies all seven CanMEDS Roles.
“I feel my bar is set quite high as I work with many tremendous colleagues, but if I were asked which of my colleagues I’d like to strive to be more like, Michelle’s name would come to my mind in a heartbeat,” says Chantelle Barnard, MD, FRCPC, a hospital pediatrician.
Dr. Michelle Bailey, FRCPC
“She not only strives to integrate new clinical practice guidelines into medical care for children but is typically one of the leaders in developing the new guidelines,” adds another colleague and pediatrician, Suzette Cooke, MD, FRCPC.
For example, Dr. Bailey led the development and implementation of new guidelines for inpatient pediatric care in Alberta for conditions such as asthma, croup, pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis.
She also develops and leads efforts to find problems or gaps in the health care system. This includes serving as co-investigator and mentor for the CATCH (Case Analysis and Translation to Care in Hospital) research study.
“We work through a case together, so we can identify system gaps and bring recommendations back to our section together,” Dr. Bailey says of the CATCH approach. It also allows physicians who aren’t involved with quality improvement and safety on a daily basis to help improve the system.
Dr. Bailey with Dr. Gemma Vomiero, section chief, Hospital Pediatrics at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Bailey’s commitment to quality improvement in health care is equalled by her commitment to professional development — for herself and others.
“She continually updates herself as a medical expert in the new and dynamic subspecialty field of pediatric hospital medicine by attending local CME, national and international conferences, specialized courses…and by serving as a member of the Royal College Pediatrics Examination Board and chair of the Pediatric OSCE Development Committee,” says Dr. Cooke.
Dr. Bailey led the implementation of a number of communication systems and tools to improve the safety of pediatric inpatient care at ACH and is highly regarded for her advocacy for those most vulnerable in the system: children with medical concerns who require involvement of Children’s Services.
“The hospital is a complex system,” she says. “Also, Children’s Services is a complex system. These organizations have to understand each other and work together in order to do what’s best for the child.”
Dr. Bailey with a patient and nurse practitioner at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
muhaned Marah | November 13, 2019
