Leading Safety Differently Action Series
Program overview :
Join a four-month action series designed to inspire you to take action to create safer care and lead safety differently.
Building on the Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW) 2025 theme of All Voices for Safer Care, this virtual action series recognizes that everyone – regardless of role – contributes to making care safer and can lead safety in different ways.
Who should apply
This action series is open to anyone who self-identifies as a leader within their organization or health and social care system and wants to make care safer – whether you are leading, providing or receiving care.
This includes individuals in formal leadership roles, such as:
- Board members
- CEOs
- Senior executives
- Quality and safety leaders
- Middle managers
It also includes those who do not hold formal leadership titles but see themselves as being able to lead safety, including:
- Point-of-care providers
- Patient and caregiver partners
What’s in it for you
Over four months, we will guide you through the Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds activity. You will join three virtual learning sessions, each followed by an action period to apply your learning and spark discussions about how you can make care safer in your setting. The series will conclude with a virtual closing congress to share and celebrate your successes.
During the action series, you will:
- Broaden your understanding of safety through Rethinking Patient Safety and the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Framework.
- Access practical tools and complete activities to help you lead safety differently by taking a more proactive approach to safer care in your setting.
- Learn from and share ideas with your peers.
- Receive mentorship and expert coaching support.
By the end of the action series, you will be able to contribute to changes that make care safer for all who receive or deliver care in your setting.
This action series is designed to make the most of your time — light touch, high impact and filled with interactive, meaningful activities that drive learning and change.
There is no cost to participate. All materials will be available in English and French.
Why this matters
Everyone in Canada wants and deserves safe, high-quality healthcare. While people across the country are working to make that possible, the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) latest data show that there’s more work to do. According to CIHI’s Hospital Harm Indicator, people experienced unintended harm during 1 in 17 hospital stays in Canada in 2024-25. This rate of overall hospital harm has increased to 6 per 100 hospitalizations, compared to 5.4 per 100 hospitalizations in 2019-20.
We all play a role in making care safer. As leaders, you play an important role in:
- Creating opportunities for everyone to contribute to safer care.
- Ensuring learning from harm and from other sources of safety intelligence is part of improvement efforts.
- Improving psychological safety and patient safety culture through inclusive, action-oriented learning and practice.
What’s expected of you
You will be expected to:
- If applicable, confirm that the person you report to supports you participating in the action series.
- Have access to a computer and reliable internet connection.
- Commit to participating in the three learning sessions, coaching calls and a closing congress celebration.
- Dedicate time between learning sessions to apply what you’ve learned in your setting. This includes leading safety conversations with those who deliver and receive care and facilitating at least two safety cloud conversations as described in the Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds activity. The time required will vary depending on your role and capacity to engage in the activities, however you can expect between two to four hours for each action period.
- Actively listen to diverse perspectives, reflections, and insights—both within your facilitated conversations and among fellow participants—to foster respectful, collegial, and safe dialogue.
- Complete surveys and poll questions to support HEC’s evaluation of this action series.
- Complete a final report (three to four slides) and be prepared to share what you learned at the closing congress celebration.
How to apply
Complete the application form by December 1, 2025. Enrollment is limited.
Apply to join the Leading Safety Differently action series
If the demand for enrollment exceeds the number of participants we can enroll, HEC will select applicants to participate based on the strength of their application and ability to meet the expectations of all participants. You will be notified of the outcome of your application by December 12, 2025.
Want to learn more?
For more information or help with the application process, please contact safety-securite@hec-esc.ca.
Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds
Use this activity to spark safety conversations and collective action toward safer care.
Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds
Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds
Use this activity to spark safety conversations and collective action toward safer care.
Rethinking Patient Safety: Navigating the Measurement and Monitoring Safety Clouds
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