A Swift Current physician has been announced as one of 22 physicians and pharmacists in Saskatchewan to take part in the second wave of the Clinical Quality Improvement Program.

Dr. Kevin Wasko is an emergency room physician in Swift Current and physician executive of integrated rural health.

Wasko said that to be able to learn all of the techniques and apply them to a specific project will lend to the success of the initiative.

"I'm really excited," he said. "I think that for myself it would be something that will benefit patients, but also in my new role with the health authority, I think that I can apply these tools and techniques on a broader level going forward. I think there's a lot of benefits to be had to be going through the program."

The program will teach physicians and other healthcare providers how to improve the quality of care they deliver to their patients. They will also learn on how to build quality improvement into their daily practice and to facilitate, coach, and teach quality improvement to others.

Wasko said that he is excited to be able to pass down the knowledge he learns, to fellow physicians in Swift Current.

"The idea is that you would assemble a team of other healthcare providers," he said. "Not just physicians, but other frontline staff, and some management into the project and they would undertake. You would use all of these tools that your learning in the implementing program and the team that you work with would learn some of those tools and techniques along the way as well."

The physicians and healthcare providers are taught through workshops that happen one every six weeks until November when the program ends.

"It's going well so far," Wasko added. "We had our first initial meeting and workshop on January 19 in Saskatoon, and that really served to set the groundwork for the upcoming 10-month program and broad overview of clinical quality improvement."

Wasko isn't the first doctor to be apart of the Clinical Quality Improvement Program as Dr. Shamsuddin Fakhir; a pediatrician took part in the first wave.