Next steps
Ready to take the next step in your learning journey? If you have enjoyed the topics, tasks and discussions over the last two weeks, you can continue your learning with …
Course: Understanding Systems Thinking in Healthcare
Review of the week
Congratulations on completing Week 2 of Understanding Systems Thinking in Healthcare. This week, we’ve explored healthcare system mapping as a systematic approach to understanding, analysing and optimising the activities, processes …
Challenges of systems mapping
System mapping in healthcare isn’t without its challenges and sometimes they’re attributable to the inherent ambiguity or complexity of the healthcare system. Some of these challenges include, but are not …
Tools for healthcare system mapping
Let’s now consider some evidence-based tools that can support healthcare system mapping. The video, produced by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, explains how visual tools can help in the improvement …
Drivers of change
Considering the challenging process and issues of system mapping, some may ask, why all the fuss? Usually, in mapping out healthcare systems, we seek to make a change and improve …
Welcome back
Welcome to Week 2 of Understanding Systems Thinking in Healthcare. This week, we will explore: The concept of healthcare system mapping The benefits and challenges of system mapping Different tools …
Developing a system map
In this step, we explore some of the considerations around developing a healthcare system map. Developing an effective map of a healthcare system should involve (but is not limited to) …
Introduction to healthcare system mapping
Let’s begin this week by introducing you to the concept of system mapping in healthcare. A system map is a visual presentation and illustration of the major components, boundaries and …
Why map the healthcare system?
Mapping the healthcare system creates a foundation upon which conceptualisation, strategic decision-making processes and interventions can be based. It can also simplify complexity by helping us to identify and understand …
Steps to systems thinking
A systems thinking approach requires us to consider organisations (such as HEE) as more than physical entities with clear boundaries, structures and functions, as defined by early management literature. That …
Review of the week
Congratulations on completing the first week of this short course. This week, we’ve introduced you to the concept of a healthcare system, explored what systems thinking is, and explored the …
System thinking: an introduction
Leading and managing services within large complex systems like healthcare is challenging. The problems facing organisations are so complex that they defy simple solutions, and leaders are often trying to …
Systems thinking in healthcare
In this video, we introduce you to Amanda Royston – an Associate Professor in Healthcare, Leadership and Management at Coventry University. Amanda talks about the need for leaders to adopt …
Health Education England (HEE)
In this video, we introduce you to Stuart Baird – an Assistant Professor for Leadership in Healthcare at Coventry University. Stuart has previously worked at Health Education England (HEE) – …
Defining a healthcare system
So far, we’ve defined what we mean by ‘healthcare’ and ‘system’ and examined the common characteristics of the latter. Let’s now bring these together and consider what we mean by …