Yale’s Global Health Leadership Initiative (GHLI) and the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are collaborating to foster a sweeping positive shift in intensive care unit (ICU) organizational culture in Australia and New Zealand through the Leading ICUs for Transformation (LIFT) program.
Organizational culture shapes quality of care and patient outcomes in the ICU setting and can be improved through coalition-based leadership development approaches. We look forward to seeing the system-wide changes that this inaugural cohort of delegates will create.
Erika Linnander, Director, GHLI
LIFT is a comprehensive nine-month program running from October 2024 to June 2025, anchored by two intensive five-day residential modules held in Melbourne, Australia. Diverse teams from ICUs (called delegations) will identify a significant challenge – a clinical or operational performance measure believed to be influenced by the unit’s organizational culture - within their units to address in their transformation project. Delegates will delve into the root causes of their respective challenges and develop strategic interventions to affect meaningful structural change.
Understanding and positively influencing organisational culture has emerged as a priority to the ICU community in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The College is delighted to take the next step in our commitment to this by partnering with Yale to pilot this evidence based, multi-centre team-based leadership intervention.
Neil Orford, Chair, CICM ICU Culture Program
The program leverages experiential teaching methods, interactive lectures, facilitated discussions, simulations, and team exercises. In addition to the anchoring residentials, delegates will receive remote support from Yale faculty in the form of webinars and coaching calls, fostering an environment of continuous learning and accountability. The inaugural cohort of the program is composed of five delegations from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. (Aotearoa is the Maori term for New Zealand) Each delegation comprises up to six delegates from clinical and executive leadership in the ICU. This initiative aligns with the vision and priorities of the CICM as it empowers delegates with the tools necessary to effect meaningful and lasting organizational change.
By the conclusion of the program, delegates will have expertise and experience in convening and leading a guiding coalition, applying strategic problem-solving methods, and fostering an effective organizational culture. In recognition of their achievements, delegates will earn a certificate from the Yale School of Public Health, and their transformation project stories will be shared as practical examples to inspire change in ICUs across Australia and New Zealand.