Everything You Need to Know About the HIROC Risk Management Residency Program

As your proactive partner in healthcare safety, we at HIROC have several initiatives for our Subscribers to help improve patient safety. Our flagship initiative is the Risk Management Residency Program (RMRP). We spoke to HIROC’s Wendy Hooper and Enid Siu to learn more about this program.

What is RMRP?

HIROC’s Risk Management Residency Program is a comprehensive, ten-month, educational program designed to provide HIROC Subscribers with the opportunity to learn from shared experiences and bring together a knowledgeable community of experts. RMRP is offered at no cost and is exclusively for HIROC Subscribers.

What is the make-up of students?

Students are risk management professionals who support risk management, safety, and quality improvement activities in different settings within the healthcare system such as acute care, community care, health authorities, regulatory bodies, and much more. Backgrounds of students are diverse and may include clinicians, emergency preparedness professionals, and insurance, legal, regulatory, and compliance domains.

How is the program curated?

The program employs a combination of learning techniques including self-directed, synchronous, and applied learning. It also offers individualized opportunities for mentorship and coaching from sector leaders and subject matter experts.

The RMRP curriculum is designed to align with professional contexts of healthcare risk management in Canada focusing on subject matter, content, and skills that have immediate practical relevance. The program modules encompass foundational principles in risk management, including critical areas such as patient safety, privacy, and insurance-related topics. Additionally, the curriculum includes subjects that capture current and emerging industry trends. This design ensures that the knowledge acquired can be readily applied to real-world scenarios.

A unique differentiator of this program is the mentor/mentee aspect. How does that work?

Mentoring is one of the cornerstones of the Risk Management Residency Program with the goal of helping to build a stronger risk management community to support our healthcare system. RMRP mentors are healthcare leaders from various sectors across Canada who volunteer their time and expertise to the students. The mentor-mentee relationship takes place outside of the actual program and is an opportunity to share unique experiences, address specific growth and development needs, provide sage advice, and simply be the person who is there to listen.

What has the feedback been since the program’s inception?

Over 97% of students who have completed the program rate their confidence and competence as higher or much higher since completing it. Twelve students have returned as mentors for the 2023/24 cohort illustrating the program’s aim to develop knowledge, capacity, and confidence in healthcare.

What’s something you both have learned about yourselves while overseeing the program?

Enid: The importance of keeping a growth mindset. With every cohort, the variety of student composition across Canada offers so many different perspectives. The opportunity to engage with frontline risk managers allows me to keep pace with the evolving healthcare risk management landscape and reflect on how best to meet the needs of our Subscribers.

Wendy: I’m constantly amazed by the desire, drive, and commitment of the students who are participating, and the mentors who graciously volunteer their time to ensuring knowledge transfer, growth, and development opportunities. The end goal is ensuring the safest healthcare system possible.

Is there anything new for the program in coming cohorts?

New topics to address emerging trends are always being explored and added to the curriculum where possible. We are looking at other formats to address learning needs and levels of experience as the program continues to experience a high demand.

For more information about RMRP, including how to apply, please visit the program page. If you have any questions about the program, contact us at [email protected].