Just Culture Champion Scholarships
Apply for a scholarship to participate in a 15-hour Just Culture certification course
Each year, ISMP, in cooperation with The Just Culture Company, will award three scholarships for the next calendar year to a team of 3 individuals from a single organization to participate in a 15-hour Just Culture certification course.
Achieving certification helps team members advance fair accountability and system improvements, especially in the field of patient safety. Participants learn how to manage the behavioral choices of their staff, design better systems, reduce risk, and build a values-based culture.
Candidate Qualifications
Work in healthcare
Be working currently in the field of healthcare in any setting
5 years experience
Each team member must have at least 5 years of fulltime post-graduate experience in healthcare
Commitment to just culture
Obtain a commitment to the Just Culture model from at least one executive leader in your organization
a $1,695 value
Scholarship Recipients Receive
15 hours of instruction over 3 days
A printed copy of the Just Culture Algorithm
Printed hard cover copy of Dave's Subs: A Novel Story About Workplace Accountability
Eligibility to sit for the Just Culture Certification Exam, leading to certification as a Just Culture Champion
Applications Open
Applications will be open from August 1, 2024 - September 28, 2024
Application Process
Step 1
Submit one online application for your team.
You will receive an email confirmation containing the full application packet for your team to complete.
Step 2
Complete the application packet.
Include each team member's resume, a letter of intent, a description of your organization's current culture, evidence of interdisciplinary collaboration, and signed declaration documents.
Step 3
Submit your completed application packet by the deadline.
Submission details and instructions will be included in your packet.
These scholarships are awarded in honor of Judy Smetzer, former vice president at ISMP who retired in 2022.
Judy Smetzer, BSN, RN, FISMP
Retired
Judy Smetzer, BSN, RN, FISMP
Retired
Judy Smetzer is currently retired; she previously served as a Vice President at ISMP.
The American Public Health Association honored Judy with the 2002 Avedis Donabedian Award for her work in medication safety. In 2012, she was awarded The Way-Paver for BPOC (Bar-code Point of Care) Award from the TerraPharma Project. In 2013, Judy was the first nurse recipient of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Board of Directors’ Award of Honor.
In 1974, Judy received a diploma from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing, Bethlehem, PA, leading to registered nurse licensure in PA. In 1992, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA.
Judy has been a tireless advocate for the just treatment of individuals who practice in healthcare environments as well as advancing continuous improvement of medication use systems. Judy has applied the Just Culture principles to complex cases and published seminal articles about Just Culture in the ISMP Medication Safety Alert! newsletters and peer-reviewed literature. She has been a role model, influencing new generations of practitioners and administrators to evaluate their systems for workplace justice. “We have all been inspired by Judy’s commitment to both patient safety and to her advocacy for a more fair and just response to medication errors,” adds David Marx, CEO of The Just Culture Company.
Click to return to the ISMP homepage.
Log in to MyECRI to access your subscriptions and memberships.
REPORT A MEDICATION OR VACCINE ERROR
Your reports help prevent errors and patient harm from reoccurring.
Click to learn about the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.