Services

“These important foundational meetings were some of the most effective and productive that I have experienced in my career, and Nichole’s facilitation style and organizational abilities are to thank for that. She is committed to making real change in healthcare.”

– Dr. Sandra Davidson, Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at the University of Calgary

01.

Teaching

Workshops, short courses and coaching designed for busy students, clinicians, and leaders.

02.

Facilitating

I help teams move from problem statements to prioritized, resourced plans that deliver results.

03.

Keynotes

Keynotes that combine evidence, practical examples, and an unapologetic call to action.

04.

Evaluation

Robust, transparent evaluation that tells you what works and why.

Teaching

1. Safety in Healthcare

Safety isn’t just the absence of harm — it’s the presence of systems that support people to succeed. I help healthcare teams move beyond traditional incident review toward approaches grounded in Safety-II, resilience engineering, and just culture. Through my patient safety course, I teach the fundamentals of understanding, analyzing, and responding to safety events in a way that highlights how things go right, not just when they go wrong. My work focuses on uncovering system strengths, improving workflows, elevating interdisciplinary communication, and supporting clinicians in real-time decision making. The result: safer care, stronger teams, and more reliable performance across complex environments.

2. Civility & Psychological Safety

Culture is the foundation of safe and high-performing care, and psychological safety is the cornerstone. I work with organizations to build cultures where people feel respected, heard, and supported, even under pressure. Through facilitated workshops, leadership coaching, and evidence-informed strategies, I help teams:

Identify uncivil behaviours that erode trust
Strengthen communication and team dynamics
Develop confident, respectful problem-solvers
Create environments where speaking up is expected, not feared

When teams experience true psychological safety, they collaborate better, innovate more quickly, and provide higher-quality care. Civility isn’t optional — it’s a performance driver.

3. Quality Improvement

Improvement doesn’t happen by accident — it happens through skill, structure, and disciplined curiosity. I teach and mentor teams using the Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ) methodology, helping them build QI confidence from the ground up. Whether you’re launching your first project or refining an established improvement program, I provide hands-on support in:

Clarifying problems
Mapping systems
Testing small changes
Using data meaningfully
Building capability across teams

My approach integrates human factors and practical QI tools to help teams make changes that are measurable, meaningful, and sustainable.

Facilitating

Great ideas don’t become great results without structure, focus, and skilled facilitation. I help organizations move from intention to action by guiding teams through quality improvement processes, strategic planning, and collaborative design sessions.

My facilitation approach integrates QI science, systems thinking, human factors, and Safety-II principles to help teams:

Clarify priorities and align around a shared vision
Understand the real problems beneath surface-level symptoms
Map systems and identify leverage points for meaningful change
Build practical, achievable improvement plans
Strengthen interdisciplinary engagement and ownership
Stay focused, productive, and grounded in evidence

Whether you’re launching a new improvement initiative, refreshing your organizational strategy, or bringing diverse stakeholders together to solve a complex problem, I provide the guidance, structure, and energy needed to move teams forward with purpose and momentum.

Keynotes

I deliver thought-provoking, energizing keynotes that challenge assumptions, spark curiosity, and inspire action across all levels of healthcare. Drawing on my expertise in safety in healthcare, Safety-II, resilience engineering, civility, psychological safety, and quality improvement, I translate complex ideas into stories and insights that resonate with real clinical practice.

My keynotes help audiences:

See safety through a new lens
Understand the hidden strengths of their systems and teams
Recognize the human side of performance and adaptation
Connect everyday work to long-term, sustainable improvement

Whether speaking to executives, frontline teams, or interdisciplinary groups, my goal is always the same: to encourage people to think differently, work more collaboratively, and lead change with clarity and confidence.

Evaluation

Sustainable improvement is impossible without measuring what matters. I support organizations in designing and conducting evaluations that illuminate not only what happened, but why it happened and what to do next. Using realist-informed approaches and systems thinking, I help leaders assess programs, interventions, team dynamics, workflow changes, and technology implementations — including EHR-related transformations. My evaluation support includes:

Developing clear questions and theories of change
Designing practical and rigorous methods
Gathering and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative insights
Translating findings into action and strategic direction

Whether you’re developing a new initiative or assessing long-term impact, I ensure evaluation becomes a tool for learning, adaptation, and growth, instead of just a checkbox.