Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Course Directors: Meghna Trivedi, MD & Elizabeth Murphy, MD  

Our robust 3-year longitudinal Quality Improvement (QI) and Patient Safety curriculum introduces residents to QI basics, Lean principles, and key strategies to develop and enhance their QI skillsets. Residents use PDSA methodology to complete at least one interprofessional Quality Improvement project during their training. QI principles are delivered in didactic sessions during ambulatory blocks. All residents receive their White and Yellow Belts in Lean Process Improvement. Residents work in teams on projects of their choice focusing on inpatient care, ambulatory care, educational innovation or Resident wellbeing. They will also participate in Root Cause Analysis in an interactive case-based session. Project posters are presented at the Annual Resident Poster Day, and GME poster day. Our Residents receive awards in multiple categories. We fully support the submission of high impact projects for publication and presentation at national meetings. We expect all our residents will be able to lead Quality Improvement projects in their future areas of practice.

Residents receive GME developed Patient Safety didactics annually during their training. Our program also offers a 2-week QI elective to interested residents during which they attend department and institution quality meetings, engage in advanced quality reading and learning, and work on their QI projects. Residents considering future careers in Quality and Patient Safety are able to explore career opportunities with our institutional leaders.

Here is a glimpse of some of the ongoing QI Projects:

• Improving patient care team identification
• Mentoring medical students on resident teams
• Improving OSA screening in primary care clinic
• Mindfulness in Internal Medicine
• Improving Internal Medicine residency financial literacy
• Improving significant events documentation