A strategic approach to quality improvement and patient safety education and resident integration in a general surgery residency

Abstract

Objective: To outline a structured approach for general surgery resident integration into institutional quality improvement and patient safety education and development.

Design: A strategic plan to address Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Clinical Learning Environment Review assessments for resident integration into Quality Improvement and Patient Safety initiatives is described.

Setting: Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation is an independent academic medical center graduating three categorical residents per year within an integrated multi-specialty health system serving 19 counties over 3 states.

Results: The quality improvement and patient safety education program includes a formal lecture series, online didactic sessions, mandatory quality improvement or patient safety projects, institutional committee membership, an opportunity to serve as a designated American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project and Quality in Training representative, mandatory morbidity and mortality conference attendance and clinical electives in rural surgery and international settings.

Conclusions: Structured education regarding and participation in quality improvement and patient safety programs are able to be accomplished during general surgery residency. The long-term outcomes and benefits of these strategies are unknown at this time and will be difficult to measure with objective data.

Keywords: Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Professionalism; Systems-Based Practice; clinical learning environment review; general surgery residency; patient safety; quality curriculum; quality improvement.