Curriculum Development

Teaching Quality Improvement to residents and fellows is a top priority of the Health Systems Science Office.

The CQI-DIMER Toolkit was designed by Prateek Grover, MD, PhD, MHA. The toolkit uses the Institute for Healthcare Improvement model; Six-Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve and control; and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality QI measure constructs for experiential QI learning. The goals and methodology focus enabling familiarity with QI concept and terminology, critical analysis of QI literature, QI tool utilization, QI project simulation, and structured QI Project design and performance.

• Session 1: Introduction to QI toolkit and Project Feasibility (QI Article abstract and groupwork - worksheet)
• Session 2: Characterize QI issue and Design Project (QI Article abstraction and groupwork - worksheet; QI tool use)
• Session 3: Implement / Monitor and Evaluate / Refine (Create your own project using worksheets and tools)

AMA Reimaging Resident Grant

Penn State College of Medicine is lead on a multi-institutional AMA Reimagining Residency grant. This grant focuses on how the vague and often misunderstood ACGME core competency of Systems Based Practice is taught. Using tools from Design Thinking, educators in the Health Systems Science Office lead graduate medical education learners, along with faculty and staff, through pilot projects learning how to effect change within the health system from the user’s perspective. Various Penn State Health GME programs have participated in pilot projects:

• The Diagnostic Radiology Residency is looking to minimize interruptions during study interpretation on overnights, thereby increasing CT turnaround times.
• The Internal Medicine Residency is evaluating if increased collaboration and communication with Care Coordination facilitates disposition of admitted patients.
• The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Residency is looking at process improvement for the measurement of parasite load, thereby minimizing the number of times the on-call resident and faculty must come in overnight.
• The Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine Residency is looking at ways to improve the efficiency and process in which cases are added on after-hours to the OR schedule for the following day.
• The Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency developed a process to improve both efficiency and communication with clinic staff in an outpatient clinic.

Quality Improvements Equips Council

In January 2024, the Health Systems Science Office successfully integrated residents and fellows into health systems science at Penn State Health, by launching EQUIPS (Education, Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) Council and the HSS GME newsletter. Both the council and the monthly newsletter will focus on identifying quality improvement (QI) challenges within the health system and on implementing responsive solutions using current data and evidence-based QI tools and workflows.

The EQUIPS Council and the newsletter are designed to empower residents and fellows in health system processes, because frontline staff participation in quality improvement work is essential. Those closest to the work can enhance the development and sustainment of highly reliable processes to maintain a high level of excellence in outcomes and patient safety.

These efforts include:

• Monthly meetings on the second Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. (meetings are recorded).
  • Root-cause-analysis (RCA)
    • Facts meeting
    • Interviews
    • Causes meeting
    • Action meeting
• Monthly newsletter (EQUIPS council members to select highlighted topics)
  • View newsletters (PDF in Sharepoint; Penn State University login required)
• Distributing RCA/ACA lessons learned as they are available