A Quality Improvement Curriculum for Psychiatry Residents.

Introduction: Quality improvement (QI) is an increasingly important aspect of health care and residency education. There is relatively little research describing QI curricula for residents in psychiatry. Although QI curricula have been published in MedEdPORTAL, the current resource represents the first such curriculum specific to psychiatry residents. This resource aims to present a QI curriculum for psychiatry residents. Methods: The University of Wisconsin psychiatry residency program implemented a QI curriculum for our PGY 3 psychiatry residents in 2010. The initial version of the curriculum has undergone marked changes over the ensuing years, reflecting feedback received from learners and faculty instructors, as well as ongoing review of the literature, to ascertain best practices in this area of medical education. Steps taken have included faculty training, development of evaluation forms, and implementation of elements to increase accountability for successful, sustainable project development. Results: During the 8 completed years of this curriculum, 77 PGY 3 psychiatry residents have completed it. The Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool adapted for psychiatry was completed by PGY 3 residents in advance of and upon completion of the curriculum for the first 2 years of the curriculum; results demonstrated a significant improvement in scores as a measurement of QI knowledge and skills. Thirty-one of 32 resident teams (97%) have implemented a QI project. Discussion: Our QI curriculum for PGY 3 psychiatry residents has been successful in equipping residents with QI knowledge and having them implement QI projects.

A Curriculum for Residents to Develop Successful Quality Improvement Projects.

BACKGROUND: Quality improvement (QI) education in residency training has become critical for numerous reasons, but little has been written about factors that lead to successful improvement projects within residency training. METHODS: A quality improvement curriculum for third-year psychiatry residents was developed. The percentage of resident projects that have been successfully implemented was calculated. Residents completed the QI Knowledge Application Tool adapted for psychiatry before and after the curriculum to assess knowledge and skills. RESULTS: Eighteen of 19 resident projects were successfully implemented. QI Knowledge Application Tool scores improved from 4.8 to 8.1 (P = 0.0053) after completion of the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Residents are able to implement successful projects and to increase their knowledge and skills in quality improvement when given appropriate resources and incentives.