Building experiential learning about quality improvement into a medical school curriculum: the Dartmouth experience

Educators have struggled with the best ways to teach the knowledge and skills of quality improvement to medical students. Dartmouth Medical School has a decade of experience incorporating this material into its curriculum. Working with faculty coaches, twenty-two second-year students have completed nine clinical improvement projects over the past four years. Students' input has improved processes in our clinics for the collection of samples and scheduling of appointments. Instituting these changes is complex and requires a careful evaluation that describes and understands the educational context in order to establish successful and enduring curricular reform.