Career Impact of the Chief Resident in Quality and Safety Training Program: An Alumni Evaluation

Most evaluations of quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) training programs provide inadequate data on their impact on alumni careers and QI/PS involvement. To address this gap, the authors investigated continued participation in and barriers to QI/PS work, employment, and satisfaction with training among alumni of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Resident in Quality and Safety (CRQS) program.

A cross-sectional, web-based survey was administered in January 2018 to all 238 CRQS program alumni (program years 2009-2017, 54 program sites).

A total of 145 alumni (61%) completed the survey, of whom 40% were employed at the VA. Participants reported various professional roles including academic appointments, QI/PS-specific positions, and hospital leadership positions. Most respondents reported involvement in QI/PS activities within the past year, including conducting QI or PS projects and teaching QI or PS. Alumni dedicated a median 15% of their work time to QI/PS. Almost all alumni reported experiencing barriers to QI/PS involvement, most frequently lack of time given clinical responsibilities. Most were satisfied with the training, and almost all reported CRQS participation helped their professional career advancement.

The continued involvement in QI/PS reported by alumni suggests training programs such as the CRQS program may be successful in building a workforce of leaders equipped to conduct and teach QI/PS. Dedicated time for QI/PS efforts is an important barrier. Future research should address possible career options and assess the larger, overall effect training physicians in QI/PS has on health systems and patient care.