Writing Group Increases Quality Improvement Writing Competency.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Scientific Writing
• Quality Improvement Science

Background:

• Quality improvement (QI) is essential in healthcare.
• Existing QI courses often lack formal training in manuscript preparation for academic publication.
• There is a need to enhance skills in disseminating QI work through scholarly writing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a QI Writing program aimed at improving participants' comfort and productivity in preparing QI manuscripts.
• To assess the impact of the program on specific QI writing competencies.

Main Methods:

• A QI Writing program was implemented, incorporating educational sessions, coach mentorship, and peer support.
• Participants completed self-evaluations of QI writing skills in four domains: SQUIRE guidelines, journal writing, submission processes, and results examination.
• Program success was quantified by manuscript submission rates.

Main Results:

• QI writing competencies showed significant improvement, doubling in three domains and increasing by 70% in the fourth.
• Eight-eight percent (15 of 17) of participants submitted manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals.
• Twelve manuscripts have been accepted for publication to date.

Conclusions:

• A structured writing program with didactic content and mentorship effectively enhances QI writing competencies.
• This approach significantly increases the submission of QI manuscripts to academic journals.
• Formalizing QI writing education is crucial for disseminating improvement science findings.