Student-Led Adaptation of Improvement Science Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restriction of students participating in face-to-face instruction, two medical students rapidly adapted a preclinical curriculum that virtually teaches improvement science and equips learners with the knowledge to address patient needs.

Eight first-year medical students participating in a longitudinal patient navigation and health systems science program completed 15 interactive video sessions. After learning about the Model for Improvement and various quality improvement tools, students worked in teams of four to conduct several plan-do-study-act cycles. Postsession surveys captured student satisfaction, session feedback, and reflections about conducting improvement work. Two medical students then applied conventional content analysis to identify themes to describe the data.

Student projects focused on addressing patients' health care and social resource needs through telephone and electronic interactions. Five themes were identified in the survey results: (1) learning by doing in the dynamic nature of improvement work; (2) enjoyment of virtual team-based learning; (3) project relevance to COVID-19; (4) utility of quality improvement tools; and (5) continuous curriculum improvement with student feedback.

In this student-led endeavor, we implemented a virtual improvement curriculum where first-year medical students apply improvement science knowledge to patient needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results demonstrate the feasibility of teaching improvement in a virtual setting where learning is action-based with project work being relevant to health care priorities. Our work provides a framework for others to continue teaching this integral component of medical education.