A pilot initiative to enhance quality improvement teaching with simulation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Surgical Training

Background:

• Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) is a core competency for residents.
• Traditional QIPS teaching methods often fail to connect with the clinical environment.
• Residents struggle to apply classroom-based QIPS knowledge to their daily duties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation in teaching Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) to surgical residents.
• To assess residents' ability to acquire and apply QIPS knowledge through simulation.

Main Methods:

• Developed and piloted four high-fidelity simulation scenarios for 15 surgical residents.
• Scenarios incorporated latent and active patient safety errors.
• Residents received pre-reading, simulation-based training, and faculty debriefing to develop QIPS solutions.

Main Results:

• Residents reported simulation was helpful for learning QIPS methodology and performing basic QIPS tasks.
• A trend towards improved objective knowledge acquisition was observed via the Quality Improvement Knowledge Assessment Tool-Revised (QIKAT-R).

Conclusions:

• High-fidelity simulation shows promise for providing residents with hands-on QIPS experience.
• Further research should compare simulation efficacy with other modalities and assess long-term behavioral impact.