Quality Improvement Educator Training in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Programs, Methods, and Outcomes

This systematic review identifies and describes programs preparing clinician educators to teach quality improvement (QI) in health care.

A systematic search of sources published from 2000 through 2025 was conducted. Duplicates were removed, and titles and abstracts were initially screened. A full-text review of remaining articles was then conducted. Data were extracted and analyzed to identify common themes and characteristics.

The initial search yielded 7,897 articles. After deduplication, 6,431 remained; when titles and abstracts were screened, 5,209 did not meet criteria. Full-text review of the remaining 43 articles identified 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. Quality improvement educator programs were primarily affiliated with university institutions or health care systems and predominantly within medical schools. Overall, many programs targeted clinician educators who balanced teaching and clinical responsibilities. Substantial variation in duration, content, and instructional methods was noted across programs. However, most programs incorporated both didactic and experiential or project-based learning. Participants frequently reported high satisfaction and significant improvements in QI knowledge and skills on program completion. However, most studies relied on short-term, self-reported measures to assess these outcomes.

These findings highlight the need for more standardized QI educator training programs which integrate theoretical QI content with practical application. Future research should prioritize longitudinal evaluation of educator development to better define best practices for competency-based QI educator training.