Integrating Quality Improvement With Graduate Medical Education: Lessons Learned From the AIAMC National Initiatives

Abstract

Quality and safety initiatives (QI) are national priorities for health care, yet the role of residents in QI has not always been clear. In academic medical centers, residents and fellows play a critical role in patient care and, as such, their integration into QI presents a unique opportunity to affect change. The Alliance for Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) began a national campaign in 2007 to harness the potential of infusing graduate medical education (GME) with QI, through their AIAMC National Initiative: Improving Patient Care Through Medical Education. This article describes the National Initiatives (NIs) and the reflections of NI participants, including their reflections on the goals they set for integrating GME with QI, the barriers they encountered along the way, and their advice to others beginning the challenge. These reflections provide some insight into the pathways of promoting organizational change and offer practical insight and inspiring advice for others embarking on the journey.

Keywords: academic medical center; graduate medical education; organizational change; quality improvement.