Closing the Gap in Quality Improvement Education for Tomorrow’s Doctors
New Area of Concentration Will Provide Medical Students with the Skills and Knowledge Needed to Lead Quality Improvement Initiatives in Health Care
Quality of care has become an increasingly central role in healthcare delivery. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are now tying reimbursements to quality of care, and the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education requires residents to engage in quality improvement (QI) projects, with defined milestones for QI competency throughout residency. Despite this growing emphasis, there remains a notable lack of structured medical school curricula that provide comprehensive training on how to conduct QI projects effectively.
That need is now being addressed at New York Medical College through a new Area of Concentration (AOC) in Quality Improvement to instruct School of Medicine (SOM) students in the science of QI. The new AOC will cover a range of topics, including gathering baseline data, assembling a multidisciplinary team, and identifying key drivers that can move the needed on a healthcare outcome.
Students begin general coursework the summer following their first year of medical school. During their third and fourth years of medical school, SOM students partner with a QI leader in a department of their choice to develop a QI project. Students also have the option to spend a month working in the QI department at Westchester Medical Center as part of their advanced practice elective.
