A quality improvement curriculum for medical students.
BACKGROUND
Despite frequent recommendations that quality improvement (QI) be incorporated into medical education, reports of this activity are few. A pilot project to develop and implement a curriculum on QI into a family medicine clerkship was conducted in the 1999-2000 academic year.


METHODS
A five-part curriculum was developed and implemented on successive weeks of a family medicine clerkship. The curriculum involved students working alone and in small groups. After an orientation to QI principles, students performed a series of chart audits of diabetes care. They then met with QI coordinators from a local health system to review their results. Improvement recommendations were developed and presented to the clinic director. Evaluation included completion of the module, assessment of student knowledge and opinion, and interviews with the QI coordinators.


RESULTS
Two clinic sites and 30 third-year medical (M3) students participated. Each student conducted at least two chart audits, met with the QI coordinators, and developed at least one improvement recommendation. The QI coordinators felt that students were interested in the subject but needed more training in QI principles and more faculty development. Students assessed the curriculum as being moderately effective and useful.


CONCLUSIONS
A curriculum in QI that involved active learning strategies was successfully implemented during a family medicine clerkship. Students viewed the curriculum as being appropriate to their learning. Future efforts should include more work on faculty development and role modeling of QI activity.
Henley
Eric
E
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rockford, Rockford, Illinois, USA. ehenley@uic.edu
D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003479:Curriculum; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D008485:Medical Audit; D017145:Models, Educational; D009935:Organizational Affiliation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D016730:Program Development; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D017749:Total Quality Management