Practice quality improvement during residency: where do we stand and where can we improve?
OBJECTIVE
Completing a systems-based practice project, equivalent to a practice quality improvement project (PQI), is a residency requirement by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and an American Board of Radiology milestone. The aim of this study was to assess the residents' perspectives on quality improvement projects in radiology.


METHODS
Survey data were collected from 154 trainee members of the Association of University Radiologists to evaluate the residents' views on PQI.


RESULTS
Most residents were aware of the requirement of completing a PQI project and had faculty mentors for their projects. Residents who thought it was difficult to find a mentor were more likely to start their project later in residency (P < .0001). Publication rates were low overall, and lack of time was considered the greatest obstacle. Having dedicated time for a PQI project was associated with increased likelihood of publishing or presenting the data (P = .0091). Residents who rated the five surveyed PQI steps (coming up with an idea, finding a mentor, designing a project, finding resources, and finding time) as difficult steps were more likely to not have initiated a PQI project (P < .0001 for the first four and P = .0046 for time).


CONCLUSIONS
We present five practical areas of improvement to make PQI a valuable learning experience: 1) Increasing awareness of PQI and providing ideas for projects, 2) encouraging faculty mentorship and publication, 3) educating residents about project design and implementation, 4) providing resources such as books and funds, and 5) allowing dedicated time.
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390. Electronic address: sadia.choudhery@phhs.org.
Sadia
S
Choudhery
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
Michael
M
Richter
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
Alvin
A
Anene
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
Yin
Y
Xi
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
Travis
T
Browning
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
David
D
Chason
Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390.
Michael Craig
MC
Morriss
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States
Practice quality improvement; core competency; maintenance of certification; milestones; systems-based practice