TY - JOUR T1 - Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA<br/>Resident Engagement in Quality Through a Resident Quality Council JF - Ochsner Journal JO - Ochsner J SP - 16 LP - 17 VL - 16 IS - Spec AIAMC Iss AU - Aubrey Rauktys AU - Heather Z Sankey AU - Satoko Igarashi AU - Reham Shaaban Y1 - 2016/03/20 UR - http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/16/Spec_AIAMC_Iss/16.abstract N2 - Background: House staff officers play a key role in patient care at academic medical centers and have unique insights into problems within a hospital, especially those that have the biggest impact on their daily work. However, resident input may not always be included in policy changes, and as a result, residents may not be engaged in adopting these changes. To engage house officers in quality initiatives, we developed an interprofessional, interdisciplinary Resident Quality Council of 16 house staff officers representing 10 residencies and 3 fellowships. Resident Quality Council members identified a persistent problem with quickly and efficiently identifying the right person to contact for a consult. The Resident Quality Council's inaugural project was to develop a simple, standardized method for obtaining a consultation across specialties.Methods: The process for obtaining a consultation was separated into parts, and key stakeholders in the pathway were identified. Each Resident Quality Council representative convened with his or her program and outlined the steps to obtain a consultant. The council selected a best practice. The group was then subdivided to investigate specific aspects of the problem. Group 1 contacted stakeholders in the consultation pathway, including residents, unit clerks and secretaries, and hospital operators, to identify their methods of contacting a consulting service. Group 2 developed possible outcome measurement tools and survey options to evaluate the changes implemented.Results: The interdisciplinary group represented almost all specialties/subspecialties at our institution. We identified an opportunity for improvement that crossed multiple disciplines and affected patients on a daily basis but was not on the institution's radar. A new consult order was developed for internal medicine and Ob/Gyn.Conclusions: The Resident Quality Council functioned well, and data gathering worked well because of the broad representation and the fact that residents work at the front lines of patient care. Working with the Department of Healthcare Quality (DHQ) in the future will help to align the goals of the hospital system with the projects chosen by the Resident Quality Council. Providing protected time and system resources for residents to engage in meaningful improvement projects will benefit everyone.View this table:FINAL WORK PLAN – Baystate Medical Center ER -