MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC
Quality and Safety in the Balance: An Integrated and Comprehensive Approach to Education on Patient Safety for UME & GME

Abstract

Background: At the inception of this project, neither Georgetown University Hospital (GUH) nor Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) had a full, tested plan for education in PS/QI at the GME or UME level. We hoped to generate a campuswide plan for teaching and learning PS/QI that would integrate GUH and GUSOM residents and faculty. GUH is operated by MedStar, an independent nonprofit, and GUSOM's curriculum did not match the PS/QI emphasis that MedStar stressed at GUH. A collaborative project would allow the students and hospital to interact throughout the program and form a cohesive relationship.

Methods: We interviewed key stakeholders, developed education activities for third- and fourth-year medical students (MS3, MS4), visited other hospitals, attended conferences (AAMC, IHI, AIAMC), held check-in meetings, participated in hospital PS/QI leadership, and assessed students at the end of their fourth year.

Results: The intervention was sporadic in 2009–2010, was piloted in 2010–2011, established a baseline for MS3 and MS4 in 2011–2012, and continued for MS3 and MS4 in 2012–2013. The simulation score baseline was established in 2011–2012 and was pending for 2012–2013. The patient safety culture score baseline was established in 2010–2011 and no results were reported in following years. We met with great success in participant openness to collaboration but learned that many additional parallel collaborations were necessary across the system. We did not create an agreed-upon measurement or intervention for student or resident safety culture, but we made tremendous progress toward this goal.

Conclusions: Engineering a campus plan is hard enough when the 2 components are a single unit; it is uniquely challenging in an independent academic medical center. Many enterprises within the overall project must align to drive the program. The presence of many collaborators taught us that we have to keep abreast of all developments, not just our particular specialization.