Research and Quality Improvement

Our Goal

To help residents become effective researchers as they develop, conduct and sustain quality improvement and research projects. In so doing, we will foster enhancements in the graduate medical education experience, adding skills to our graduates that will improve patient care and safety.

Orientation Slides 2019

On June 28, 2019 Dr. George and Mike Oravec MPH presented an overview of the requirements and process to develop all scholarly projects in the Department of Medicine.

You can download a copy of that presentation for review here.
Orientation Research PresentationResearch Month Requirements

Categorical Residents


During your categorical residency you will present cases you have encountered that will develop your scholarly analytic and presentation skills. Choose which activity you need to complete and download a template below.

These templates are designed to allow you to spend less time formatting your slide set, so you can spend more time with the content of your activity.
Download a fact sheet about preparing a CPC case.
CPC Fact Sheet
Download a slideset template for a CPC case
CPC Case Slides
Download a Poster template (PPT) for a case
Case Poster Template 4' x 4'
Download a fact sheet about presenting at Journal Club
Journal Club Fact Sheet
Download an ACP article on improving Journal Club Presentations
ACP Journal Club Guide
Download a fact sheet about preparing a case abstract for presentation.
Case Fact Sheet
Template for Case Presentation
Case Template
Download a slide template for a M&M presentation
M&M Slide Template
Download a fact sheet for a M&M case presentation
M&M Fact Sheet

Transitional and Preliminary Year Residents


Your quality improvement time: Transitional residents are scheduled in the Internal Medicine Center for one month during the academic year. As part of this learning experience you will participate in simulated guided quality improvement project that will focus on some aspect of quality and system based improvement.

There is a month-long elective available for interested people. Please visit the research section below to learn more!

Expectations


During your IMC month, you and a group of your peers will complete the ACP advanced QI curriculum and utilize a virtual mock clinic environment to complete a QI project.

Please watch for an e-mail from Dr. Tatar prior to or at the beginning of your IMC month with further details and assignments.

Quality Improvement

Up until nw most physicians in training have spent the bulk of their time treating individual patients, one at a time, and that's as it should be. But health care experts have now recognized the powerful role physicians play in assessing health systems for safety, efficienc ad evidence based processes when they have received training to do so.

During residency, you will participate in a quality improvement project that will change the outcome for many patients, learning the core principles and skills need for this important work throughout your career. Learning QI skills will broaden your professional skill set and deepen your impact on patient care.

Where do I start?

The first step in QI is asking, "What outcomes does this health process (office workflow, system of care, hospital unit) produce for our patients?" and then, "What change would make it better?"

Resources on this page will help you develop a skill set in QI that will serve you long after you graduate.

For further information, please reach out to Mike Oravec, who will help guide you through the process of starting a QI project.
Download a template for your QI project

Design and Publish Your QI Project

The SQUIRES model for reporting QI work will help you think through your project and include key elements reviewers look for that show robust QI methodology.
SQUIRE QI Guidelines 2.0

Professional Career Planning

Thinking about your future

It's never too early to start thinking about how your own interests, skills and experience will fit a future practice setting. Will you need additional formalized training? How can you best present your skills for fellowship or practice?

Start with a good curriculum vitae. Download a professional background template from ACP that will help you organize your experience for a potential fellowship or practice setting.
CV Template