Evolution and Evaluation of a Quality and Patient Safety Fellowship for Practicing Health Professionals

Abstract

Developing clinical quality champions is an important strategy for improving health care quality. The NorthShore Quality and Patient Safety Fellowship was a yearlong program for practicing physicians devoting 4 hours/wk to a didactic curriculum and quality practicum. Thirty-seven clinicians completed the Fellowship from 2011 to 2018. Sixty percent of graduates reported a significant impact on their quality-related career trajectory, with 44% of early graduates and 64% of recent graduates reporting a new quality role or responsibility as a result of the Fellowship. Fifty-four percent of practicum projects were adopted or adapted by the organization. The Fellowship has been an effective framework to identify and train future quality champions and has led to further quality leadership opportunities for many graduates. Evolution of the Fellowship aligned practicum projects with organizational quality priorities. This curricular framework may be useful for other organizations that seek to develop quality champions among practicing physicians.