Academic Medicine, Vol. 95, No. 2 / February 2020 269 Research Report Abstract Purpose Most evaluations of quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) training programs provide inadequate data on their impact on alumni careers and QI/PS involvement. To address this gap, the authors investigated continued participation in and barriers to QI/PS work, employment, and satisfaction with training among alumni of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Resident in Quality and Safety (CRQS) program. Method A cross-sectional, web-based survey was administered in January 2018 to all 238 CRQS program alumni (program years 2009–2017, 54 program sites). Results A total of 145 alumni (61%) completed the survey, of whom 40% were employed at the VA. Participants reported various professional roles including academic appointments, QI/PS- specific positions, and hospital leadership positions. Most respondents reported involvement in QI/PS activities within the past year, including conducting QI or PS projects and teaching QI or PS. Alumni dedicated a median 15% of their work time to QI/PS. Almost all alumni reported experiencing barriers to QI/PS involvement, most frequently lack of time given clinical responsibilities. Most were satisfied with the training, and almost all reported CRQS participation helped their professional career advancement. Conclusions The continued involvement in QI/ PS reported by alumni suggests training programs such as the CRQS program may be successful in building a workforce of leaders equipped to conduct and teach QI/PS. Dedicated time for QI/PS efforts is an important barrier. Future research should address possible career options and assess the larger, overall effect training physicians in QI/PS has on health systems and patient care. The need to improve health care quality and safety in the United States is well established. 1 As physicians are often primary decision makers in patients’ care and serve as organizational leaders, they play important roles in developing and implementing quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) initiatives. 2–4 The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has set goals regarding the integration of QI/ PS training and activities into graduate medical education. 4–6 The expectation is that residents should be directly involved in QI/PS work to gain proficiency, which will prepare them to continue participating in QI/PS activities. 7,8 There are a variety of QI/PS training programs, but limited evidence is available about the degree to which program alumni engage in QI/PS or the specific types of activities in which they participate. 9,10 Karasick and Nash reviewed the objectives, length, and modality of education for various QI/PS training programs, but did not assess or report on alumni activities post training. 9 Splaine et al reported on general positions program alumni assumed post training, but the findings were nonspecific and did not indicate QI/PS activities. 10 As these 2 studies illustrate, most evaluations of QI/PS training programs do not provide adequate information to understand their impact on physicians’ careers and QI/PS involvement post training. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Resident in Quality and Safety (CRQS) program, the VA’s largest QI/PS educational opportunity. The goal of the CRQS program is to develop participants’ competency in QI/PS through teaching and leading related projects. 11–14 The CRQS program provides 1-year, full- time, in-residence training to physicians from various medical specialties who completed their primary residency and expressed additional interest in QI/PS. The program is funded by the Veterans Health Administration, and it is implemented through the Office of Academic Affiliation in collaboration with the National Center for Patient Safety. The CRQS curriculum is taught through intensive face-to-face training sessions, periodic synchronous online training, and applied work guided by site-based mentors. The curriculum explores a full range of relevant subjects in QI/PS, change management, and leadership/ professional development including Lean Six Sigma and root cause analysis. 13 The CRQS program and its curriculum have remained consistent for all participants since the program’s inception in 2009. The goal of this study was to investigate program alumni employment, continued participation in and barriers to QI/PS work, and satisfaction with the training. Method This project was reviewed and approved by the Research and Development Committee, White River Junction VA Medical Center. Supplemental digital content for this article is available at http://links.lww.com/ACADMED/A732. Career Impact of the Chief Resident in Quality and Safety Training Program: An Alumni Evaluation Maya Aboumrad, MPH, Kathleen Carluzzo, MS, Monica Lypson, MD, MHPE, and Bradley V. Watts, MD, MPH Please see the end of this article for information about the authors. Correspondence should be addressed to Maya Aboumrad, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 215 North Main St., White River Junction, VT 05009; email: Maya.Aboumrad@va.gov. Written work prepared by employees of the Federal Government as part of their official duties is, under the U.S. Copyright Act, a "work of the United States Government" for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code is not available. As such, copyright does not extend to the contributions of employees of the Federal Government. Acad Med. 2020;95:269–274. First published online August 6, 2019 doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002938