2020 APDS SPRING MEETING A Structured Quality Improvement Educational Curriculum Increases Surgical Resident Involvement in QI Processes Rebecca Schroll, MD, Anil Paramesh, MD, Chrissy Guidry, DO, Matthew Zelhart, MD, Mary Killackey, MD, and Shauna Levy, MD Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana OBJECTIVE: Patient safety and quality improvement (QI) processes are vitally important to healthcare systems. Training and experience in QI processes are mandated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Edu- cation (ACGME) for general surgery residents. The exe- cution and efficacy of these training programs in residencies have thus far been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of our surgi- cal residency’s QI educational program. METHODS: We instituted a formalized QI educational program for all residents in our academic general surgery residency program from 2018 to 2019. The curriculum included didactics, online educational resources, peer- group collaboration, and faculty mentorship. Residents performed a self-assessment survey of their knowledge, skill, and comfort levels with QI processes before and after the program using a 10-point Likert scale. The num- ber of QI projects conducted, presented, and subse- quently prepared for publication was enumerated. The ACGME resident survey program results regarding resi- dent involvement in QI processes before and after pro- gram implementation were compared. RESULTS: After 1 year of the program, residents demon- strated significant increases in average self-assessed knowledge of QI processes (6.4 vs. 4.0, p < 0.05), knowl- edge of local QI resources (5.4 vs. 3.3, p < 0.05), and con- fidence in their ability to develop and implement a QI project (6.3 vs. 3.9, p < 0.05). The average number of QI projects each resident participated in the year preceding the program vs. during the program increased from 0.4 to 1.8 (p < 0.05). Ten of 26 residents (38%) reported no direct involvement in a QI project the preceding year before the QI program implementation, while 26/26 (100%) of residents reported direct involvement in at least 1 QI project during the implementation year. Residency program ACGME survey results regarding resident partici- pation in QI increased from 86% (just below the national average of 87%) before the development of the QI pro- gram to 97% after program implementation. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a formalized, struc- tured quality improvement education program for surgery residents significantly increased residents’ participation in QI projects, as well as increasing their confidence in their knowledge and skillset to perform QI processes. The resi- dency program’s ACGME resident survey results regard- ing resident involvement in QI also improved during program implementation. ( J Surg Ed 000:14. Ó 2020 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) KEY WORDS: Quality improvement, QI, Curriculum, Resident, Education COMPETENCIES: Practice-Based Learning and Improve- ment, Systems-Based Practice, Professionalism, Patient Care INTRODUCTION Patient safety and quality improvement (QI) processes have become vitally important to healthcare systems in their quest to become high-reliability organizations, and physicians are integral to the development and imple- mentation of such QI processes. Consequently, training Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Presented at the Association for Program Directors in Surgery virtual meeting on April 30 to May 1, 2020. Correspondence: Inquiries to Rebecca Schroll, MD, Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Ave, New Orleans, LA 70112; e-mail: rschroll@tulane.edu 1 Journal of Surgical Education  1931-7204/$30.00 © 2020 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.05.025 ARTICLE IN PRESS