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Quality Improvement training opportunities
28 November 2022
Quality improvement (QI) is a core skill for professional practice. QI is a defined component of the General Medical Council's (GMC) Generic Professional Capabilities Framework, and engagement in quality improvement projects is now a curriculum requirement for most training programmes.
Postgraduate doctors in training are front line providers and have insights into the clinical process and the knowledge to improve the system. To do this, they need support from both educational and care delivery leaders to be able to participate in and develop the competencies and confidence to use QI methods within a multidisciplinary team and embed QI as part of their daily professional practice.
Our mission is to promote QI among postgraduate doctors in training by facilitating training and uptake of QI projects. Over the past year, our team has worked with postgraduate doctors in training, trainers, trusts quality leads and QI experts to develop the following initiatives.
We are delivering bronze and more advanced silver QI courses for postgraduate doctors in training in partnership with the South West Academic Health Science Network (South West AHSN).
Our courses are open to postgraduate doctors in training (FY2, Core StR), Specialty and Associate Specialty (SAS) grades and dentists in training (bronze). They are interactive and practical courses with an experienced clinical faculty. The courses aim to explore QI science and methodologies, implementing a QI project in a training setting, and the challenges this may present, and how to convert completed QI projects into a presentation and prepare for publication.
Find out more about dates and registration. (MaxCourse registration required)
To deliver this programme we have collaborated with the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Health. This programme is designed for postgraduate doctors and dentists in training (GP and Specialty ST3+), and SAS Doctors.
The PGS programme is fully aligned with the GMC’s Generic Professional Capabilities Framework, and provides a unique combination of skills, knowledge and thinking to develop as a clinical leader within an evolving NHS. The programme consists of seven modules including a two-day new module on QI. The course requires commitment of nine days throughout the academic year for the delivery sessions, plus time required to write a final reflection.
These half day virtual sessions are designed to be interactive and ensure educational and clinical supervisors have more understanding of the context for QI, the fundamentals QI methodology and how best to support, encourage and supervise good quality improvement experiences for their postgraduate doctors in training. The sessions are delivered on our behalf by QI and patient safety expert Dr Tricia Woodhead.
Find out more about dates and registration. (MaxCourse registration required)
We are excited to offer you our new resource open to all. We’ve updated and revamped our QI pages and they now feature signposted resources including:
- how-to QI guides for those in training, and trainers;
- project ideas;
- QI support contacts within trusts; and
- monthly blogs from national QI experts.
Find out more by visiting Severn QI or Peninsula QI.
We have appointed a QI Clinical Fellow to work with our team focusing on QI as part of the strategic educational plan and faculty development for trainers and postgraduate doctors in training. The post is for one year with the post-holder spending two days studying and developing QI and gaining a postgraduate certificate qualification in Healthcare Leadership and Management with the remaining sessions spent clinically within their specialty.
Our ongoing work includes liaison with quality leads in trusts, trainers, and postgraduate doctors in training plus other stakeholders in the region to establish a QI training network and to foster support for postgraduate doctors in training to engage with Quality Improvement projects.
We are also exploring multidisciplinary work regarding QI training. Our mission continues to be promotion of QI by facilitating training and uptake of projects by postgraduate doctors in training with aims of improving patient safety, experience and efficiency and supporting the development of their competencies and confidence to use quality improvement methods as part of their daily professional practice.
For further information or to become involved please contact us.