Key conditions to developing a quality improvement module
| To ensure the sustainability of the module | Support supervisors to understand and identify projects that more easily fit the time students have to complete their project and are appropriate for novices of quality improvement. Create clarity about the central aim of the QIP; this is to learn about and experience engagement in a QIP, creating positive change is a bonus. Consider how each of the elements within the QI module contributes to preparing students to undertake a QIP and provide students with a clear rationale for that. Provide incentives for supervisors to encourage them to undertake the role with some sense of enthusiasm and mutual benefit. |
| To improve the student experience | Provide preliminary teaching about the PDSA cycle and how to engage with it. Offer guidance about when and how to raise concerns about communication with supervisors and issues with progress. Ensure that the QIP does not clash with scheduled clinical teaching. Explore and develop ‘feasible projects’ for diverse clinical specialties and settings. |
| To improve the experience of faculty | Clarify module requirements, assessments and their time implications. Provide faculty development prior to teaching the module to enhance supervision and undertaking assessments. Agree forms of communication between supervisors and students that meet the needs of both; this includes protected time to supervise and assess. Agree forms of communication between clinical faculty and the medical school that suits the needs of both and enhances collaboration. Provide guidance about what makes a feasible undergraduate project. |
PDSA = plan, do, study, act; QIP = quality improvement project.