Hospital quality and patient safety competencies: Development, description, and recommendations for use

BACKGROUND: Hospitalists are poised to have a tremendous impact on improving the quality of care for hospitalized patients. However, many hospitalists are inadequately prepared to engage in efforts to improve quality, because medical schools and residency programs have not traditionally emphasized healthcare quality and patient safety in their curricula. METHODS: Through a multistep process, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Quality Improvement Education (QIE) subcommittee developed the Hospital Quality and Patient Safety (HQPS) Competencies to provide a framework for developing and assessing curricula and other professional development experiences. This article describes the development, provides definitions, and makes recommendations on the use of the HQPS Competencies. RESULTS: The 8 areas of competence include: Quality Measurement and Stakeholder Interests, Data Acquisition and Interpretation, Organizational Knowledge and Leadership Skills, Patient Safety Principles, Teamwork and Communication, Quality and Safety Improvement Methods, Health Information Systems, and Patient Centeredness. Reflecting differing levels of hospitalist involvement in healthcare quality, 3 levels of expertise within each area of competence have been established: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Standards for each competency area use carefully selected action verbs to reflect educational goals for hospitalists at each level. CONCLUSIONS: Formal incorporation of the HQPS Competencies into professional development programs, and innovative educational initiatives and curricula, will help provide current hospitalists and the next generations of hospitalists with the needed skills to be successful. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2011; 6: 530-536. (C) 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine