Quality education: A pilot quality improvement curriculum for psychiatry residents

Aim: The objective of this study was to develop a contextual QI curriculum involving a QI workshop and longitudinal QI projects (QIPs) for psychiatry trainees. Methods: We examined psychiatry residents' attitudes on QI training following their exposure to a physician-manager curriculum using focus group methodology. Focus group data were used to inform revisions to the QI curriculum. Following the curriculum revisions, we administered a resident questionnaire to elicit resident perceptions on the modified QI curriculum. Results: Focus group data from 40 psychiatry residents at the University of Toronto identified the following themes: challenges with QIP workload, difficulties of QI workshop integration into the curriculum, and value of the experiential component of the QIP. Of the 26 residents, 18 completed the resident questionnaire on the revised curriculum and reported an enhanced appreciation of QI in their current clinical practice. Conclusion: The study results suggest that this experiential format warrants further exploration as a model for QI training in medicine.