Surgery QI Curriculum – An Update

Two years after its initial launch in 2015, the surgery QI curriculum successfully concluded its second year with a presentation and reception event at the U of T Graduate Club on May 23, 2017. The curriculum has now been expanded to both the departments of ENT and Obstetrics and gynecology in addition to all divisions of the Department of Surgery.

A total of fifty-nine PGY-1 surgical residents in 13 small groups presented their QI projects to their colleagues, program directors, division heads and mentors. It was exciting and impressive to witness the breadth and depth of the work done by our first-year residents given their training level, relatively short period provided to complete the projects and the many demands of surgical residency. Topics ranged from patient and physician safety to resident education to maternal and fetal health. The presentations demonstrated a good grasp of daily clinical and administrative challenges to quality improvement in surgery and the qualitative research tools needed to study and implement QI initiatives. The residents’ appreciation of the importance of working with allied health workers and the rest of the health care team was evident.

The current setup of trainees working together in small groups has clearly emphasized the significance of collaboration and provided an opportunity for them to interact together outside the context of their surgical rotations and has hopefully fostered comradery and friendship. The success and growth of this course thus far has been possible only with the ongoing support and dedication by the many mentors, division heads, directors and department chairs within the U of T surgical community. We all look forward to their ongoing support and to another successful and exciting year of resident engagement in surgical quality improvement.

Najib Safieddine, Assistant Professor, Thoracic & Foregut Surgery
University of Toronto, Toronto East General Hospital & Odette Cancer Centre- SHSC