Quality improvement education in surgical specialty training: A comparison of Vascular Surgery resident and Urology Resident experiences and attitudes

Academic institutions have increasingly focused on educating physicians and surgeons in concepts of value-based care, including quality improvement (QI). The extent to which QI curricular competencies are addressed in specialty surgical residency training is unclear. A survey instrument was developed by content experts and sent to Vascular Surgery and Urology residents electronically. Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations were calculated using StataMP 13.1. Vascular Surgery and Urology residents reported exposure to similar types of QI curriculum. Fewer than half of residents reported achieving targets for graduation (Vascular 31%, Urology 42%) related to QI, and few residents in either group felt very well-prepared to lead a QI initiative (Vascular 13%, Urology 8%). QI education in surgical specialty training amongst Vascular Surgery and Urology residencies is similar and insufficient. Surgical specialties may benefit from collaborative efforts to improve the quality of QI education. •Surgical specialties are not meeting quality improvement Milestones.•Specialty residents do not feel prepared to lead quality improvement initiatives.•A comprehensive, cross-specialty quality improvement curriculum is needed. The extent to which value-based care and quality improvement (QI) curricular competencies are addressed in specialty surgical residency training is unclear. Our aim is to identify specialty surgery residents’ experience, knowledge and attitudes regarding QI.