Development and implementation of a postgraduate medical education-wide initiative in quality improvement and patient safety

Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) have been assigned a higher profile in CanMEDS 2015, CanMEDS-Family Medicine 2017 and new accreditation standards, prompting an initiative at Dalhousie University to create a vision for integrating QIPS into postgraduate medical education. The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of a QIPS strategy across residency education at Dalhousie University. A QIPS task force was formed, and a literature review and needs assessment survey were completed. A needs assessment survey was distributed to all Dalhousie residency programme directors. 12 programme directors were interviewed individually to collect additional feedback. The results were used to develop a 'road map' of recommendations with a graduated timeline. A task force report was released in February 2018. 46 recommendations were developed with a timeframe and responsible party identified for each. Implementation of the QIPS strategy is underway, and evaluation and challenges faced will be described. We have developed a multiyear strategy that is available to provide guidance and support to all programmes in QIPS. The development and implementation of this QIPS framework may serve as a template for other institutions who seek to integrate these competencies into residency training.