See one, do one, teach one: a flipped classroom to make quality improvement experiential in surgical residency

Purpose We aimed to improve resident knowledge and engagement in quality improvement by developing a longitudinal experiential curriculum for all years of residency. We aimed to develop a flipped classroom in which content teaching happened prior to each session via short instructional videos the author team created, to maximize learner–faculty interactions around QI applications to real-world problems. Methods Five 70-min interactive flipped-classroom sessions were devoted to the curriculum over a 12-month period. To evaluate the effect of the curriculum on resident knowledge, we used previously validated tools to assess QI skills and knowledge. We used both the Quality Improvement Knowledge Assessment Tool (QIKAT) and the QI self-assessment questionnaire of QI proficiency. The study was conducted at a large academic quaternary care center. All residents in the Department of Surgery at an academic teaching institution were involved by attending the surgical education sessions at the regularly scheduled time. Results Two distinct QI projects were developed and implemented through the QI curriculum. These projects were both successful locally and generated academic productivity for the residents. We found an increase in QI self-assessment qualities which were statistically significant in the domains of knowledge and skills. Using the QIKAT, we found a non-statistically significant increase in knowledge after the intervention. Conclusions The QI curriculum developed for surgical residents has been successful in engaging residents in QI on an annual basis, improving QI knowledge and skills and has persisted in the official residency education schedule past its inaugural year.