Scott & White Healthcare and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple, TXThe Results of a House Staff Quality Council (HSQC) in its Inaugural Year

Background: Residents and fellows perform a large portion of the hands-on patient care in tertiary referral centers. As frontline providers, they are well suited to identify quality and patient safety issues. As payment reform shifts hospitals to a fee-for-value–type system with reimbursement contingent on quality outcomes, preventive health, and patient satisfaction, house staff must be intimately involved in identifying and solving care delivery problems related to quality, outcomes, and patient safety. Many challenges exist in integrating house staff into the QI infrastructure; these challenges may ideally be managed by the development of a house staff quality council (HSQC). Methods: Residents and fellows at Scott & White Memorial Hospital interested in participating in a quality council submitted an application, curriculum vitae, and letter of support from their program director. Twelve residents and fellows were selected based on their prior QI experience and/or their interest in quality and safety initiatives. Results: In only 1 year, our HSQC initiated 3 quality projects and began development of a fourth project. Conclusion: Academic medical centers should consider establishing HSQCs to align institutional quality goals with residency training and medical education.