Improving knowledge of quality and safety among general and acute care medicine advanced trainees through a brief quality improvement workshop

Introduction: Quality and safety is a core competency, yet there are limited formalised quality improvement (QI) courses for physician trainees offered in Australia. Methods: An introductory QI workshop was conducted for trainees at the Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand (IMSANZ) Conference 2022. The workshop covered principles of improvement science, QI tools and plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles. The contents were delivered through a small-group experiential learning format. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were administered to evaluate the participants’ perceptions and improvement in QI knowledge domains. Results: Thirty-five trainees attended the workshop. Of all respondents, none had received formal QI training previously. Statistically significant improvements in nearly all QI knowledge domains were noted in the post-workshop evaluation along with improvement in participants’ motivation to further learn QI processes relevant to their vocation. Conclusion: An introductory workshop can significantly improve knowledge and motivation to further learn QI amongst physician trainees.