Goals, Learning Objectives, & Outcome
Goals
This 24-month track will support residents & fellows to gain the knowledge, skills, and methods necessary to: (a) become leaders in healthcare system's quality and safety committees, initiatives, and activities and (b) prepare them for careers in this field.
Learning Objectives
- To obtain knowledge in quality improvement methods
- To apply quality improvement methods to a healthcare gap in quality
- To identify system failures and medical errors in health systems and report them in the appropriate hospital error reporting system.
Outcome
Upon completion of the track, residents will be awarded a certificate of distinction in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety from Emory University School of Medicine.
Components
Topics and Schedule
Application Process
Participation will be restricted to residents and fellows at the PGY-2 or higher level. Applications are due in the Spring (deadline of April 30) and are open to residents or fellows who will be PGY-2 or higher level as of July 1 of the same year.
The application must include the following components:
- A personal statement describing why you would like to participate in the residency track, your interest in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, and your expected goals and outcomes. The personal statement should be limited to no more than 1 page.
- A brief letter of support from the Program Director. A letter of support from the applicant's program director must be included as part of the application process. The letter should indicate support for the resident's participation in the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety track including allowing the resident to attend the required Small Group Learning sessions and EHC Quality Academy course.
Each year, please submit your application to Dr. Adam Webb no later than April 30 for consideration in the cohort starting in July.
2021-2023 Cohort

Name: Mary Margaret Barr
Specialty & PGY: Pediatrics PGY-2
Specific Interests in Quality/Patient Safety: Interested in medication safety and patient education, especially for children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions.

Name: Hope Arnold
Specialty: Neonatology Fellow PGY-5
Specific Interests: Improving transitions of care, discharge of medically complex infants, improving neurodevelopmental outcomes, health equity

Name: Monika Sullivan
Specialty and current PGY level: Pediatrics, PGY-2
Specific Interests in Quality/Patient Safety: Optimizing patient safety and outcomes in an equitable way is one of the primary goals in practicing medicine. I have a particular interest in analyzing variations in inpatient management and determining when standardized protocols can improve the quality of care. I also have an interest in improving the discharge process, specifically ensuring timely and productive outpatient follow-ups to prevent readmissions or complications.

Name: Domnique S. Newallo
Specialty & PGY: Radiology resident PGY5/R1
Specific Interests in Quality/Patient Safety: Resident education in QI, Process improvement in the radiology space

Name: Mustafa Rasheed
Specialty & PGY: Emergency Medicine PGY-2
Specific Interests in Quality/Patient Safety: Quality improvement and patient safety in patients through ED workflows, lab work and testing, sepsis, and emergencies that require collaboration with other services/providers

Name: Zachary Wolner
Specialty/PGY: Dermatology PGY-4
Interests: medical education in quality improvement, clinicopathologic correlation, systemic inefficiencies in healthcare delivery

Name: Krysta Frye
Program: Internal Medicine- Primary Care track
Interests: 2020 was a year that changed healthcare forever. Systems, providers, and patients quickly adopted and adapted to virtual medicine, which was wildly successful for certain outpatient services and could become a mainstay of their care. My QI interests involve virtual medicine analyses, and I am thankful that this GME track will help to hone my research skills and connect me with likeminded individuals.

Name: Nicole Herbst
Specialty and current PGY level: Pulmonary/Critical Care, PGY6
Specific Interests in Quality/Patient Safety: medical education, patient/family experience in the ICU

Name: M. Ehsaan Shahnawaz
Specialty: PGY-5 Pediatric Neurology Resident
My special interests in quality improvement and patient safety are based around improving patient outcomes by improving system processes, rather than focusing on novel treatments, therapies, or diagnostics, because system processes can be implemented immediately and benefit patients, instead of relying upon basic science research which can take years to be ready for practical application. I have begun work on a project with Dr. Ben Siegel (PGY-4 in Pediatric Neurology) on improving effective and efficient management of Status Epilepticus in the CHOA system during our first year in this quality improvement education track.

Name: Shub Shanti Agrawal
Specialty: Internal Medicine, PGY 3
Interested: Medical education and QI
2019-2021 Cohort

Name: Benjamin Siegel
Specialty: Pediatrics/Neurology
QI-PS Interests:
Electronic health systems are powerful tools that increase efficiency and patient safety. However, they can also propagate errors and create undue administrative burden. My QI interest is in using health information technology to optimize the care we provide to patients. In particular, I am interested in how clinical decision support tools can promote evidence-based practice while minimizing alert fatigue.

Name: Lisa Tang
Specialty: Anesthesiology
QI-PS Interests:
The perioperative encounter is typically short but characterized by numerous transitions of care. There are countless opportunities to improve patient safety and quality before, during, and after surgery. I am particularly interested in pre-operative care. My goal for the QI-PS track is to identify ways in which the pre-op visit can be optimized to improve surgical outcomes.
Name: Abdulatif Gari
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Name: Christie Chen
Specialty: Pediatrics
Name: Devinder Dhindsa
Specialty: Cardiology Fellow
Name: Erin Fitzpatrick Kallam
Specialty: Pediatrics
Name: Joyce Kim
Specialty: Internal Medicine
Name: Karla Dawson
Specialty: Rollins School of Public Health Student (Audit)
Name: Louisa Phillips
Specialty: Anesthesiology
Name: Tim Jorgenson
Specialty: Anesthesiology
2018-2020 Cohort

Name: Christopher Michael Haydek
Specialty: Internal Medicine
QI-PS Interests:
Part of the intrigue of QI-PS is the vast amount of information that advancements in technology have yielded us, making way for continual improvement in efficiency and patient outcomes. I am drawn to this constant opportunity for progress which translates into tangible results for patients.
Name: Cicily Vachaparambil
Specialty: Internal Medicine
QI-PS Interests:
I have an interest in transitions of care between the inpatient and outpatient settings, specifically improving communication and coordination between providers to ensure recommended follow-up procedures and office visits are completed.
Name: Alexandra Grace Nicole Lopez-Aguiar
Specialty: Surgery
Name: Amanda Renee Ross
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Name: Anita S. Deshpande
Specialty: Otolaryngology
Name: Mariam Amin
Specialty: Dermatology
2017-2019 Cohort
Specialty: Internal Medicine
QI-PS Interests:
To ensure excellent patient care we should always strive to improve the healthcare system. The latter as it exists includes many gaps and insufficiencies in the method, quality and outcomes of the care provided. My goals from the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Track is to build a solid understanding, knowledge, skills, and methods in the implication of Quality improvement patient safety projects to identify failures and improve in-patient resource utilization and outcomes.

Specialty: Ophthalmology
QI-PS Interests:
Medicine is a wonderful field where practitioners can use their knowledge and skills to help patients. However, I have learned that systems practices and quality improvement science is necessary to decrease error rates and provide the best patient care possible. This curriculum is helping me to improve not only my methods and practices but also provides me an opportunity to pass these practices on to both colleagues and future work settings.
Name: Vanessa Cousins
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
QI-PS Interests:
In addition to improving workflow, efficiency, and patient centered care as components of quality improvement, I am also drawn to learning to become a resilient and compassionate leader. I am captivated by the utilization of technology to improve patient centered care and bring the healthcare process back to the patient’s bedside
Name: Jake Gissy
Specialty: Anesthesiology