Impact of Faculty Training in Health Systems Science on Scholarly Presentation of Resident Physician and Fellow Quality Improvement Projects.

The objective was to evaluate whether faculty participation in a Health Systems Science training program was associated with increased presentation and publication of quality improvement (QI) projects involving resident physicians and fellows at 1 institution. The authors evaluated annual, department-level counts of QI projects with resident physician or fellow involvement, presented locally or published, according to residency or fellowship program director and faculty participation in Teachers of Quality Academy. Ten clinical departments had 82 presentations and 2 publications. Each additional faculty member's participation in Teachers of Quality Academy increased the annual count of published or presented QI projects by 9% (P < 0.001). At this institution, participation in a Health Systems Science training program among clinical faculty improved engagement of resident physicians and fellows in local presentation of QI projects.

An Innovative Use of Twitter to Disseminate and Promote Medical Student Scholarship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the cancellation of in-person learning activities forced every aspect of medical education and student engagement to pivot to a web-based format, including activities supporting the performance and dissemination of scholarly work. At that time, social media had been used to augment in-person conference learning, but it had not been used as the sole platform for scholarly abstract presentations. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the feasibility of using Twitter to provide a completely web-based forum for real-time dissemination of and engagement with student scholarly work as an alternative to a traditional in-person poster presentation session. METHODS: The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University launched an online Medical Student Scholarship Forum, using Twitter as a platform for students to present scholarly work and prepare for future web-based presentations. A single student forum participant created posts using a standardized template that incorporated student research descriptions, uniform promotional hashtags, and individual poster presentations. Tweets were released over 5 days and analytic data were collected from the Twitter platform. Outcome measures included impressions, engagements, retweets, likes, media engagements, and average daily engagement rate. RESULTS: During the conference, the student leader published 63 tweets promoting the work of 58 students (55 medical and 3 dental students) over 5 days. During the forum and the following week, tweets from the @BrodyDistinctly Twitter account received 63,142 impressions and 7487 engagements, including 187 retweets, 1427 likes, and 2082 media engagements. During the 5 days of the forum, the average daily engagement rate was 12.72%. CONCLUSIONS: Using Twitter as a means of scholarly dissemination resulted in a larger viewing community compared to a traditional in-person event. Early evidence suggests that social media platforms may be an alternative to traditional scholarly presentations. Presenting via Twitter allowed students to receive instantaneous feedback and effectively network with wider academic communities. Additional research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge uptake, feedback, and networking.

Preparing Faculty to Incorporate Health Systems Science into the Clinical Learning Environment: Factors Associated with Sustained Outcomes.

This study assesses participants' perceptions of long-term impacts of the Teachers of Quality Academy, a medical school faculty development program designed to prepare faculty to both practice and teach health system science. A previously published 1-year evaluation of the first cohort of 27 participants showed improved perceived skills, with positive career and health system impacts. In this 5-year evaluation, a mixed-methods design included a questionnaire followed by semistructured interviews to assess perceived long-term impacts on participants. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were completed. Questionnaire response rate was 88% (N = 22), and 14 interviews were analyzed. Results demonstrated that participants had incorporated quality improvement concepts into their clinical work and teaching, better understood interprofessionalism, and observed continued improvements in care delivery. They felt the longitudinal training, delivered in a shared setting, created a learning community with lasting positive effects in institutional culture, supported long-term professional development, and had broader institutional impact. Advancements in clinical care, medical education, and professional and academic advancements were noted.

Dissemination of Quality Improvement Project Results After Local Presentation.

Among quality improvement (QI) projects submitted for local presentation, the authors sought to understand how often project results were eventually disseminated through national/international presentation or peer-reviewed journal publication. Projects submitted for local presentation from 2016 to 2019 were linked to resulting publications or national/international conference presentations. Submitting authors were surveyed about their intentions, experience, and satisfaction with the process of disseminating their project results. Of 83 projects, 5 were published and another 10 were presented nationally/internationally. External dissemination was more likely with fewer project cycles and cost-focused outcomes. Survey responses indicated that most project leaders wanted to see their results published but held mixed opinions about resources and encouragement available to reach this goal. Few QI projects submitted for local presentation resulted in wider dissemination of project results. Sharing results and lessons learned beyond the local institution requires long-term planning, education, and support beginning early in the QI process.

Developing Tomorrow's Leaders: A Medical Student Distinction Track in Health System Transformation and Leadership.

PROBLEM: Calls for medical education reform focus on preparing physicians to meet the challenges of today's complex health care system. Despite implementing curricula focused on health systems science (HSS), including quality improvement (QI), patient safety, team-based care, and population health, a significant gap remains in training students to meet the system's evolving needs. APPROACH: Brody School of Medicine redesigned its curriculum to prepare leaders to effect health system change. This included development of a distinction track in health system transformation and leadership, known as the Leaders in INnovative Care (LINC) Scholars Program. Selected LINC scholars spend eight weeks in a summer immersion experience designed to provide foundational knowledge and practical application. OUTCOMES: Two cohorts (15 LINC scholars) completed the summer immersion in 2015 and 2016. Participants demonstrated significant improvement in knowledge and confidence and continue to be engaged in ongoing QI projects throughout the health system. All scholars have presented their work at local, regional, or national meetings. Students rated patient navigation experiences, health system leader interviews, QI project application, and interprofessional experiences as most valuable and recommended adoption in the curriculum for all students. NEXT STEPS: A distinction track with an immersion component can be an effective method to pilot innovative HSS components for the entire curriculum while preparing a cadre of learners with advanced expertise. To longitudinally measure HSS knowledge change, behavioral impact, and organization-level outcomes, next steps must focus on development of workplace-based assessments, establishment of learner portfolios, and longitudinal tracking of student outcomes, including career trajectory.