The LSU School of Medicine’s Enhancing Quality Improvement for Patients (EQuIP) rotation provides an in-depth orientation to the principles of quality improvement, patient safety, and process improvement for House Officers. The rotation is available as a two (2) - four (4) week block and offers a flexible schedule and curriculum to best accommodate resident quality and safety education needs. The EQuIP rotation aims to emphasize the importance of a multisource, multidisciplinary and interprofessional approach to integrating Patient Safety (PS) and Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives within the healthcare system, by using core principles of Quality Management (QM), Performance Improvement (PI) and Patient Safety.
The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) Common Program Requirements require that residents integrate and participate in interdisciplinary clinical QI and PS programs, at their clinical sites. Further, their Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) visit has added a conceptual framework that includes a focus on patient safety and healthcare quality, such that residents must participate in the reporting of errors, unsafe conditions and near misses, by involvement in interprofessional teams aimed at promoting safe care and improving systems and processes that improve patient outcomes.
The EQuIP rotation provides exposure to multidimensional aspects of Quality Management and Performance Improvement. It allows exposure to the ACGME accreditation process, including the CLER site visit, residency training RRCs, program requirements and program specific milestones, the Joint Commission, the function and duties of the LSUHSC School of Medicine EQuIP office and an introduction to and participation in UMCNO Quality, Safety and Risk Management committees and practices.
The rotation is consistently positively rated by resident participants, as evidenced in the rotation’s pre and post-survey results over 3 consecutive years. The ideal deliverable, upon completion of the rotation, is active resident participation in meaningful, well-planned and measurable quality or safety projects that utilize industry-standard quality and safety methodologies.
A rich legacy: UMCNO's mission continues the Charity Hospital legacy, dating back more than 275 years.
If you are interested in involving your residents in the EQuIP experience, please contact Mrs. Leigh Peters at 504-568-2092 or cpete5@lsuhsc.edu, in the Graduate Medical Education EQuIP office, or Dr. Fred Rodriguez at 504-201-5489 or frodri@lsuhsc.edu. Please provide copies of your resident schedules (as soon as available) to Ms. Peters if you are interested in scheduling ANY resident for an EQuIP rotation.
The EQuIP office continues to work to develop and promote quality improvement and patient safety priorities and best practices with LSU School of Medicine House Staff. New initiatives are forthcoming in the areas of faculty development and interdisciplinary education, while the clinical range of projects featured this academic year demonstrated the worthy efforts currently underway. Quality champions Donna Blady, EQuIP RN, (donna.blady@lcmchealth.org) Leigh Peters, EQuIP Coordinator, (cpete5@lsuhsc.edu) and Drs. Zee Ali - EQuIP Director (mali@lsuhsc.edu) and Fred Rodriguez - Rotation Director, (frodri@lsuhsc.edu) welcome any and all interested programs to contact them for more information on participation in the EQuIP rotation.