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Quality Improvement and Research Skills for Medical Students

This guide signposts key resources and Library services to support medical students undertaking Quality Improvement or Research projects

Why take part in quality improvement?

Getting involved in QI activities can help you develop a better understanding of ward processes and the various healthcare professional roles that exist within a multidisciplinary team.  It will also better prepare you for life as a junior doctor and help you to develop the necessary medical leadership and management skills.

Start by taking these online courses to find out more about participating in a QI project, and then get inspiration about areas of improvement from the links below.

To find out what opportunities are available to you at St George's, contact Ross McLaren

BMJ Online course

Quality Improvement | Patient Safety

These two free courses from BMJ e-Learning will give you a good foundation in the theory underpinning patient safety, as well as practical guidance on how to carry out a quality improvement project.

Just some of the things you will learn in this course:

  • The importance of patient safety in healthcare
  • The importance of leadership in improving care
  • How to design an intervention to a problem
  • How to undertake measurement within quality improvement
  • What the model for improvement is and how it is used in quality improvement.

Some landmark reports

Learn more about the culture, practice and safety of the NHS by reading these reports:

Francis

Berwick

Darzi

How does the NHS in England work?

This video summarises the current structure of the NHS, which may give you some ideas for areas of improvement.

IHI online modules

The Institute of Healthcare Improvement provides a series of free online modules in quality improvement basics, patient safety, person centred care and leadership.

Learn more about the NHS and get inspiration for making changes

Take a look at the BMJ Quality Improvement Reports to give you an idea of what kinds of QI projects have already been done, and what kind of standard you should aim for with your project.