RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 How an educational improvement project improved the summative evaluation of medical students
JF Quality and Safety in Health Care
JO Qual Saf Health Care
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 283
OP 287
DO 10.1136/qshc.2008.027698
VO 18
IS 4
A1 K G Hoffman
A1 R Margaret A Brown
A1 J W Gay
A1 L A Headrick
YR 2009
UL http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/18/4/283.abstract
AB Background: At the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine (USA) “commitment to improving quality and safety in healthcare” is one of eight key characteristics set as goals for our graduates. As educators, commitment to continuous improvement in the educational experience has been modelled through improvement of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) letter (formerly the Dean’s letter).Discussion: This educational improvement project decreased waste, increased collaboration and developed locally useful knowledge. By applying continuous improvement principles to the construction of the MSPE the overall efficiency of the process could be enhanced, and the MSPE committee was able to spend less cognitive energy on structure and format and focus more on the content of the letters. Four MSPE cycles have been completed using a new Web-based system; after each cycle, additional enhancements were identified and implemented. This work adds to the literature, as it describes the application of continuous improvement principles to an educational system.