The 2018-2019 class of CQFP Fellows and faculty at the January retreat
The tenth class of the UHF/Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) Clinical Quality Fellowship Program started intensive training as quality improvement experts and champions with a two-day retreat in January. Bringing a broad range of clinical experience and interests, the 29 mid-career Fellows—the largest class yet—includes 23 doctors and 6 nurses from 22 metropolitan-area health care facilities.
For a full list of the 2018-2019 Fellows, click here.
Attesting to the program's growing reputation, the selection process for the program was the most competitive to date, with 50 applications. The 2018-2019 Fellows work in academic medical centers, community hospitals, and outpatient clinics, and in specialties including trauma surgery, psychiatry, neonatology, OB/GYN, and primary care, to name just a few.
The Clinical Quality Fellowship Program was launched in 2009 to improve both quality improvement techniques and leadership skills in clinicians who will advance quality improvement and patient safety efforts in hospitals and other health care settings. The program includes two retreats, webinars, learning sessions, mentoring by expert faculty, and the program's signature capstone project—an opportunity for each Fellow to plan, implement, and lead a major quality improvement effort. Including the current class, the 15-month program has enrolled 206 Fellows to date, with many going on to assume leadership positions in their home facilities. A number of alumni now serve as mentors to new classes of Fellows.
At the retreat, held at the IBM Center in Armonk, NY, the fellows spent two days in seminars and training sessions covering a broad range of topics, such as the evolution of health care quality efforts, use of quality improvement tools, root cause analysis, and the regulatory environment. Rohit Bhalla, MD, MPH, vice-president for quality and chief quality officer of Stamford Health, and CQFP chair, provided an introduction to the role of quality and accountability in health care reform. In addition to a heavy schedule of formal learning, participants had ample time to network and share ideas and experiences.
New Fellows taking part in role-playing exercises