Education, Resources & Training

Resident/Fellow Quality Improvement & Patient Safety Symposium

We are happy to announce the 8th annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium virtually this year on Monday 5/09/2022 at 3:30pm-5pm.

Judging will be by faculty and QI/SHC leadership and $100 SHC gift certificate awards will be given to top abstracts/posters!

Faculty Leadership:

Lisa Shieh, MD, PhD
Medical Director of QI Programs, GME
Laurence Katznelson, MD
Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education

Please send questions to Luisa Fernandez

External Resources

Stanford Anesthesiology Quality Scholars

Currently accepting applications for 2022-2023 cohort

Stanford Anesthesiology Quality Scholars (formerly known as QSIP) started its inaugural year in 2021. This program supports faculty development in quality, safety and improvement initiatives, advancing patient care and healthcare delivery in anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine. Improving quality in medicine has six components that include, making care effective, patient-centered, safe, timely, efficient, and equitable (Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, Institute of Medicine [IOM], National Academy Press, 2001).

We are pleased to announce that we are currently accepting applications for the 2022-2023 cohort with a September start date. Proposals should describe the specific quality, safety or improvement initiatives as they relate to the IOM components of quality in medicine. Interested applicants are encouraged to meet with Dr. Wong, Michelle Arteaga, or their quality division director to brainstorm project ideas. All projects will be presented at the QEP Committee meeting for review.

Full time faculty (>50%, MCL or CE) who are interested can submit their application by clicking the link below, the deadline is 5/31/22. Stanford-affiliated faculty at the VA are also welcome to participate in the program (no clinical credit given). Faculty are encouraged to include trainees and administrative staff on their project team.

Quality Scholars Project Application

Contact Dr. Becky Wong with any questions.

Quality Scholars Program Completion Timeline

Click Image To View Full Size

Quality Scholars Cohort 1 (2021-2022)

Dr. Melissa Berhow

Development and implementation of QI measures at LPCH REI (MSD)

Dr. Jan Boublik

Regional anesthesia QI dashboard (MSD)

Dr. Kelly Fedoruk

Improving SuperStat Lab Turnaround Time on Labor and Delivery (OB Anesthesia)

Dr. Brita Mittal

Operating Room Anesthesia Waste Reduction (MSD)

Dr. Anil Panigrahi

HaemoBank Improvement Project (MSD)

Dr. Ashley Peterson

Perioperative Infection Prevention in Elective Cardiothoracic Surgical Patients (Cardiac Anesthesia)

Dr. Asheen Rama

Optimizing Code Blue Response, Identifying Latent Safety Threats, and Enhancing Pediatric Perioperative Team Education (Pediatric Anesthesia)

Dr. James Xie

Optimizing coordinated cases under a single general anesthetic: balancing cost, safety, and resources (Pediatric Anesthesia)

Inaugural Program Leadership

Faculty director: Dr. Amy Lu
Improvement Consultant: Jakaria Stewart
Program Manager: Michelle Arteaga

Patient Safety / Quality Improvement Courses

For Faculty, Trainees, and Staff

If you are interested in any of these courses, please contact Dr. Will Gostic at wgostic@stanford.edu

For information on Past projects and cohorts, visit https://med.stanford.edu/celt/PastCohorts.html

Visit the Stanford Quality Improvement YouTube channel for a list of (RITE) video tutorials ranging from Introduction to A3 Thinking to Statistical Process Control.

Patient Safety/Quality program for residents/fellows

The Patient Safety/Quality Improvement Program for anesthesiology residents was created in 2013. In 2014, Drs. Ruth Fanning, Tom Caruso and Kristen Telischak mentored the first group of CA2 residents in a series of resident-led quality improvement projects. In the intervening years, over 150 anesthesiology residents have participated in the program, presenting and publishing their work regionally and nationally. Elective tracts were added in 2016 affording protected time for residents to hone their skills in quality improvement and patient safety. In 2020, Dr. Roya Saffary joined as faculty facilitator and mentor, bringing her skills in OR management and innovation to the program.

The Resident Safety Council, a GME initiative spanning across all medical specialties was created by Dr. Larry Katznelson in in 2014, in association with faculty mentors Drs. Paul Maggio, Lisa Shieh, Sam Shen, and Ruth Fanning. Anesthesiology residents have been very active in leading the program since its inception.

Quality improvement is included among the ACGME Common Program requirements. Residents and fellows are expected to “Develop skills and habits to be able to systematically analyze practice using quality improvement methods, and implement changes with the goal of practice improvement.”

Stanford Anesthesiology resident patient safety quality improvement projects:

2019

Mapping noise levels in the OR at induction of anesthesia and on emergence.
Daniel Orlovich, Fanning R, Larson B.
The impact of opioid shortages in the prescribing patterns of anesthesiologists.
Kim R, Fanning R.
Preparing for the transition to the new Stanford Hospital; Simulations to ascertain workflows and room set-ups, and orientation to the new space for Anesthesia staff, residents, fellows, and faculty.
Kim R, Bechtold H, Joo S, Law B, Fanning R
Cardiac Anesthesia: Detection of oxygen delivery failure on cardiopulmonary bypass.
Hickerson L.

2018

Creation of an anonymous resident reporting system to identify significant perioperative events to enhance resident education, improve patient safety, and identify factors requiring quality improvement.
(Skanky J, Stypula C, Bassarab-Tung J, Fanning R.)
Gas-lounge newsletter: A secure website for residents to anonymously report critical events; a newsletter chronicling these events with pertinent learning points.
Stypula C, Skanky J, Bassarb-Tung J, Fanning R.
A curriculum for anesthesia technicians to enhance their participation in the management of difficult airways.
Stephens L, Park L, Ngai L, Stockert E, O’Hara M, Skanchy J, Stewart E, McEvoy J, Reminick J, Arrigo R, Trigonce, Bechtold H, Telischak K, Fanning R.
Reducing smoke contamination in the OR.
Schwan J, Coffann C, Arkin N, Bodmer N, Chua P, Knight Z, Minot P, Allain D, Tse B, Rishel C, Ewing T, Tait A, Fanning R.
Pennywise and a Pound Foolish: The Advantage of Dantrolene Nanosuspension (Ryanodex) in the Treatment of Malignant Hyperthermia.
McEvoy J, Brodsky J, Brock-Utne J.
Out of OR Airway Management at Stanford Hospital: Upgrading Our Practice to Match Our Mission - Sophia Turkmani-Bazzi.
A Clinical Informatics Approach to Improving Redosing of Surgical Antimicrobial Prophylaxis During Pediatric Surgery. Ashley Colletti; Ellen Wang; Thomas J. Caruso.

2017

Development of a Resident Elective to Foster Physician Leadership in the Field of Patient Safety and Quality.
(Perez F, Fanning R.)
Rethinking and redesigning the anesthesiology paper record using quality improvement methodology.
(Perez F, Creighton D, Giustini A, Ma, W, Peterson A, Paschall S, Wilson N, Wong J, Telischak K, Fanning R, Schmiesing C.)
*Award winner at the Resident Patient Safety Council Symposium, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA.
An awakening, breathing, delirium screening and mobility program for mechanically ventilated patients.
(Volgelsong MA, Lough J, Merriman K, Young M, Rogers A, Lorenzo L.)

2016

When pumps fail: A critical issue in patient safety.
(Aggarwal A, Atkinson D, Ike K, McCage L, Sacks S, Yajnik M, Fortune H, Alejandro-Harper D, Telischak K, Caruso T, Fanning R.)
Containing oral pathogen contamination of the anesthesia work environment post intubation: a video observation and novel design initiative.
(Khoo C, Ruby J, Crawford C, Bowker D, Conner E, Harter A, Koch E, Wang K, Telischak K, Caruso T, Fanning R, Chu L.)
Comparison of self-reported vs. Epic generated peripheral nerve block data and its application toward improving resident education and performance.
(O’Hear K, Olszynski P, May L, Lin M, Quattlebaum R, Lee E, Yin V, Fanning R, Schmiesing C, Wright J, Winstrom L.)

2015

Reducing Sharps Injuries in Anesthesiology Residents.
(Wen L, Howard S, Fanning R. Louise Wen)
*Award Winner of the Trainee Quality Improvement Program for the Stanford Anesthesiology Resident Class of 2015, awarded by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.
Implementing a quality improvement program for residents in an anesthesiology department.(Secomb C, Scotto L, Fanning R.)
Prevention of perioperative hypothermia in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty surgery.
(Saw N, Secomb C, Garcia A, Harper G, Joseph A, Wang P, Tanaka P, Kadry B, Fanning R.)
A quality improvement project to improve the proportion of appropriate patients offered peripheral nerve blocks for total knee or shoulder replacement surgery.
(Baca Q, Chang K, Hartman G, Steffel L, Schalkwyk A, Was A, Fanning R, Horn JL, Telischak K.)
Intraoperative medication safety -Exploring strategies to minimize medication waste and improve safety.
(Cohn S, Kumar A, Cohn J, Mittal B, Stachur C, Wen L, Secomb C, Fanning R.)
*Award winner at the Resident Patient Safety Council Symposium Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA

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