The first Department of Surgery quality improvement curriculum was launched on Oct. 20, 2015 as an initiative of the Quality and Best Practices Committee. The curriculum is a small group seminar-based curriculum that is delivered in a series of three seminars throughout the academic year for all PGY-1 residents culminating in a session dedicated to the presentation of the groups’ QI projects. Each small group is mentored by a faculty member from the same specialty. In the first year (2015-16) all eight divisions of the Department of Surgery participated.

The objectives of the curriculum are multiple but can be summarized in the following: introduce the concept of quality improvement, introduce QI tools and empower trainees to utilize them in a practical manner, foster team work and collaboration, encourage trainee engagement in clinical processes and emphasize QI as an integral part of surgical practice and surgeons as leaders in QI whether in the community or the academic setting.

The course is now in its third year and includes all surgical residents at a total of 63 residents registered yearly. It is now entirely run by the Department of Surgery but its launch and success would not have been possible without the guidance and expertise provided by the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Toronto. As we believe in value of sharing our experience, we have made slides of projects completed by our residents available through this portal. We also look forward to hearing from other programs about their approach and experiences.

Najib Safieddine MD FRCSC Division of Thoracic Surgery Director Najib.safieddine@tehn.ca