ACGME Seeks Proposals for Institutions to Join Collaborative Focused on Quality Improvement and Health Care Disparities

Today the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced a request for proposals from institutions to form a Quality Improvement: Health Care Disparities Collaborative. The second in a series of Collaboratives for the Pursuing Excellence Pathway Leaders, participating teams will develop and test new models that equip residents and fellows with the skills they need to better engage in systems-based approaches to delivering safe, high-quality care throughout their careers.

"This second Collaborative aims to equip new clinicians with the skills needed to engage in health care quality improvement soon after they begin practice in the clinical learning environment," said ACGME senior vice president, Institutional Accreditation Kevin B. Weiss, MD, MPH. "The focus will be on aligning residents and fellows with their institution's quality improvement culture, and teaching them the skills to recognize, analyze, and act upon health care disparities to improve patient outcomes."

Read the Request for Proposal | Apply

Each Pursuing Excellence Collaborative brings together teams from eight to 10 Sponsoring Institutions on an 18-month journey. Teams in the Quality Improvement: Health Care Disparities Collaborative will benefit from:

• Enhanced engagement in systems-based quality improvement activities
• Enhanced engagement in understanding and addressing health care disparities in their organization
• Working with a framework for engaging early learners in quality improvement efforts to address health care disparities within their clinical learning environment—shaped by the findings of the ACGME’s Clinical Learning Environment Review Program and input from the National Collaborative for Improving the Clinical Learning Environment (NCICLE)
• An interactive experience with the opportunity to share and learn from peers within the graduate medical education community
• Facilitated review and guidance from faculty members with national and international expertise in health care disparities and program evaluation (addressing measurement, analysis, sustainability)

Pathway Leaders is the second phase of the Pursuing Excellence in Clinical Learning Environments initiative. Phase One of the initiative brought together eight institutions referred to as Innovators, tasked with engaging executive leaders and leaders of graduate medical education in strategic change to benefit both patients and learners.