The Pursuing Excellence Collaborative: Engaging First-Year Residents and Fellows in Patient Safety Event Investigations

Objectives Resident and fellow engagement in patient safety event investigations (PSEIs) can benefit both the clinical learning environment's ability to improve patient care and learners' problem-solving skills. The goals of this collaborative were to increase resident and fellow participation in these investigations and improve PSEI quality. Methods This collaborative involved 18 sites - 8 sites that had participated in a similar previous collaborative (cohort I) and 10 "new"sites (cohort II). The 18-month collaborative included face-to-face and virtual learning sessions, check-ins, and coaching calls. A validated assessment tool measured PSEI quality, and sites tracked the percentage of first-year residents and fellows included in a PSEI. Results Sixteen of the 18 sites completed the 18-month collaborative. Baseline was no first-year resident or fellow participation in a PSEI. Among these 16 clinical learning environments, 1237 early learners participated in a PSEI by the end of the collaborative. Six of these 16 sites (38%) reached the goal of 100% participation of first-year residents and fellows. As a percentage of total first-year residents and fellows, larger institutions had less resident and fellow participation. Six of the 9 cohort II sites submitted PSEIs for independent review at 6 months and again at the end of the collaborative. The PSEI quality scores increased from 5.9 ± 1.8 to 8.2 ± 0.8 (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions It is possible to include all residents and fellows in PSEIs. Patient safety event investigation quality can improve through resident and fellow participation, use of standardized processes during training and investigations, and review of PSEI quality scores with a validated tool.