• Michelle J Clarke, Fay L Steffens, Grant W Mallory, Stephanie R Starr, Barbara L Porter, William E Krauss, and Eugene C Dankbar.
• Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Electronic address: Clarke.michelle@mayo.edu.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Jun 1; 126: e1112-e1120.

BackgroundQuality Improvement (QI) is essential for improving health care delivery and is now a required component of neurosurgery residency. However, neither a formal curriculum nor implementation strategies have been established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.MethodsWe describe our experience with implementing a formal QI curriculum, including structured didactics and resident led group-based QI projects. Course materials and didactics were provided by the Mayo Quality Academy. Participants were required to take a 30-question multiple-choice exam to demonstrate basic proficiency in QI methods following completion of didactic. An anonymous survey also was performed to elicit feedback from course participants.ResultsAll of the 40 student participants (17 residents) were able to demonstrate basic proficiency in QI methods on a standardized exam upon course completion. Of the 9 attempted QI projects, 7 were completed, with 5 of those resulting in sustained process changes. The majority of participants felt formal training improved confidence in QI processes and was a valuable professional tool for their careers.ConclusionsA formal didactic curriculum and practical application of QI methodologies adds value to resident training. Further, it has the potential to positively impact practice. Consideration should be given to adopting a formal QI curriculum by other neurosurgery departments and perhaps standardization on national level.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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