At Indiana University School of Medicine, the Quality and Innovation in Health Care scholarly concentration prepares medical students to become future clinicians who improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care. This concentration empowers students to tackle real-world challenges in clinical care using data-driven approaches and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Fast facts about the concentration
- Location: Evansville campus
- Co-directors: Kara Garcia, PhD; Arthur L. Chlebowski, PhD, BME; and Rebecca L. Sparks-Thissen, PhD.
Meet the co-directors
The concentration is led by a dynamic team of educators and researchers who bring diverse expertise to the program.
Kara Garcia, PhD, is an assistant professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at IU School of Medicine and serves as the Evansville navigator for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. With a background in biomedical engineering, Garcia’s work as a clinical and translational scientist is focused on accelerating research that will have a direct impact on clinical care or public health.
“As an engineer, I am passionate about solving real-world problems,” Garcia said. “By training a generation of clinicians in quality improvement and ‘real-world evidence’ research, it is my hope that we can dramatically improve healthcare in Indiana and beyond.”
Arthur L. Chlebowski, PhD, is an associate professor of engineering at the University of Southern Indiana and an adjunct associate professor of family medicine at IU School of Medicine. As a biomedical engineer with an electrical/system design focus, Chlebowski is interested in solving problems that impact the medical needs of patients. He has a strong interest in initial prototype development that can impact any point of patient care.
“My favorite part about our concentration is that Quality and Innovation in Health Care impacts many facets of immediate patient care,” Chlebowski said. “Quality impact can occur from clinics to large hospitals, from a single patient to a patient population. Understanding the needs and improvements necessary in healthcare allows for improved patient outcomes.”
Rebecca L. Sparks-Thissen, PhD, is an associate professor of clinical microbiology and immunology, as well as clinical pathology and laboratory medicine, at IU School of Medicine. As a basic science researcher and educator, she is particularly interested in how basic science intersects with real-world problems, including clinical care and public health.
What students can expect
The Quality and Innovation in Health Care concentration is unique because it is team based and coursework is integrated directly with student projects. For this reason, students need to set aside eight weeks during the summer between their first and second years of medical school to fully immerse themselves in their project and coursework. Students should also plan to spend some time completing their project during the remaining years of their clinical training.
Because students will be working with teammates across the health care spectrum, it is an excellent opportunity for interprofessional and multidisciplinary collaboration — a theme that runs throughout the IU School of Medicine’s Evansville campus.
The Evansville campus, which is located within the multi-institutional Stone Family Center for Health Sciences facility in downtown Evansville, has deep connections with clinical and community partners. Students are encouraged to pursue local quality improvement projects in collaboration with area health systems, residency programs, public health departments and nonprofits. These partnerships provide real-world context and opportunities for impactful research. Through the Mary O’Daniel Stone and Bill Stone Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, students have unique access to a large national electronic health records database, the IU School of Medicine—Evansville RWEdataLab, which was designed specifically to support medical student research projects and has served as the base for over 20 student projects in the past two years.
Is this the right fit?
This concentration is ideal for students who are passionate about improving health care systems and outcomes. Whether the challenge is inefficiency, waste or unsafe practices, students learn to identify problems and implement solutions that make a meaningful impact.
By the end of the program, students earn Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification — a credential recognized both within and beyond the medical field that will set them apart from their peers.
More importantly, the co-directors agree, students will gain problem-solving skills they can carry with them throughout their careers.
“While cutting-edge technology and scientific innovations are important in medicine, we sometimes overlook the impact of simple, practical solutions that improve quality, safety and efficiency of health care,” Garcia said. “Whether the problem is general or highly technical, all projects will apply the same principles of innovation, data analysis and continuous improvement.”
Because the skillset is broadly applicable, this concentration is a great choice for students who are still exploring their specialty interests, as the tools and insights gained are valuable in any medical field.
