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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
MD Education Program

Quality and Innovation in Health Care Scholarly Concentration

This program trains future clinicians to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care. Students use real world evidence to identify needs and assess practical solutions to problems in health care. Scholarly Concentration projects may lead to quality improvement initiatives and/or health care innovation.

By participating in interactive, workshop-style courses alongside various health care professionals, students master widely recognized approaches for continuous improvement and design thinking. Through completion of coursework and a quality improvement project, students can earn Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. Students gain experience applying quality improvement and innovation frameworks that can be used in any specialty throughout their careers.

Locations

All coursework (except the online Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship course) takes place in Evansville. The scholarly project occurs in Evansville.

Curriculum and Timeline

Students completing the Quality and Innovation in Health Care concentration fulfill the same core curriculum as students in other concentrations. The didactic components provide a strong academic and experiential foundation in health care quality and innovation that is vital for completion of the core curriculum project and product.

Topic-Specific Courses

Introduction to Health Care Innovation and Implementation

Lean Six Sigma for Health Care Professionals

Core Curriculum

Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

Phase 1 Year 1

  • No courses

Summer 1

  • Introduction to Health Care Innovation and Implementation — Offered in the summer; in person
  • Lean Six Sigma for Health Care Professionals — Offered in the summer; online asynchronous
  • Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship — Offered in the summer; online asynchronous
  • Scholarly Concentration Project — Begins in the summer and continues longitudinally until complete. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.

Phase 1 Year 2

  • Scholarly Concentration Project continues

Phase 2

  • Scholarly Concentration Project continues
  • Scholarly Concentration Product — Begins in Phase 2 and continues until complete. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.

Phase 3

  • Scholarly Concentration Project completed
  • Scholarly Concentration Product completed

This table shows that the first, second, and third topic specific course should be completed during the summer between first and second year of med school. The two remaining courses, project and product, are longitudinal. The project can begin as soon as the summer between first and second year of med school, while the product should begin during phase one in year two and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors. Actual pathway may vary.

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Whether applying innovative technologies or simple changes to an existing health care process, all scholarly concentration projects provide an opportunity for students to apply the tools learned through this program, such as design-thinking, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement frameworks. Starting in summer 2024, many student projects will focus on using large electronic health record databases to gain insight into real-world practice and opportunities for quality and innovation in health care. 

Past projects include:

  • Analyzing a large EMR dataset to determine real-world outcomes associated with a cardiac procedure; Blanco CA, Garcia K, Singson A, Smith WR. Use of SGLT2 Inhibitors Reduces Heart Failure and Hospitalization: A Multicenter, Real-World Evidence Study. Perm J. 2023 Mar 15;27(1):77-87. doi: 10.7812/TPP/22.137. Epub 2023 Mar 13. PMID: 36913542; PMCID: PMC10013722.
  • Working with the local Health Department to improve rates of HPV vaccination
  • Analyzing real-world utilization of IV’s and phlebotomy testing in different hospital settings

Student Testimonials

Christopher BlancoHaving the opportunity to work with doctors and other health care professionals who have taken up additional quality improvement roles within their hospital systems has provided me with a better understanding of how I can pursue quality innovation in health care as a medical professional.

Why did you choose the Quality and Innovation in Health Care scholarly concentration?

I was very interested in further exploring how, through quality improvement measures, we can work to better the institutions we will one day work for, with the hopes of improving patient health outcomes as well as the overall work environment of the facility.

What are you learning through work on your scholarly project?

An end goal of the study I am conducting is to discuss how adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology into our current electronic health records can help augment physician practices in ways to ensure they are providing the most up-to-date, evidence-based medicine to best improve patient health outcomes within their community.

How do you expect your experience in this scholarly concentration to help guide your career path?

With internal medical departments developing quality improvement teams, I know I will be prepared to fill a leadership role with the experience and educational certification I gained through this program. I have always had professional aspirations of one day becoming a doctor, but now I have a clearer focus on what institutional role I want to play as a doctor in the improvement of my patients’ health outcomes.

Ellen Yos works on her scholarly concentration projectI am really interested in doing research that directly impacts patients. Clinical research seems to have more of a human side to it.

What have you learned through working on your scholarly project?

We were looking at re-admission rates for congestive heart failure patients based on whether they followed up at a post-discharge clinic in Evansville. We thought the clinic was helping, and we were able to find out by how much. Our team presented at the American College of Physicians Indiana chapter meeting and won first place there! This gave us the opportunity to present at the national conference, which was held virtually. It was a valuable learning experience!

Co-Directors

42731-Garcia, Kara

Kara Garcia, PhD

Assistant Professor of Radiology & Imaging Sciences

Bio and Contact Information

47812-Sparks-Thissen, Rebecca

Rebecca L. Sparks-Thissen, PhD

Associate Professor of Clinical Microbiology & Immunology

Bio and Contact Information

44106-Chlebowski, Arthur

Arthur L. Chlebowski, PhD, BME

Adjunct Associate Professor of Family Medicine

Bio and Contact Information

Outline of Indiana with a star marking the location of Evansville in the southwest corner of the state. Text on the illustration says Quality and Innovation in Health Care
MD Student News

Exploring the Quality and Innovation in Health Care scholarly concentration

Learn about the Quality and Innovation in Health Care scholarly concentration, which empowers medical students to explore how lifestyle, community engagement and evidence-based interventions can improve health outcomes.