GME Quality & Safety Foundations Course

Now available at no cost to all UW training programs and redesigned to be modular.

See below for session dates and content. Program Directors and Administrators: enroll your program using the link below.

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Overview

The Graduate Medical Education (GME) Quality & Safety Foundations Course provides residents and fellows with efficient, high-quality training in quality improvement and patient safety. Participation satisfies Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) common program requirements for practicing communication after harm, and prepares learners to engage with QI and safety clinical activities.

Key Details

  • WHO: Designed for UW training programs and their complete roster of residents and fellows.
  • WHAT: Modular, targeted sessions mixing in-person, virtual, and asynchronous learning. Offered on a recurring basis to facilitate attendance in the complete series over time.
  • WHERE:  Some sessions held live online, others in person at Seattle Children’s Hospital Sand Point Learning Center.
  • COST: Freely available to all UW training programs.

Program Directors and Administrators: Please indicate interest for your program and enroll using this link.

Learning Objectives and Curriculum

Course objectives:  Upon completion, trainees will be able to: 

  • Apply foundational quality improvement tools
  • Contribute to patient safety efforts
  • Participate in error disclosure programs
  • Activate UW Medicine specific resources to address quality and safety problems

Module objectives, requirements, and outputs: 

Quality Improvement Track

QI Design Workshop  

In-person (classroom based, 3 hours), offered 3 times per year. Participants (or programs) must submit a priority problem in need of improvement prior to the session. Groups of trainees are encouraged, and faculty and multidisciplinary team members are welcome (not required). 

  • Generates QI project plans (charters) addressing priority institutional and departmental challenges.  
  • Demonstrates appropriate use of AI tools to create QI work products.  
  • Learner output includes QI Project Chart submitted to program.

Get Data with Slicer Dicer  

Online synchronous (live zoom session, 2 hours), offered 4 times per year + stored recording.  

  • Describes process for obtaining data required to measure quality and safety processes & outcomes.  
  • Demonstrates benchmarking to identify quality and safety priorities, measuring improvement during interventions, and tracking performance indicators longitudinally.  
  • Learner output includes skills to obtain baseline data for defined QI Project measures.

QI Data Analysis and Presentation 

Online asynchronous (on demand, pre-recorded content, 1 hour).  

  • Compares data analysis tools such as run charts, statistical processing charts, and Pareto charts.   
  • Illustrates poster presentation and publication data formatting.
  • Learner output includes templates for data presentation tools and poster template.  

Patient Safety Track  

Patient Safety Event Analysis

Online synchronous (live zoom session, 90 minutes), offered 3 times per year. 

  • Prepares learners for effective M&M conference presentation.
  • Applied patient safety event analysis to clinical practice experiences.  
  • Creates safety action plans using systems engineering approaches.  
  • Learner output includes template Power Point for M&M presentation.

Communication After Harm

Online synchronous (live zoom session, 90 minutes), offered 3 times per year.  

  • Demonstrates best practices for communication after harm through AI-enabled simulated patient encounters.  
  • Learner output includes completion of the common program requirement for simulated communication after a harm event.

Cognitive Bias and Diagnostic Error

Online asynchronous (on demand, pre-recorded content, 1 hour).  Available in versions for both pediatric-focused and adult-focused medicine. 

  • Describes common cognitive biases impacting in clinical reasoning. 
  • Learner outputs include a template for identifying bias in cases and suggesting debiasing strategies. 

Team STEPPS  

Online synchronous (live zoom session, 90 minutes), offered 3 times per year. 

  • Outlines effective strategies for teaming and communication through interactive group exercises.   
  • Learner output includes a systems-based practice workplace-based assessment.

Modules and dates

Quality Improvement Modules

QI Design Workshop 

Offered in-person at Sand Point Learning Center
  • Friday, November 6, 2026 8am-11am PT
  • Monday, December 14, 2026 8am-11am PT
  • Tuesday, March 2, 2027 8am-11am PT

Get Data with Slicer Dicer 

Offered virtually
  • Tuesday, September 29, 2026 12pm-2pm PT
  • Wednesday, December 2, 2026 5pm-7pm PT
  • Thursday, February 11, 2027 12pm-2pm PT
  • Wednesday, April 28, 2027 5pm-7pm PT

QI Measures and Analyzing Data

Offered as an asynchronous video module

Patient Safety Modules

Patient Safety Event Analysis & Communication After Harm

Offered virtually
  • Thursday, October 29, 2026 8am-11am PT
  • Friday, January 29, 2027 8am-11am PT
  • Monday, May 24, 2027 8am-11am PT

Cognitive Bias and Diagnostic Error

Offered as an asynchronous video module

TeamSTEPPS

Offered virtually

  • Tuesday, November 10, 2026 12-1:30PM PT

  • Wednesday, January 20, 2027 12-1:30PM PT

  • Thursday, April 22, 2027 12:30pm-2pm** PT

Enrollment

Program Directors and Administrators: Please indicate interest for your program and enroll using this link.