Quality improvement education in surgical specialty training: A comparison of Vascular Surgery resident and Urology Resident experiences and attitudes

Background: Academic institutions have increasingly focused on educating physicians and surgeons in concepts of value-based care, including quality improvement (QI). The extent to which QI curricular competencies are addressed in specialty surgical residency training is unclear. Methods: A survey instrument was developed by content experts and sent to Vascular Surgery and Urology residents electronically. Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations were calculated using StataMP 13.1. Results: Vascular Surgery and Urology residents reported exposure to similar types of QI curriculum. Fewer than half of residents reported achieving targets for graduation (Vascular 31%, Urology 42%) related to QI, and few residents in either group felt very well-prepared to lead a QI initiative (Vascular 13%, Urology 8%). Conclusion: QI education in surgical specialty training amongst Vascular Surgery and Urology residencies is similar and insufficient. Surgical specialties may benefit from collaborative efforts to improve the quality of QI education.