The Center for Quality and Patient Safety offers courses to NYU Grossman School of Medicine medical students and residents addressing key topics in quality and patient safety and advancing solutions that contribute to our ability to provide the highest-quality patient care. We also offer the opportunity to participate in related research projects.

Involving residents and medical students in the quality and safety process achieves two goals. First, it helps us build a culture of safety by ensuring that every member of the patient care team feels equally comfortable reporting issues. Because residents and medical students are traditionally in subordinate positions, they may be reluctant to speak up about patient safety.

Second, these initiatives allow us to teach the importance of quality and patient safety to a new generation of physicians. We regularly lecture medical students and residents on key topics in safety and quality. Our program is designed to instill our residents and students with a strong sense of personal obligation to enhance patient safety.

If you have questions about the courses we offer, please contact Lorraine Hutzler, MPA, associate program director of the Center for Quality and Patient Safety, at lorraine.hutzler@nyulangone.org.

Quality and Patient Safety Concentration for Medical Students

Our concentration in quality and patient safety provides medical students insight into the quality and safety issues associated with patient care, with a focus on musculoskeletal care. This concentration includes five components: patient safety, patient satisfaction, quality indicators, public policy initiatives, and strategies for improvement. Students gain an understanding of the impact of musculoskeletal diseases on society. You also study strategies and mechanisms for planning, implementing, and measuring quality and patient safety initiatives. In addition, all students enrolled in this concentration are required to submit a research abstract on a quality or safety topic.

Since its inception in 2014, more than 25 medical students have participated in this concentration.

Graduate Medical Education

One of the best ways to teach safety and quality concepts to new physicians is to involve them in research. Over the past few years, residents in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery have participated in more than 60 research projects related to patient safety and quality. In addition, the department collaborates with leaders from across NYU Langone to develop new strategies for improving the teaching of patient safety and quality.

Our department’s faculty are active participants in NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Task Force on Graduate Medical Education Patient Safety and Quality Curriculum. This committee is responsible for ensuring a strong quality and safety core curriculum across all educational programs and departments.