University Quality Improvement Scholars

By Darla Brown

How can infection rates be minimized through pediatric isolation measures? How do nurse staffing ratios impact the quality of care in neonatal intensive care units? Does paid hospital parking for parents of small premature infants increase breast feeding and parental involvement in infant care, promote the teaching of parenting skills, and shorten the infants’ hospital stay?

These are the questions young pediatric faculty members at the Medical School are investigating as the first University Quality Improvement Scholars. This new program seeks to augment not only the care and outcome of patients at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital but also the career development of faculty aspiring to become national leaders in promoting the highest quality of care.

“These select faculty have developed scholarly activity and are applying scientific methods to improve patient care,” explains Jon Tyson, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine.

“We are partnering with Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center to promote clinical excellence and focus on a higher standard for patient care,” says Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D.

The aim is for the outcomes to transcend the local patient population.

“This program will result in new knowledge that is generalizable to other hospitals and worthy of publication in the peer-reviewed medical literature,” says Eric Thomas, M.D., director of The University of Texas Medical School Memorial Hermann Center for Health Care Quality and Safety.

Debuting in the Department of Pediatrics, these faculty who completed a special course in Quality Improvement and are participating in the Medical School’s clinical research curriculum, prepare and conduct real-life applications of quality improvement science.

The first scholars are Brenda Morris, M.D.; Patricia Evans, M.D.; and Julia Shelburne, M.D. Dr. Thomas says the program is jointly funded by the hospital and the department, and there are plans to expand it to other clinical departments in order to make a palpable impact on the quality of patient care.