Untapping the potential of medical trainees to improve the quality of healthcare

Doctors in training have the potential to make important contributions to improving healthcare services, at the same time as developing their own skills and knowledge about quality improvement (QI). However, meaningful improvements in healthcare quality and useful educational experiences for trainees are unlikely to occur unless employers and training organisations develop systematic approaches to involving trainees in QI. Organisations need to provide trainees with the time, resources, mentorship, educational supervision and training in QI methods required for them to carry out QI projects successfully. Focusing the efforts of trainees in tackling high value and strategically important problems, working together as teams rather than as individuals, and learning from and contributing to published QI reports will make it more likely that genuine improvements are achieved and sustained over time. Finally, career pathways should be developed to allow trainees to gain in-depth, specialist knowledge and experience of QI, and work towards becoming the improvement leaders of the future NHS.