Building sustainable QI capacity through a regional QI education programme: lessons from 8 years of experience with London paediatric resident doctors
6 affiliations
- 1London Specialty School of Paediatrics (NHS), London, United Kingdom
- 2St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
- 3Quality Improvement Clinic, Southampton, United Kingdom
- 4City St George’s University of London - Tooting Campus, London, United Kingdom
- 5Evelina London Children’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom
- 6King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Abstract
Introduction: Since 2018, the NHS London Specialty School of Paediatrics has collaborated with QIClearn (an independent organisation) to design and deliver a structured Quality Improvement (QI) education programme for postgraduate resident doctors in the region to build QI capacity. The programme (QI Change Champions) has been designed not only to equip resident doctors with core improvement skills but, uniquely, to secure its own future through a novel, scalable approach to faculty and mentor development. This paper outlines the experience and learning from this programme, discusses transferable lessons and the potential contribution to the wider field of QI education.
Method: We believe we have developed an innovative and sustainable model for embedding essential QI capability into postgraduate training for resident doctors in a region. We have observed QI in practice by constantly reflecting, learning and adapting our approach. Although this is not a formal programme evaluation, we have described our work in practice and the themes captured from mentor and learner feedback used to continually improve the programme. The analysis was designed to mitigate bias, in view of the fact that QIClearn was receiving payment as a company, and the faculty who co-designed the programme were educators for the London Specialty School of Paediatrics and not employed by QIClearn.
Results: We have enrolled 254 resident doctors across 16 iterations (2 per year) to equip them with the skills to deliver meaningful change in the NHS. We recognised early on that sustainable QI education depends on development of a faculty development pipeline. We have trained 14 mentors selected from those who completed the programme who demonstrate particular skill in motivating others and understanding of QI methodology.
Discussion: Our novel Mentor in Training model has enabled us to both expand our regional QI capacity and develop the next generation of clinical leaders and educators. We have built on the growing field of evidence for near-peer mentors in medical education and developed a real community of practice to support our learners. We suggest that there are long term benefits to building this community but this is an area that needs to be explored further in future research..
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BibTeX
@article{runnacles2026building,
title = {{Building sustainable QI capacity through a regional QI education programme: lessons from 8 years of experience with London paediatric resident doctors}},
author = {Jane Runnacles and Nicola Davey and Emelia Shead and Emma Parish and Alice Roueché},
journal = {Frontiers in Health Services},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/frhs.2026.1784992},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2026.1784992},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Building sustainable QI capacity through a regional QI education programme: lessons from 8 years of experience with London paediatric resident doctors
AU - Jane Runnacles
AU - Nicola Davey
AU - Emelia Shead
AU - Emma Parish
AU - Alice Roueché
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Frontiers in Health Services
DO - 10.3389/frhs.2026.1784992
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2026.1784992
AB - Introduction: Since 2018, the NHS London Specialty School of Paediatrics has collaborated with QIClearn (an independent organisation) to design and deliver a structured Quality Improvement (QI) education programme for postgraduate resident doctors in the region to build QI capacity. The programme (QI Change Champions) has been designed not only to equip resident doctors with core improvement skills but, uniquely, to secure its own future through a novel, scalable approach to faculty and mentor development. This paper outlines the experience and learning from this programme, discusses transferable lessons and the potential contribution to the wider field of QI education. Method: We believe we have developed an innovative and sustainable model for embedding essential QI capability into postgraduate training for resident doctors in a region. We have observed QI in practice by constantly reflecting, learning and adapting our approach. Although this is not a formal programme evaluation, we have described our work in practice and the themes captured from mentor and learner feedback used to continually improve the programme. The analysis was designed to mitigate bias, in view of the fact that QIClearn was receiving payment as a company, and the faculty who co-designed the programme were educators for the London Specialty School of Paediatrics and not employed by QIClearn. Results: We have enrolled 254 resident doctors across 16 iterations (2 per year) to equip them with the skills to deliver meaningful change in the NHS. We recognised early on that sustainable QI education depends on development of a faculty development pipeline. We have trained 14 mentors selected from those who completed the programme who demonstrate particular skill in motivating others and understanding of QI methodology. Discussion: Our novel Mentor in Training model has enabled us to both expand our regional QI capacity and develop the next generation of clinical leaders and educators. We have built on the growing field of evidence for near-peer mentors in medical education and developed a real community of practice to support our learners. We suggest that there are long term benefits to building this community but this is an area that needs to be explored further in future research..
SN - 2813-0146
ER -