Establishing a Multisite Education and Research Project Requires Leadership, Expertise, Collaboration, and an Important Aim

This is the first in a series of articles to highlight the projects that were chosen for implementation by the IIPE Review Committee; each represents a work in progress. We wanted the readership to be aware of innovations that are underway and what the investigators have learned even though they are early in the process. The first article in this series focuses on building a multi-institutional collaborative project that links educational and patient care outcomes.

Carol Carraccio, MD, MA

Communication and handoff (sign-out) failures are a root cause of two-thirds of sentinel events in hospitals. Therefore, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Joint Commission have declared improving handoffs a national priority.^1,–,7 As a response to that declaration, we have designed and implemented a multisite education and research project aimed at determining the effectiveness of a resident handoff bundle (team training, use of a verbal mnemonic, and written/computerized tools to supplement verbal handoffs) in standardizing the handoff process in 9 pediatric residency programs. This project, supported by the Initiative for Innovation in Pediatric Education (IIPE) and the Pediatric Research in Inpatient Settings (PRIS) Network, is a unique example of a multisite collaborative that links improved educational outcomes with patient outcomes. Our report, at this early stage, shares lessons learned and illustrates key considerations for the effective development of a similar collaborative multisite education and research project that exists at the interface between education and patient care.

Address correspondence to Theodore C. Sectish, MD, Department of Medicine, Hunnewell 2, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: theodore.sectish{at}childrens.harvard.edu