The research component of the Frontline Diabetes workshop has been designed to provide instruction to participants regarding the principles of quality improvement and its integration into their medical practice.  The research component has been divided into three sections:

1. Pre-, Post- and Post/Post-Test
Prior to workshop registration and attendance, each participant will be required to complete an online pre-test. A post-test will be conducted following the workshop to gauge the effectiveness of the program in increasing the participant's knowledge in diabetes. At six months following workshop participation or before June for graduating 3rd year residents, participants will be required to complete an online post/post-test to guage the long-term effectiveness of the program. These tests will be developed by workshop faculty members and will be reviewed by non-participating family medicine residents and attendings.

2. Chart Review
Each participant will be required to conduct an online Chart Review of five (5) self-selected patients with diabetes. At six months following workshop participation or before June for graduating 3rd year residents, participants will be required to complete another chart review of five (5) self-selected patients with diabetes. Click here to download the Chart Review form.

3. Quality Improvement Exercise
As an introduction to quality improvement, participants will be asked to complete an interactive website exercise (Quality Improvement and Beyond:  Achieving Excellence in Health Care). 

Upon completion of all three sections of the research component participants will receive a condensed slide set of the workshop curriculum.

A group of family medicine residency program directors whose residents did not participate in the Frontline Diabetes workshop will be selected as a control group for the research component.  These directors will be asked to have their residents complete the pre- and post-tests as well as the medical chart review.  Their results will be compared with the results of residents who have completed the program.

Family medicine residency program directors will be provided the educational resources that have been developed and used during the Frontline Diabetes workshop.  Upon completion of the project, the directors will be surveyed regarding their use of these resources and their usefulness in meeting the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) regarding the six core competencies.

Click here to visit our Quality Improvement web site.