Leaders at the annual American College of Surgeons' Quality, Safety, and Cancer Conference (ACS-QSCC) in Orlando, Florida selected an abstract from the UK Department of Surgery as the Best Education Abstract and Presentation. It was also listed among the top 20 abstracts for the conference. This is the largest Surgical Quality Conference in the world and featured more than 800 abstracts and 275 speakers.
Jacob Hubbuch, M.D., a PGY 4 general surgery resident, spent a year in research as the Department of Surgery's inaugural Fellow in Quality Improvement and Clinical Informatics. He was lead author for the abstract which described competencies and metrics that demonstrate successful professional development in these two growing domains of surgical care.
During that year, he collaborated with his faculty supervisor, Danielle Walsh, M.D., on defining the curriculum, obtaining related national certifications, participating in national and local projects and committees related to the content, and executing improvement work.
His scholarly output included four manuscripts for publication, six podium presentations, Epic Builder and Analyst Certifications, Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality credentialing, and experience with patient safety. Hubbuch also described skill development in mentoring students in quality and informatics.
His presentation was a general overview of the success of the fellowship and a personal assessment of his experience in this field. He also outlined how the program may continue to evolve as a new generation of physicians learn how to use data derived from electronic health records (EHRs), artificial intelligence (AI), and other sources to inform practice and improve outcomes in patient care.
"The audience demonstrated their interest in the topic with a line of speakers waiting to discuss the fellowship in more detail following the podium presentation," Walsh said. "Undoubtedly, these highly sought-after skills will serve him well in his future career aspirations."
"As surgery grows more digitally dependent and quality-driven, training must evolve to match," Hubbuch commented.