VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program Fact Sheet

NQSF Program | NSQF Fact Sheet 

Purpose
The purpose of VA's National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (NQSFP) is to provide a fellowship program in healthcare quality improvement for physician scholars. In this two-year, post-residency fellowship, physicians learn to develop and apply new knowledge for the ongoing improvement of healthcare services for VA and the nation. At the conclusion of training, fellows will be able to demonstrate the following:

1. Knowledge and ability to design, implement, manage, and monitor quality improvement (QI) systems;
2. Competence in designing, conducting, and facilitating quality improvement (QI) research studies that build upon validated clinical or health services research and development studies;
3. Working skills and knowledge in healthcare informatics, particularly the Veterans Integrated Systems Technology Architecture (VISTA).

Program Overview
The program includes six NQSFP sites linked together with a hub site and the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA). Sites are linked electronically and by two-way interactive videoconference for learning, information sharing, and the development of a national quality improvement laboratory. Each site collaborates closely with its academic affiliate. Site locations include VA facilities and their medical school affiliates in Birmingham, AL; Cleveland, OH; Iowa City, IA; Nashville, TN; San Francisco, CA; and White River Junction, VT.

The Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences (CECS) at Dartmouth Medical School in collaboration with the White River Junction VA Medical Center serves as the hub site to coordinate curriculum, studies, and external funding opportunities. The curriculum includes research and clinical training in quality improvement, healthcare measurement, and systems theory. Fellows spend approximately 80 percent of their time in quality improvement research and education and approximately 20 percent in clinical activities. OAA administers the program.

All Fellowship participants serve as trainees on a temporary, full-time employment basis at one of the sites for the duration of the appointment period. Each appointee receives a per annum stipend related as closely as possible to local affiliate fellowship stipend levels. The highest postgraduate level attained through previous Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) residency training plus experience in nationally recognized Fellowships sponsored by NIMH, NIA, or similar agencies determine the stipend levels.

Fellowship Requirements
Applicants must desire to pursue medical careers in quality improvement and to serve as change agents to help lead VA into the 21^st century. They must have the capacity for interactive skills necessary to create changes in institutions and the ability to appreciate and leverage the benefits of coordinated clinical medicine, research, and administration.

Each applicant must have completed an ACGME accredited specialty and subspecialty residency training program and be a board certified or board eligible physician with an active, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the U.S. Residency training licenses are restricted licenses, so VHA cannot accept them. In addition, any international medical graduate must have an unexpired visa and an Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certificate that is valid indefinitely.

Application Process
To apply, applicants must send a cover letter describing their experiences in quality improvement and a copy of their curriculum vitae to the site(s) of their choice.

VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program Address List

Carlos A. Estrada, M.D., M.S.
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Assistant Division Director, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham VA Medical Center
732 Faculty Office Tower
510 20th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35294-3407

David Aron, M.D., M.S.
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Associate Chief of Staff for Education (14W)
Louis Stokes VAMC Cleveland (W)
10701 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106

Gary E. Rosenthal, M.D.
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Director, Division of General Internal Medicine
University of Iowa
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242-1081

Robert S. Dittus, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Director, Division of General Internal Medicine 
S-1121 MCN
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN 37232-2587

Seth Landefeld, M.D.
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Chief, Geriatrics (111G)
VA Medical Center
San Francisco, CA 94121-1598

William Weeks, M.D., M.B.A.
Hub Site Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
VAM&ROC(11Q)
215 North Main Street
White River Junction, VT 05009-0001

For further information about National Quality Scholar's Fellowship Program, contact:

Sandra L. Rood
VAM&ROC (11Q)
215 North Main Street
White River Junction, VT 05009-0001