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VA Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Program Announcement
Program details and application procedures:
 Program Announcement
Purpose
The purpose of VA's National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (NQSFP) is to provide a fellowship program in healthcare quality improvement for physician and nurse scholars. In this two-year, post-residency fellowship for physicians and pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowship for nurses, participants 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 eight 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 21st 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.
Physician applicants 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. Pre-doctoral nurse applicants, prior to the beginning of the fellowship, must possess an unrestricted valid nurse license in any US state or territory, demonstrate current active enrollment in good standing or written acceptance in a nursing doctoral program (either PhD or DNP) at an academic institution associated with a nursing school accredited by either National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Post-doctoral nurse applicants, prior to the beginning of the fellowship, must possess an unrestricted valid registered nurse license in any US state or territory, have graduated (or completed all requirements for the award of degree) from a doctoral program at a recognized academic institution. This can be a doctoral program in a clinical discipline such as nursing (PhD or DNP) or in a non-clinical field relevant to Health Care Quality (e.g. education, industrial psychology, anthropology, medical informatics, etc.).
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 Quality Scholars Achievements
VA Quality Scholars Fellowship Program:Biographical Summaries
Graduating Second-Year Fellows
Presented on June 5, 2009
VA Quality Scholars Fellowship Program Address List
Research Focus: Please contact site for more details
Research Focus: Please contact site for more details.
Cleveland, OH
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Director: David Aron, MD, MS
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program
Associate Chief of Staff for Education (14W)
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Louis Stokes VAMC Cleveland (W)
10701 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106 |
Telephone 216-421-3098
WebSite |
Research Focus: Please contact site for more details.
Research Focus: Variations in health care delivery in vulnerable veterans; design and testing of innovative delivery models to improve access and quality.
Greater Los Angeles Health Care System
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Director: Lisa Rubenstein, MD, MSPH
Nurse Scholar/Co-Director: Lynn Soban, PhD, MPH, RN
Associate Director: David Ganz.MD, PhD
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Telephone 818-895-9449
Fax 818-895-5838
Telephone 818-891-7711 x9954
Telephone310-268-4110
Fax 310-268-4842
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VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
16111 Plummer St (152)
Sepulveda, CA 91343
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Telephone 818-895-9449 |
Research Focus: Please contact the site for more details
Nashville, TN
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Director: Robert Dittus, MD, MPH
Administrative Assistant: Debbie Berngard, MHA
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VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System
GRECC/HSR/CRCoE
1310 24th Avenue South (GRECC)
Nashville, Tennessee 37212 |
Telephone 615-873-8004
Fax 615-873-7981 |
Research Focus: Please contact site for more details.
Research Focus: prediction, prevention, diabetes care in frail elders
White River Junction, VT
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Director: Greg Ogrinc, MD
Co-Directors: Susan Reeves, RN,EdD, Nurse Senior Scholar
Vince Watts, MD, MPH,
Associate Director: Brenda Sirovich, MD, MS, Associate Director
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Senior Scholar, VA National Quality
Scholars Fellowship Program
VAM&ROC (11Q)
215 North Main Street
White River Junction, VT 05009-0001 |
Telephone 205-093-3081 ext. 6676
Telephone 802-295-9363 ext. 5072
WebSite |
Research Focus:: Medical Education, Scholarship of Quality Improvement For additional Information:
VA Quality Scholars Program * In collaboration with the CECS' Health Care Improvement Leadership Development, the Veterans Health Administration has created the VA National Quality Scholars (VAQS) Fellowship Program. The Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences (CECS) at Dartmouth, established in 1989, is a locus of scientists and clinician-scholars from Dartmouth's medical and graduate schools who conduct cutting edge research on critical medical and health issues with the goal of measuring, organizing, and improving the health care system.
* External Link Disclaimer: Links marked with an asterisk ( * ) are external links. By clicking on these links, you will leave the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website. The link will open in a new window.
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