Increasing Pediatric Morning Report Educational Value Through Quality Improvement

BACKGROUND: Morning report (MR) is a common case-based conference in graduate medical education. Recent studies highlight participant dissatisfaction with the educational value of MR, but data are lacking on means for improvement. We aimed to increase MR quality and participant satisfaction at our academic pediatric residency program. METHODS: Improvement science was used to develop and implement a new standardized pediatric MR process (intervention), with 5 core educational elements and structured resident-faculty mentorship. Educational elements were measured via feedback forms and tracked using a run chart. Residents and faculty were surveyed regarding MR quality and satisfaction at baseline and 6 months postintervention; responses were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression. RESULTS: The median of educational elements increased from 3 to 5 (5 maximum) during the 6-month study period and 12-months poststudy. Baseline and postintervention survey response rates were 90% (18 of 20) for residents and 66% (51 of 77) for faculty. Residents reporting high quality MR changed from 50% to 72% (P =.20), and faculty from 29% to 85% (P <.001). Satisfaction with MR content increased for both residents (50%-89%, P =.03) and faculty (25%-67%, P <.001). Resident satisfaction with faculty mentorship before MR increased from 28% to 78% (P =.01); satisfaction with faculty feedback after MR increased from 11% to 56% (P =.02). CONCLUSIONS: Improvement science can be used to develop a new pediatric graduate medical education process. Requiring core educational elements and providing structured mentorship were associated with improvements in pediatric MR quality and participant satisfaction.