VA Advanced Fellowships Programs Select Fellowship Program
VA Advanced Fellowships Programs Homepage Dental Research Advanced Geriatrics Geriatric Neurology Hartford Geriatric Social Work Scholars Health Services Research and Development Health Systems Engineering Medical Informatics Mental Illness Research & Treatment Multiple Sclerosis Parkinson's Disease Patient Safety Polytrauma / Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Psychiatric Research/Neurosciences Quality Scholars Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Clinical Scholars Spinal Cord Injury Research Substance Abuse Treatment War Related and Unexplained Illness Womens Health

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 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 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 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  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

 

Atlanta, GA
Director: Anne Tomolo, MD, MPH  Nurse Scholar: Bethany Robertson, DNP
Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033	Telephone 404-321-6111

Research Focus: Please contact site for more details

---

Birmingham, AL
Director: Carlos A. Estrada, MD, MS  Co-Director: Medicine: Benjamin Taylor, MD, MPH  Co-Director: Nursing: Patricia A. Patrician, PhD, RN, FAAN  Administrative Officer: Lesleigh Harold
Birmingham VA Medical Center 732 Faculty Office Tower 510 20th Street South Birmingham, AL 35294-3407	Telephone 205-093-3081 ext. 6676

Research Focus: Please contact site for more details.

---

Cleveland, OH
Director: David Aron, MD, MS  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	Telephone 216-421-3098 WebSite

Research Focus: Please contact site for more details.

---

Iowa City, IA
Director: Peter Kaboli, MD, MS  Administrative Officer: Bonnie Bootsmiller, PhD
Iowa City VA Medical Center 601 Highway 6 West Iowa City, IA 52246-2208	Telephone 319-338-0581 WebSite

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
Director: Lisa Rubenstein, MD, MSPH  Nurse Scholar/Co-Director: Lynn Soban, PhD, MPH, RN  Associate Director: David Ganz.MD, PhD	Telephone 818-895-9449 Fax 818-895-5838 Telephone 818-891-7711 x9954 Telephone310-268-4110 Fax 310-268-4842
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System 16111 Plummer St (152) Sepulveda, CA 91343	Telephone 818-895-9449

Research Focus:  Please contact the site for more details

---

Nashville, TN
Director: Robert Dittus, MD, MPH  Administrative Assistant: Debbie Berngard, MHA
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.

---

San Francisco, CA
Director: Seth Landefeld, MD  Assistant to Director: Elaine Chow  Co-Director: Sei Lee, M.D  Administrative Officer: Leanora Royster
Senior Scholar, VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program Chief, Geriatrics (111G) VA Medical Center San Francisco, CA 94121-1598	Telephone 415-221-4810 ext.3562

Research Focus: health care research, vulnerable populations, older veterans.

---

White River Junction, VT
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
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.