Overview
UCLA's Melvin and Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program is committed to providing high-quality care and comprehensive education in quality improvement and assurance principles and research for those interested in pursuing an academic career. The Melvin & Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program Scholar is a one-year position for an individual interested in quality improvement and health care delivery. The scholar will participate in several QI efforts and initiatives in the UCLA Department of Medicine, contribute to research and publications, and develop a personal capstone project for submission to nationally recognized conferences.
Project Design and Leadership
With the support of the QI program director and UCLA quality leaders, the scholar will implement and assess quality interventions throughout the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, reaching all UCLA gastroenterology facilities including satellite clinics. Each scholar will also design and develop an innovative quality improvement capstone project in one or more clinical areas using various research and QI methodologies. Clinical areas may include colorectal cancer screening, inflammatory bowel diseases, hepatology, motility disorders, functional bowel disorders and inpatient/outpatient clinical practice.
Education/Training
The scholar is expected to attend gastroenterology clinical case conferences throughout the week with special skill building classes as needed through Intermountain Health, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Education will include the following topics but is not limited to:
Project Design and Leadership
Each scholar will design and develop an innovative quality improvement capstone project in one or more clinical interests/areas using various research and QI methodology. Clinical areas may include colorectal cancer screening, inflammatory bowel diseases, hepatology, motility disorders, functional bowel disorders and inpatient/outpatient clinical practice. With the support of a UCLA gastroenterology faculty mentor in adjunct to UCLA's quality leaders, the scholar will implement and assess quality interventions throughout the Division of Digestive Diseases, reaching all UCLA gastroenterology facilities including satellite clinics.
Mentorship/Career Development
The fellowship will be directed by Fola May, MD, PhD, MPhil (May Laboratory), a gastroenterologist, health services researcher, and director of the Gastroenterology Quality Initiative Program at UCLA (Health Services Research). Scholars will work directly with UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases leadership and Dr. May and will be paired with additional UCLA faculty members and quality leaders, based on clinical interests. Scholars are expected to meet with their mentors on a regular basis to discuss project details, career goals and aspirations. Scholars will have the opportunity to participate in meetings with hospital quality leadership, establish personalized roles on various quality improvement and assurance committees, and serve as liaison within the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine Family Practice Group and various gastroenterology professional societies.
Requirements
Applicants should have completed an ACGME accredited academic internal medicine residency OR a graduate-level degree in public health, statistics, epidemiology or health services. Those candidates with experience in clinical research and an interest in academic medicine are also highly encouraged to apply. Graduates from internal medicine training programs interested in pursuing specialty training in gastroenterology are also encouraged to apply.
Deadline to Apply as a Scholar for 2019-2020
We will begin accepting applications for the 2019-2020 position on September 1, 2018.
How to Apply
Please send the following documents by email to Dr. Fola May at fmay@mednet.ucla.edu, subject: Melvin and Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program:
Edgar Corona, MPH
Scholar, GI Quality Improvement Program
Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Edgar graduated with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and a minor in Chicana/o studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He studied health policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and worked with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition and Health Care For All (HCFA) to improve quality health care in Massachusetts immigrant communities by creating a resource toolkit for healthcare providers. He is currently a fourth-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In medical school, Edgar worked with the Mexican Institute of Social Security as a UCLA Blum Center on Poverty and Health in Latin America scholar on a cost-analysis of a large cervical cancer screening program conducted in Tlaxcala, Mexico. His academic interests are in health policy, cancer disparities, Latina/o health, and quality improvement in gastroenterology. This year, Edgar joins the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases as the Melvin and Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program scholar, where he will work on a variety of quality improvement projects examining colorectal cancer screening rates, utilization of endoscopy, utilization of proton pump inhibitors, quality of care for liver disease patients, and inflammatory bowel disease.
