Background: The Healthcare Improvement and iNnovation in Quality (THINQ) Collaborative, launched by UCLA Health’s Department of Medicine (DoM) Quality Program in 2014, aims to fill gaps in quality improvement (QI) education at the undergraduate level. As QI and patient safety (PS) have become core aspects of health professions education, interdisciplinary, team-based care models are increasingly emphasized to improve collaboration and patient outcomes. While interprofessional case competitions in the United States have shown value in enhancing collaborative clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice, these competitions are primarily offered to graduate-level students. The impact of such initiatives on pre-health undergraduates is not well understood. By introducing QI scenarios and interprofessional education early in academic careers, students gain skills that support their success in graduate studies and empower them to drive meaningful change in healthcare.
Purpose: The THINQ Collaborative at UCLA launched the THINQ Case Competition to bridge the gap in QI education at the undergraduate level. Utilizing established QI frameworks and tools, the competition engages students in addressing real-world healthcare challenges identified within UCLA Health’s DoM Quality Program. This initiative allows students to apply classroom knowledge alongside QI interventions, fostering a practical understanding of QI in healthcare.
Description: The THINQ Case Competition fosters creativity, collaboration, and research among undergraduates as they tackle healthcare challenges including physician burnout and AI integration through structured QI methods. Since its 2023 launch, the competition has engaged 78 undergraduates who work in teams over several months, using real-world data and workshops surrounding QI frameworks (e.g., Six Sigma, Lean, A3 Problem-Solving) to address complex problem statements. Each team presents its solution to a diverse panel of healthcare professionals, with outcomes contributing to ongoing UCLA Health QI projects, sparking new clinician-led initiatives, and inspiring students toward further QI research. Planned improvements include standardized problem statements, a consistent evaluation process, and broader judging panels to strengthen educational impact.
Conclusions: The annual THINQ Case Competition connects undergraduate students to professional quality improvement (QI) settings. It offers advanced insights into QI principles that prepare them to implement system-wide changes in real-world healthcare. As healthcare evolves with new technologies and intricate organizational structures, equipping future leaders with strong QI and PS foundations is essential. The competition’s structure and outcomes provide a model for institutions seeking to foster QI-driven programs and develop emerging healthcare leaders.