1 This application requests continued funding for Columbia University Patient Safety and Health Services
2 Research Training, a novel health services research training program with a focus on patient safety in the
3 hospital setting. The program aligns with the AHRQ mission to provide evidence that improves safety, quality,
4 effectiveness, value, equity, and access in healthcare. This postdoctoral training program leverages the
5 extensive resources available at Columbia University, including the Mailman School of Public Health and Irving
6 Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (CTSA), and its affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian/
7 Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The purpose of the training program is to provide clinician-
8 researchers with the foundation and skills to become independent investigators in patient safety and health
9 services research. This training program offers a unique combination of formal research education, mentored
10 research projects, and exposure to patient safety operations at a large academic medical center. The program
11 consists of four core training components: 1) Formal Research Education; 2) Mentored Research Projects;
12 3) Patient Safety Immersion; and 4) Bi-Weekly Research Seminars. Trainees have the opportunity to work with
13 a diverse and accomplished group of Columbia faculty with a proven track record of grant funding,
14 interdisciplinary research collaboration, publication, and mentorship. Our diverse Faculty Mentors represent a
15 broad range of disciplines in the Departments of Medicine, Biomedical Informatics, Neurology, Obstetrics,
16 Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, and Schools of Nursing and Public Health. Faculty Mentors have expertise and
17 active research support in AHRQ-related focus areas, including medical errors, medication safety, healthcare-
18 associated infections, health informatics, quality measurement and outcomes, cost and cost-effectiveness,
19 chronic disease epidemiology, health equity, and health disparities. Trainees are mentored using a team-
20 mentoring model consisting of a primary Senior Research Mentor, Junior or Senior Co-Mentor, and consulting
21 advisors with expertise needed to support each Trainee and develop essential research competencies. All
22 Trainees will earn a Master of Science in a research-intensive degree program from Columbia’s Mailman
23 School of Public Health. A distinctive core component of the program is the Patient Safety Immersion,
24 consisting of an interactive and experiential patient safety curriculum and involvement in hospital patient safety
25 operations, including reviewing adverse event reports and attending root cause analyses. We request funding
26 for a total of 15 Trainees, all with a strong interest in patient safety and health services research. Candidates
27 are recruited from top-ranked residency programs through a wide range of nationwide recruitment strategies,
28 including newly established collaborations to recruit Trainees from underrepresented minority groups. The
29 program is centered in Columbia’s Department of Medicine/Division of General Medicine, which houses the
30 Section of Hospital Medicine and a well-established infrastructure to support research training activities.