Quality & Patient Safety

Center for Patient Safety Research

Education and Training

Patient Safety Research Fellowship in Hospital Medicine

The Patient Safety Research Fellowship is designed to train medicine and pediatric clinician-researchers in innovative, interdisciplinary, and systems-based approaches for improving the safety, quality, and effectiveness of care. The fellowship is unique in its focus on hospital medicine and patient safety, providing clinician-researchers with the knowledge and skills to act as independent investigators and to lead patient safety and health services research. This program is a Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award(link is external and opens in a new window) funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This hospital-focused research fellowship complements the division’s longstanding Primary Care Research Fellowship.

Learn More About The Fellowship

House Staff Training

House Staff: Patient Safety Research Elective

The Center for Patient Safety Research is a growing team that has made major contributions to patient safety science, and continues to apply rigorous research methods to measure medical errors and evaluate the impact of patient safety interventions. The Center for Patient Safety Research is seeking Columbia University Irving Medical Center House Staff (“Scholars”) with a strong interest in patient safety to join us for a research elective. Over the course of this elective, Scholars will have the opportunity to develop their own patient safety research project or contribute to ongoing patient safety research projects, examine existing data sets to answer salient research questions, work with experienced researchers, statisticians, and programmers, and author or co-author a manuscript for publication. For more information about the Patient Safety Research Elective, please send correspondence to Ms. Jo Applebaum, Director of Research Science, Center for Patient Safety Research at [email protected].

Medical Student Training

1st Year Medical Students: SLIM Summer Patient Safety Research Intensive

Systems, Leadership, Integration, and Management (SLIM) is a unique program designed to provide Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) medical students with the background, knowledge, and essential problem-solving skills to become agents of health system transformation. Jason Adelman, MD, Executive Director of Patient Safety Research, Chief Patient Safety Officer, and Associate Chief Quality Officer at NYP/Columbia University Irving Medical Center is the faculty adviser for the SLIM program. The SLIM Summer Patient Safety Research Intensive is a 10-week program where Columbia University medical students have the opportunity to develop patient safety research projects or contribute to ongoing projects, examine existing data sets to answer salient research questions, work with experienced researchers, statisticians, and programmers, and co-author a manuscript for publication. SLIM Summer Patient Safety Research Students will receive a $3,500 stipend for the summer. For more information about the SLIM Summer Patient Safety Research Intensive, please send correspondence to Ms. Jo Applebaum, Director of Research Science, Center for Patient Safety Research at [email protected].

4th Year Medical Students: Scholarly Projects in Patient Safety

Scholarly Projects in Patient Safety present Columbia University medical students a unique opportunity to expand their knowledge and skill set for conducting patient safety and health services research. Students interested in a Scholarly Project with the Center for Patient Safety Research will have the opportunity to join an existing patient safety research project, or develop a new project based on a recent adverse event, root cause analysis, or patient safety hazard observed during a clinical rotation. Students commit to 4 months of working on their project; the first 2 months (and preferably 3 months) need to be consecutive so students can be immersed in the team and project, under the supervision of Jason Adelman, MD, Executive Director of Patient Safety Research, Chief Patient Safety Officer, and Associate Chief Quality Officer at NYP/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The remaining months will be used for data analysis and writing a Capstone and possible research paper. For more information about the Patient Safety Scholarly Projects Program, please send correspondence to Ms. Jo Applebaum, Director of Research Science, Center for Patient Safety Research at [email protected].