This presentation will discuss the challenges of applying evidence-based medicine and best practice guidelines into clinical practice and how quality improvement methods can be used to facilitate implementing these changes efficiently and safely while monitoring outcomes in a meaningful way.

1. Understand how to apply quality improvement methods to build quality improvement projects.
2. Review the differences and similarities between research and quality improvement.
3. Discuss how to use common quality improvement tools, including Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, and their utility in practice.
4. Differentiate between run charts and control charts and how to use them in quality improvement research.
5. Become familiar with SQUIRE guidelines for quality improvement research.

Dr. Erin Maetzold is a third-year fellow at the University of Iowa. She completed medical school at the University of North Dakota and OB/GYN residency at TriHealth in Cincinnati, OH. Dr. Maetzold completed a 1-year quality improvement fellowship at TriHealth following residency. During her fellowship, she completed the Intermediate Improvement Science Series at The James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence in Cincinnati, OH and has attended ACOG's Quality and Safety for Leaders in Women's Health Care conference and the Safety Project Collaborative.

Dr. Maetzold has worked on the OB/GYN Quality Assurance committee at TriHealth and is a current member of the Gynecology Quality Committee at the University of Iowa.