My name is Zach Christopher and I am a PGY-4 orthopedic surgery resident. I am thrilled to be able to attend this AELPS course. I have always held an interest in quality improvement and patient safety. Since starting residency, I have been fortunate to be involved on a few QI projects that have led to practice changes for our department. Most of them have focused on cost and quality, but I am eager to expand my knowledge of patient safety in health care. I believe orthopedics has great potential to improve in patient safety, particularly in procedures where techniques can be standardized. I will be doing a fellowship in 2023 in adult hip and knee reconstruction, and I think this subspecialty is a great opportunity to implement changes in patient safety. Things like standardized procedures and protocols, outcome tracking and reporting, and the utilization of “big data” to influence decision-making are all possible due to the consistency and reproducibility of total joint replacements. I am looking forward to an exciting week at the AELPS course an hope to be able to bring back useful tools and knowledge to implement departmental improvements as an advocate for patient safety in orthopedics.
