SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Journey to a Safe Discharge Resident Workshop

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This project, “Journey to a Safe Discharge,” addressed a gap in internal medicine resident education at Memorial Hermann Hospital/UT Health Houston: residents were well trained in diagnosis and treatment but had limited structured teaching on safe discharge planning and transitions of care.<br /><br />To improve this, the team created a monthly, multidisciplinary, 1-hour small-group workshop. It used five interactive stations led by key discharge stakeholders, including service line leadership, hospitalists, operations, social work, case management, pharmacy, and discharge coordinators. Residents worked through clinical vignettes, Q&A, and teach-back style questions focused on topics such as escalation of care, discharge disposition, communication, medication reconciliation, and discharge resources.<br /><br />From June 2024 to February 2026, 188 interns, residents, and advanced practice providers participated. Pre- and post-workshop surveys used a 5-point Likert scale to assess comfort across 12 discharge-related domains. The weighted average comfort score improved from 3.28 before the workshop to 4.21 afterward, with all individual domain improvements statistically significant (p < 0.001). Notable gains were seen in areas such as understanding post-discharge care levels, IV antibiotic discharges, communication at multidisciplinary discharge rounds, Hi-FIVE and whiteboard communication, floor vs. IMU criteria, escalation of care, discharge medication review, meds-to-beds, transition coordinators, and available discharge resources.<br /><br />The program was well received, with 90% of participants wanting the monthly workshop to continue. The authors conclude that interactive, recurring, multidisciplinary workshops are more effective than traditional lectures or handouts for building practical discharge skills and improving confidence in safe transitions of care. Future plans include more complex scenarios, expansion to other residency programs, and integration of EMR-based support and AI tools.

Asset Subtitle

Jeffrey Chen

Meta Tag

Author List Alexandra Cao, Amee Amin, Andreea S. Xavier, Benjamin Clark, Erin Anderson, Frances Jaime, Georges Labaze, Hamzah Abduljabar, Jeffrey Chen, Jillian L. Smith, Katie Wong, Kim Vu, Michael Boyars, Raymond Thai, Takiya Shahan, Taylor Hopper, Vinita Akula

Category Innovations

Concept Inpatient Discharge

Concept Communication

Concept Escalation of Care

Concept Disposition Planning

Concept Multidisciplinary Team

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center and UT Health Houston

Presenting Author Jeffrey Chen

Track Education

Keywords

safe discharge

transitions of care

internal medicine residency

multidisciplinary workshop

resident education

discharge planning

medication reconciliation

case management

hospital discharge

patient safety

Inpatient Discharge

Communication

Escalation of Care

Disposition Planning

Multidisciplinary Team