I am excited to be the GME Chief Resident for Quality and Safety for this academic year! Originally from Singapore, I then moved to Dallas, TX, but have been in Durham for the past 7 years. I came to Duke for Med-Peds residency and haven’t left, staying for an Internal Medicine chief resident year and now working as a pulmonary and critical care fellow.
I was first introduced to quality improvement and patient safety during residency where I conducted a project to improve rates of Hepatitis B vaccination in our newborn nursery. Through this, I experienced the thrill of seeing real-world improvements in the care we provide our patients through the implementation of simple interventions, and I knew then that I wanted QI to be a part of my career.
Following residency, I served as one of the internal medicine chief residents, focusing on quality improvement and patient safety. In this role, I led projects to improve metered-dose inhaler use for inpatients and improve discharge medication reconciliation for patients with heart failure. I also pioneered a new rotation for internal medicine residents to learn about triage in the hospital and gain experience conducting improvement projects. I took these experiences into fellowship where I have been engaged with multiple initiatives in our medical ICU as well as improving lung cancer screening at the VA and working on a project to use AI to improve sleep for patients in the ICU.
Through all my experiences, I have gained a great appreciation for how QI methodology can improve the care we deliver to patients and play a fundamental role in ensuring safety for our patients. The GME CRQS role is a unique opportunity for me to further develop and formalize my knowledge and skills in these areas. I also hope to use this role to engage more residents and fellows in QI and patient safety and maybe inspire them to incorporate this in their careers as well!
Govind Krishnan, MD
GME Chief Resident for Quality and Safety, 2023-2024
Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow
Duke University Hospital