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Background: Transitional care interventions have been associated with reduced 30-day patient readmission, better quality of health care, and lower emergency department visits and health care costs. Local Problem: Transition Services at a major quaternary care center was underutilized by patients who were referred to the program. Methods: A pre-/postimplementation evaluation design was used to evaluate a quality improvement intervention. Intervention: A face-to-face meeting between eligible patients and a Transition Services provider prior to patients being discharged from the hospital was evaluated as a process improvement intervention. The primary outcome was initial appointment attendance at the Transition Services clinic following hospital discharge. Results: There was no statistically significant difference (P = .59) in patients' initial appointment attendance at Transition Services between the preintervention (48.1%) and intervention phases (54.8%). Conclusion: Provider engagement during hospitalization did not increase initial appointment attendance at Transition Services. Other strategies to improve Transition Services attendance rates are needed.

Many hospitals across the country have postgraduate fellowship programs for nurse practitioners and physician assistants. An important aspect of these programs is a scholarly project focused on patient outcomes. However, many fellows lack the experience and skills necessary to complete a scholarly project. This article presents a scholarly project curriculum with relevant information for nurses in professional development as they equip learners with the knowledge, structure, and support necessary to produce high-quality scholarly work.

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