Medical students are potential resources for ambulatory primary care practices if learning goals can align with clinical
needs. The authors introduced a quality improvement (QI) curriculum in the ambulatory clinical rotation that matched
student learning expectations with practice needs. In 2016-2017, 128 students were assigned to academic, university
affiliated, community health, and private practices. Student project measures were matched with appropriate outcome
measures on monthly practice dashboards. Binomial mixed effects models were used to model QI measures. For
university collaborative practices with student involvement, the estimated odds of a patient being screened for breast
cancer in March 2017 was approximately 2 times greater than in 2016. This odds ratio was 36.2% greater than the
comparable odds ratio for collaborative practices without student involvement (95% confidence interval = 22.7% to
51.2% greater). When student curriculum and assignments align with practice needs, practice metrics improve and
students contribute to improvements in real-world settings