Background:Learning communities (LCs) are intentionally designed groups that are actively engaged in learning with and from each other. While gaining prominence in US medical schools, LCs show significant variability in their characteristics across institutions, creating uncertainty about how best to measure their effects.Objective:The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of medical school LCs by primary purpose, structures, and processes and lay the groundwork for future outcome studies and benchmarking for best practices.Methods:Medical school LC directors from programs affiliated with the Learning Communities Institute (LCI) were sent an online survey of program demographics and activities, and asked to upload a program description or summary of the LC’s purpose, goals, and how it functions. Descriptive statistics were computed for survey responses and a qualitative content analysis was performed on program descriptions by 3 authors to identify and categorize emergent themes.Results:Of 28 medical school LCs surveyed, 96% (27) responded, and 25 (89%) provided program descriptions for qualitative content analysis. All programs reported longitudinal relationships between students and faculty. Most frequently cited objectives were advising or mentoring (100%), professional development (96%), courses (96%), social activities (85%), and wellness (82%). Primary purpose themes were supporting students’ professional development, fostering a sense of community, and creating a sense of wholeness. Structures included a community framework, subdivisions into smaller units, and governance by faculty and students. Process themes included longitudinal relationships, integrating faculty roles, and connecting students across class years.Conclusions:Medical school LCs represent a collection of high-impact educational practices characterized by community and small-group structures, relational continuity, and collaborative learning as a means to guide and holistically support students in their learning and development as physicians. In describing 27 medical school LCs, this study proposes a unifying framework to facilitate future educational outcomes studies across institutions.
A DST systematizing the relief process for anesthesiology residents was associated with a lower frequency of residents working beyond 5:30 PM in the OR on 2 consecutive days. The DST improved the perceived ability to make equitable relief decisions by on-call senior residents and residents being relieved. Success with this tool allows for broader applications in resident education, enabling enhanced monitoring of resident experiences and support for OR assignment decisions.
The authors plan to integrate specific medical education competencies into the program, which will require MD-MEd students to develop and demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills expected of dedicated medical educators. Graduates' career trajectories will be tracked to explore whether they become medical educators, conduct educational research, and assume leadership positions.
Introduction: A vital element of health care practice is evidence-based medicine, the explicit and judicious use of current, best-available evidence in making decisions about the individualized care of patients. With the use of evidence-based medicine continually increasing in clinical practice, medical schools are charged with ensuring graduates are prepared to appropriately access, appraise, and utilize clinical evidence, highlighting the need for a corresponding assessment tool. However, assessing evidencebased practice remains a challenging endeavor for medical educators. Few assessment tools capture students' ability to apply information resources in order to answer a targeted question during a medical encounter. Methods: We describe a triple-jump assessment design where students access evidence, appraise information at hand, and apply it to formulate a treatment plan during an observed structured clinical encounter (OSCE). Results: One hundred and five clerkship students participated in one of two OSCE scenarios. Data from this exercise underwent descriptive statistical analysis, including mean performance scores and confidence scores, and showed that accuracy and confidence in providing evidence-based care improved after the search and appraisal period. Discussion: The addition of a modified triple-jump assessment to the end of the OSCE experience not only creates a more authentic experience but also allows for assessment and development of student metacognitive skills within the domain of knowledge gap assessment. The ease of integrating this assessment into the structure of an already-developed OSCE allows for different types of assessment to be achieved without writing entirely new OSCE cases, but rather by modifying existing scenarios.
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