Supporting Medical Education Research Quality: The Association of American Medical Collegesʼ Medical Education Research Certificate Program

Abstract

The quality of the medical education research (MER) reported in the literature has been frequently criticized. Numerous reasons have been provided for these shortcomings, including the level of research training and experience of many medical school faculty. The faculty development required to improve MER can take various forms. This article describes the Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) program, a national faculty development program that focuses exclusively on MER. Sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and led by a committee of established medical education researchers from across the United States, the MERC program is built on a set of 11 interactive workshops offered at various times and places across the United States. MERC participants can customize the program by selecting six workshops from this set to fulfill requirements for certification. This article describes the history, operations, current organization, and evaluation of the program. Key elements of the program's success include alignment of program content and focus with needs identified by prospective users, flexibility in program organization and logistics to fit participant schedules, an emphasis on practical application of MER principles in the context of the participants' activities and interests, consistency in program content and format to ensure standards of quality, and a sustainable financial model. The relationship between the national MERC program and local faculty development initiatives is also described. The success of the MERC program suggests that it may be a possible model for nationally disseminated faculty development programs in other domains.

Faculty Development in Medical Education Research

“…29 As a product of that successful program, Dr. Jeff Love and the MERC Steering Committee developed the MERC at CORD Scholar's Program (MCSP), sponsoring the inaugural session in 2009. 30,31 The benefits and expected outcomes of the MCSP are: 1) to promote a cadre of trained education researchers in EM, 2) foster the establishment of a research community network, 3) create projects with a multi-institutional dimension, and 4) develop an academic culture that rewards scholarship in education.…”

Survey and analysis of the current state of residency training in medical-school-affiliated hospitals in China

“…Government authorities should establish a special institution to conduct periodic reviews of training objectives, training programs and content, training conditions, training methods, and assessment criteria and make the appropriate changes and adjustments based on identified needs. Such measures will enable residency training to keep pace with the times [13,14]. …”

O Ensino da Psicologia em Medicina: Contexto, Metodologias e Identidade do Médico

“…[13][14][15] The incorporation of new communication technologies, the standardizing of curricula, but in a flexible mode, with further development of research on medical education, are presented as unavoidable necessities. 16,17 The planning and development of the curricular model with the acronym SPICES, summarized, more than three decades ago, the educational strategies to be implemented in the medical curriculum: Student-centred, Problem-based, Integrated, Community-based, Elective and Systematic. 18 Recently, other models place the patient at the centre of the efforts developed by medical schools, to align the educational and clinical contexts in pre-graduate and graduate education.…”