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Author: Brian S McGowan, PhD

ABSTRACT: Bringing continuing medical education to the bedside: The university of California, San Francisco Hospitalist Mini-College

INTRODUCTION:
As a relatively new generalist specialty, hospitalists must acquire new competencies that may not have been taught during their training years. Continuing medical education (CME) has traditionally been a mechanism to meet training needs but often fails to apply adult learning principles and fulfill current demands.
METHODS:
We developed an innovative 3-day course called the University of California, San Francisco Hospitalist Mini-College (UHMC) that brings adult learners to the bedside for small-group learning focused on content areas relevant to today’s hospitalists. The program was built on a structure of 4 clinical domains and 2 clinical skills labs. Sessions about patient safety and immersion into traditional academic learning vehicles, such as morning report and a morbidity and mortality conference, were also included. Participants completed a precourse survey and a postcourse evaluation.
RESULTS:
Over 5 years, 152 participants enrolled and completed the program; 91% completed the pre-UHMC survey and 89% completed the postcourse evaluation. Overall, participants rated the quality of the UHMC course highly (4.65; 1-5 scale). Ninety-eight percent of UHMC participants (n = 57) in 2011 to 2012 reported a “high” or “definite” likelihood to change practice, higher than the 78% reported by the 11,447 participants in other UCSF CME courses during the same time period.
DISCUSSION:
The UHMC successfully brought participants to an academic health center for a participatory, hands-on, and small-group learning experience that was highly rated. A shift of CME from a hotel conference room to the bedside is feasible, valued by participants, and offers a new paradigm for how to maintain and improve hospitalist competencies

via Bringing continuing medical education to the beds… [J Hosp Med. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: e-Professionalism: a new frontier in medical education

BACKGROUND:This article, prepared by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Undergraduate Medical Education Committee, discusses the evolving challenges facing medical educators posed by social media and a new form of professionalism that has been termed e-professionalism.SUMMARY:E-professionalism is defined as the attitudes and behaviors that reflect traditional professionalism paradigms but are manifested through digital media. One of the major functions of medical education is professional identity formation; e-professionalism is an essential and increasingly important element of professional identity formation, because the consequences of violations of e-professionalism have escalated from academic sanctions to revocation of licensure.CONCLUSION:E-professionalism should be included in the definition, teaching, and evaluation of medical professionalism. Curricula should include a positive approach for the proper professional use of social media for learners.

via e-Professionalism: a new frontier in medical… [Teach Learn Med. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

RESOURCE: 5 Intuitions about Adaptive Learning Platforms

Intuition 1: Adaptive Learning Platforms Will Prove to Be the Most Significant Learning Advance Over the Next Decade:

Looking back on the edtech landscape in 2025 we will remember the last 12 years as a story dominated by the growth of adaptive learning and the associated analytics that these platforms make possible. MOOCs will be an interesting blip, but not the real story.

Mobile learning, and the rapid growth of postsecondary students in the emerging economies will be important trends, but these developments will also have an important adaptive learning component. Most adaptive learning will take place on mobile devices, and very quickly most of this mobile adaptive learning will take place in emerging economies.

Intuition 2: Adaptive Learning and Analytics Are Inseperable and Mutually Reinforcing Trends:

The real story of adaptive learning platforms are data.

The data enables the systems to dynamically offer new learning pathways and different content types to students.

via 5 Intuitions about Adaptive Learning Platforms | Inside Higher Ed.

ABSTRACT: YouTube and inflammatory bowel disease

Background and aims Nearly half of all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) use the Internet as a source of information for their disease. We analyzed the source, content and accuracy of IBD videos found on YouTube – one of the most popular websites in the United States – and assessed the demographic variables of the viewers.
METHODS:
The 100 most viewed videos with relevant information on IBD were analyzed. We included only English language videos that were less than 20 min in length and primarily focused on IBD. Those with no sound/poor sound quality were excluded. More than 30 variables were analyzed.
RESULTS:
Adults of 45-54 years old (95.1%) comprised the most common age group of viewers. Forty-eight percent of videos focused on Crohn’s disease (CD), 32.0% on ulcerative colitis (UC), and 20.0% on both. Overall content for patient education was poor. Videos discussing alternative treatment options were more likely to depict patients’ personal experience (73.9% vs. 2.4%) (p<0.001) and be an advertisement compared to patient education videos (78.3% vs. 0) (p<0.001). Videos discussing patient education had a higher number of favorites (mean 25.0 vs. 5.5) (p<0.001), comments (mean 22.0 vs. 5.0) (p<0.022) and “likes” (mean 19.0 vs. 9.0) (p=0.025) than the ones discussing alternative treatment options.
CONCLUSIONS:
YouTube videos on IBD are popular but a poor source of patient education. Healthcare providers and professional societies should provide more educational materials using this powerful Internet tool to counteract the misleading information, especially for the targeted age group (45-54 years).

via YouTube and inflammatory bowel disease. [J Crohns Colitis. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: Encouraging new doctors to do medical education research

Background:  An academic foundation programme in medical education may allow junior medical trainees to gain experience in teaching and medical education research. After 2 years, three trainees will have completed the programme, and three more will be halfway through it. The authors explore problems encountered and how trainees maximised their experience, helping to inform future planning. Summary of work:  Semi-structured group discussions covering trainees’ experiences were conducted in the summer of 2011. All six trainees in the programme participated. Summary of results:  Both site-specific and general issues were raised, most of which were dealt with in a pragmatic fashion. The trainees’ goals and subsequent achievements varied. Important factors for trainees and those supervising them, and the organisation of the programme, are discussed. Conclusions:  Our experience is that an academic foundation programme in medical education can be successful. This requires collaboration between trainees and supervisors. Take-home message:  The role of the academic supervisor in medical education research is key, but those involved in the practicalities of helping trainees maintain their protected research time is just as important.

via Encouraging new doctors to do medical education r… [Clin Teach. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: Social networks, web-based tools and diseases: implications for biomedical research

Advances in information technology have improved our ability to gather, collect and analyze information from individuals online. Social networks can be seen as a nonlinear superposition of a multitude of complex connections between people where the nodes represent individuals and the links between them capture a variety of different social interactions. The emergence of different types of social networks has fostered connections between individuals, thus facilitating data exchange in a variety of fields. Therefore, the question posed now is “can these same tools be applied to life sciences in order to improve scientific and medical research?” In this article, I will review how social networks and other web-based tools are changing the way we approach and track diseases in biomedical research.

via Social networks, web-based tools and disea… [Drug Discov Today. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

MANUSCRIPT: Simulation based education – models for teaching surgical skills in general practice

BACKGROUND:
Simulation based education is an accepted method of teaching procedural skills in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. There is an increasing need for developing authentic simulation models for use in general practice training.
OBJECTIVE:
This article describes the preparation of three simulation models to teach general practice registrars basic surgical skills, including excision of a sebaceous cyst and debridement and escharectomy of chronic wounds.
DISCUSSION:
The role of deliberate practise in improving performance of procedural skills with simulation based education is well established. The simulation models described are inexpensive, authentic and can be easily prepared. They have been used in general practice education programs with positive feedback from participants and could potentially be used as in-practice teaching tools by general practitioner supervisors. Importantly, no simulation can exactly replicate the actual clinical situation, especially when complications arise. It is important that registrars are provided with adequate supervision when initially applying these surgical skills to patients.

via Simulation based education – models for t… [Aust Fam Physician. 2012] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: How to teach medication management: a review of novel educational materials in geriatrics

Medication management is an important component of medical education, particularly in the field of geriatrics. The Association of American Medical Colleges has put forth 26 minimum geriatrics competencies under eight domains for graduating medical students; medication management is one of these domains. The Portal of Geriatric Online education (www.POGOe.org) is an online public repository of geriatrics educational materials and modules developed by geriatrics educators and academicians in the United States, freely available for use by educators and learners in the field. The three POGOe materials presented in this review showcase pearls of medication management for medical and other professional students in novel learning formats that can be administered without major prior preparation. The review compares and contrasts the three materials in descriptive and tabular formats to enable its appropriate use by educators in promoting self-learning or group learning among their learners.

via How to teach medication management: a revie… [J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: On the role of biomedical knowledge in the acquisition of clinical knowledge

CONTEXT:
Basic science teaching in undergraduate medical education faces several challenges. One prominent discussion is focused on the relevance of biomedical knowledge to the development and integration of clinical knowledge. Although the value of basic science knowledge is generally emphasised, theoretical positions on the relative role of this knowledge and the optimal approach to its instruction differ. The present paper addresses whether and to what extent biomedical knowledge is related to the development of clinical knowledge.
METHODS:
We analysed repeated-measures data for performances on basic science and clinical knowledge assessments. A sample of 598 medical students on a traditional curriculum participated in the study. The entire study covered a developmental phase of 2 years of medical education. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the temporal relationship between biomedical knowledge and the acquisition of clinical knowledge.
RESULTS:
At the point at which formal basic science education ends and clinical training begins, students show the highest levels of biomedical knowledge. The present data suggest a decline in basic science knowledge that is complemented by a growth in clinical knowledge. Statistical comparison of several structural equation models revealed that the model to best explain the data specified unidirectional relationships between earlier states of biomedical knowledge and subsequent changes in clinical knowledge. However, the parameter estimates indicate that this association is negative.
DISCUSSION:
Our analysis suggests a negative relationship between earlier levels of basic science knowledge and subsequent gains in clinical knowledge. We discuss the limitations of the present study, such as the educational context in which it was conducted and its non-experimental nature. Although the present results do not necessarily contradict the relevance of basic sciences, we speculate on mechanisms that might be related to our findings. We conclude that our results hint at possibly critical issues in basic science education that have been rarely addressed thus far.

via On the role of biomedical knowledge in the acquisit… [Med Educ. 2013] – PubMed – NCBI.

ABSTRACT: How residents learn predicts success in surgical residency

BACKGROUND:Predictors of success in surgical residency have been poorly understood. Previous studies have related prior performance to future success without consideration of personal attributes that help an individual succeed. Surgical educators should consider how residents learn to gain insight into early identification of residents at risk of failing to complete their surgical training.METHODS:We examined our 14-year database of surgical resident learning-style assessments, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education operative log data of graduating residents from 1999 to 2012, first time pass rates on the American Board of Surgery Qualifying and Certifying examinations, and departmental records to identify those residents who did not complete their surgery training at our institution. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and regression analysis with significance set at p < 0.05.RESULTS:We analyzed 441 learning-style assessments from 130 residents. Surgical residents are predominantly action-based learners, with converging 219, 49.7% and accommodating 112, 25.4% being the principal learning styles. Assimilating 66, 15% and diverging 44, 10% learning styles, where an individual learns by observation, were less common. Regression analysis comparing learning style with case volume revealed that residents who are action-based learners completed more cases at graduation p < 0.05 for each. Additionally, surgical residents who transferred to a nonsurgical residency or nonphysician field were more likely to learn by observation p = 0.0467.CONCLUSIONS:Surgical residents are predominantly action-based learners. However, a subset of surgical residents learn primarily by observation. These residents are at risk for a less robust operative experience and not completing surgical training. Learning-style analysis may be utilized by surgical educators to identify the potential at-risk residents in general surgery.

via How residents learn predicts success in … [J Surg Educ. 2013 Nov-Dec] – PubMed – NCBI.