The Distinction in Medical Education develops residents’ skills in teaching, assessment, and curriculum development to prepare them to be future clinician-educators regardless of their future career plans. This distinction program includes a combination of asynchronous self-directed learning activities, in-person group sessions, and practical teaching opportunities to develop residents’ knowledge and skills.
Program Objectives
After completing this program, residents should be able to:
- Select appropriate instructional strategies for a clinical or classroom teaching session based on their knowledge of medical education theory
- Analyze a learner’s performance in the clinical or classroom setting and provide them with behavioral feedback
- Develop, deliver, and iteratively improve an educational session using Kern’s six-step method of curriculum development.
- Describe their future plans for incorporating medical education into their careers and identify career development opportunities that they wish to pursue
Program Components
Residents interested in this distinction join formal coursework in July of their second year of residency. During this year, they have protected educational time to complete a curriculum introducing them to foundational concepts in learning theory, teaching, assessment, and curriculum development. During their third year, they have the opportunity to teach and mentor second-year residents in addition to practical teaching opportunities.
PGY-2 Curriculum
Residents complete an experiential curriculum that involves asynchronous preparation (e.g., readings, videos, podcasts, etc.) and experiential small group activities (e.g., discussion, observation and feedback, role play, etc.). Topics covered within the curriculum include:
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Setting expectations
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Learning climate and psychological safety
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Teaching and assessing clinical reasoning
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Delivering feedback
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Teaching in the clinical setting
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Large group teaching (e.g., lecture)
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Small group teaching (e.g., problem-based learning, team-based learning)
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Assessment in the clinical setting
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Assessment in the classroom setting
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Bias in assessment
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Science of learning and educational theory
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Curriculum development and evaluation
Third-year residents have the option to develop and/or lead sessions within this curriculum.
Practical Teaching Experiences
All residents within the distinction program develop, lead, and receive feedback on the following teaching sessions at least once during their residency:
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Student report: A small group case-based teaching session for third-year medical students on their internal medicine rotation
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Noon conference: A one-hour lecture or workshop on any topic that is delivered to students, residents, and faculty members during the resident’s PGY-3 year
In addition, residents within the distinction are offered other optional formal teaching opportunities such as leading lectures or small group sessions within the internal medicine and adult primary care clerkships, observing and grading medical student observed structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), co-developing a residency core conference session, co-developing/co-leading elective courses within the medical school capstone course, bedside teaching, and mentoring students and residents.
Medical Education Seminar Series
Optional bi-monthly virtual or in-person workshops, lectures, or panel discussions cover additional topics within medical education. This series is meant to expose residents to potential mentors in medical education, cover topics in career development (e.g., negotiation, developing a teaching portfolio, etc.), and introduce “hot topics” in medical education with internal and external guest speakers.
Additional Opportunities
Residents interested in learning more about educational research and scholarship have the option to pursue an educational research curriculum during their elective months and complete a mentored medical education scholarly project.