Insights April 2012
Great tool for survey researchers!
Connectionism and education - theory meets practice in team-based learning?
Qualtrics is a survey tool available for free through HMS.
All you need is your HMS login and you have access to a sophisticated, flexible survey software program. Qualtrics allows you to build surveys with complex designs, skip logic, matrix-type items, and the like--all the functionality you need for professional-looking, high quality surveys. You can also use Qualtrics to distribute your survey and send reminders to participants. The company that developed Qualtrics has an excellent website with lots of resources for learning the ins and outs of this system. Click here to get started with a guide. Try it out and contact Amy Sullivan, Associate Director of Research at the Academy, if you have questions.
From the Medical Education Literature: Value of cross-disciplinary learning & teaching
Pimmer C, et al. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2012 Feb 1. [Epub ahead of print]
(Please note: In order to view the resource above, you must be logged into eCommons in a separate tab in the same browser window in order to view).
Instructions to view password protected resources
Press CTRL+T to open a new tab
Log into eCommons in that new tab
Click on the resource you wish to view
If you are logged in as instructed, the article will pop up. If you are not logged in as instructed, you will receive an error message.
The authors study how communication and cooperation between physicians across departmental boundaries impacts the residents' learning and competence development. They conclude that cooperation/consensus between consultants about complex patient cases facilitates not only inter-disciplinary but also intra-disciplinary learning.
Update from the Academy Interest Groups
News from the Critical Thinking Interest Group
The Critical Thinking Interest Group is in what some might describe as "Stage 3" of its activities. Stage 1 was mostly conceptual. It involved a robust discussion of what critical thinking is and is not (see Ed Krupat's article: Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking (note: eCommons login required)) ; how it relates to other concepts such as diagnostic reasoning, adaptive expertise, and metacognition; and a broad-based discussion of how one encourages critical thinking in the classroom and the bedside. The highlight of Stage 2 involved was Medical Education Day 2011 focused on Critical Thinking. Spearheaded by Drs. David Roberts and Keith Baker, the highly successful day featured a thought-provoking talk by Mark Quirk, EdD of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and several skills-based workshops on getting students and clinicians to practice critical thinking at all stages of their careers (click here to view streaming video of Dr. Quirk's talk). Stage 3 involves further efforts to turn theory into practice. Additional faculty development programs offered by the Academy this coming year (click here to view all upcoming Academy events) will include both plenary discussions and hands-on workshops about such topics as strategies to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking; peer observation with a focus on feedback about critical thinking; and the use of concept mapping for purposes of instruction and assessment.
New ways to Utilize Medical Education journals
Academic Medicine now has an iPad format
Click here to download the Academic Medicine iPad app from the iTunes store.
Medical Educator now has an interactive blog
The new blog, titled "Conversations with Medical Educators," offers moderated threaded discussions that stem from the articles and content on the Medical Educator homepage. e-Editor Joshua Jacobs MD invites you to participate by "accessing and adding to the journals’ content through the continuously-expanding methods being modeled, suggested, and implemented by the global medical education community."
Looking out for Dr. Number 1: Resilience and Renewal for Medical Educators
The Resilient Clinician by Robert Wicks (Oxford Press) is written with mental health professionals in mind but applies to all clinicians. It is an astute reflection on patient related stressors and most helpful
advice for clinicians and their wellness.
The website MindTools.com is also rich with info about time management and many other relevant matters of interest to the overwhelmed of the world.
Additional contributions and new feature, "Why I Teach."
We are grateful for all the ideas, links and suggestions we have received - thank you and please keep them coming!
Academy Insights also now welcomes submissions of personal reflections (up to 750 words) on the topic, "Why I Teach." We will present a subset of these with future editions of Academy Insights.