Working with External Education

“I strongly believe in the value of evidence-based medicine. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet. We, in academic medicine, need to maintain a firm, constant presence to combat rumors and hearsay, and to ensure that people get the real message. I am evangelical about diet and lifestyle for prevention and treatment of disease, and Harvard Health Publishing (HHP) helps me get the truth out there. HHP’s Harvard Health Blog is able to reach a wide audience, and I have been able to translate research studies for the general public in this way, thus reaching far, far more people than I ever could through my own practice or blog.

In March 2018, I was approached by Simon and Schuster. The publisher was looking for a physician author with writing credentials to work with them on a forthcoming book titled Healthy Habits for Your Heart. It is a meticulously researched, evidence-based diet and lifestyle change book.

Simon and Schuster found and vetted me through the blogging I do for HHP.  My blog posts essentially served as a book proposal and writing samples, ultimately helping me to land the book deal."

"I am a Clinical Endocrinologist and Investigator who has had a long interest in health care professional education, particularly in the field of diabetes. I worked at Joslin Diabetes Center for more than 20 years where I created the Latino Diabetes Initiative to help the Latino community in the fight against diabetes and where I directed many international professional education programs. I transitioned over a year ago to the Office for External Education where I found a great opportunity to build on my experience and work in education along with my passion to help underserved communities.

I currently serve as Faculty Director of International Innovation Programs and Faculty Director of Diabetes Education in the Office for External Education as well as Associate Scientist in the Division of Global Health Equity at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

I am so fortunate and excited to be leading the development and implementation of diabetes education programs domestically and internationally. This year, we held the first Harvard Medical School Diabetes Update CME course in Boston with tremendous success. We have also conducted blended (live and online) education programs in Asia and the Middle East. In addition, in December we will launch the Global Diabetes Leadership Program to be started in China.

The Office for External Education is a superb setting to impact the lives of many people around the world because of its mission, inspiring leadership team, collaborative environment and the team’s expertise in education."

“I am a general cardiologist by training, but also a clinical researcher and educator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Education is something I’ve always been passionate about—I think it was driven by my desire to always become a better clinician. When I teach, I learn. As I have developed as an educator, I’ve realized the best way to teach is through interactive and engaging content. I am not afraid to try new formats and methods of delivery. Through my work on postgraduate medical education offerings, I’ve been able to create and deliver cutting-edge cardiology education to trainees, educators and clinicians through live courses and web-based, on-demand content. 

In developing courses with the team, I have experienced a perfect marriage between the clinical knowledge and innovation of faculty, and the infrastructure, connections and global reach that Harvard offers. The team is very willing to experiment with new formats in pursuit of innovative learning. Their professionalism, technological expertise and overall support has helped tremendously. It has allowed me to reach beyond the walls of the hospital further than ever before.”

“In 2014, I received funding from the NIH to do a pilot study to test an intervention to improve the management of infections in patients with advanced dementia in nursing homes. As part of the intervention, I wanted to include an online learning course for nursing home doctors and nurses, so I approached the postgraduate medical education team at Harvard Medical School. Our partnership has flourished and grown. After the successful pilot study, we received funding to conduct a full randomized controlled trial for which we upgraded the online course with state-of-the art graphics and interactive features. The randomized clinical trial started in November 2017 and to date, more than 300 provider participants have completed the course to rave reviews. Additionally, the CME online course is open to doctors, nurses and health care professionals at large, with participants from around the world. One of the huge benefits of integrating a research study with an online learning course is the sustainability and longevity of the intervention post-trial. We are hopeful that the results from our study will show that these types of educational models can improve patient care and have long-lasting outcomes.

The postgraduate medical education team has been exceptionally supportive and generous with their expertise, time and staff. The trial would simply not have been possible without their help and insight. The online course we designed exceeded my expectations—from the way the course content is designed and presented to how the site functions for the end user. I would recommend all of my research colleagues to consider working with External Education for studies that require similar interventions. The exciting collaboration helps move both clinical research and online health education forward.”