Search

Background and Objectives: Medical students often see residents as the most important teachers on the wards. However, there is a relative lack of data on the qualities that medical students value in their resident teachers. We conducted a qualitative study to determine the teaching behaviors that medical students value in their resident teachers.Methods: Over a 1-year period, 28 medical students completed 115 open-ended written reflections about their educational experiences with residents at a single, university-affiliated, community-based family medicine residency program in San Jose, CA. Qualitative data were analyzed using the constant comparative method associated with grounded theory. Ten recurring themes were identified after triangulation with published literature.Results: When given the opportunity to make open-ended written reflections about the teaching abilities of their resident teachers, medical students most often commented on topics relevant to a "safe learning environment." More than one in four reflections were associated with this theme, and all were characterized as positive, suggesting that the ability to set a safe learning environment is a quality that medical students value in their resident teachers. In contrast, the least frequently occurring theme was "knowledge," suggesting that residents' fund of knowledge may not be as important as other qualities in the eyes of medical students.Conclusions: Our study adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that, from the medical students' perspective, a resident's fund of medical knowledge may not be as important as his/her ability to establish a supportive, safe, and nonthreatening environment to learn and practice medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Despite a growing demand for skilled clinician-educators, residents today rarely receive formal training in clinical teaching, curriculum development, administration, leadership, or educational scholarship. The authors describe the development, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of the O'Connor Stanford Leaders in Education Residency (OSLER) track, a novel clinician-educator track within the family medicine residency program affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine.Methods: In 2010, the OSLER track was introduced at O'Connor Hospital, a community hospital that houses an 8-8-8 family medicine residency program. Residents who are in good standing can apply to the track at the midpoint of their first postgraduate year. Residents are immersed in a flexible, experience-based, 2.5-year-long curriculum with hands-on teaching activities at its core. To foster skills in educational scholarship, track residents are required to design and complete a scholarly project.Results: A comprehensive evaluation plan is currently in progress. Preliminary data indicates high levels of satisfaction with the track's overall value, impact on core teaching skills, and effect on career trajectory. Residents gained more confidence in core teaching skills as they progressed through the track. Scholarly work output by residents has increased significantly since the track was implemented. The residency program has seen an increased interest from applicants since the track was started, with data suggesting that applicant quality has increased from the pre-track to post-track years.Conclusions: More research is needed to assess the effectiveness and reproducibility of this clinician-educator track. If proven, this model may be replicated at other academic medical centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: While the Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been shown to improve the care of patients with chronic illnesses, primary care physicians have been unprepared in its use, and residencies have encountered challenges in introducing it into the academic environment.Aim: Our residency program has implemented a diabetes management program modeled on the CCM to evaluate its impact on health outcomes of diabetic patients and educational outcomes of residents.Setting: University-affiliated, community-based family medicine residency program.Program Description: Six residents, two faculty clinicians, and clinic staff formed a diabetes management team. We redesigned the outpatient experience for diabetic patients by incorporating elements of the CCM: multidisciplinary team care through planned and group visits; creation of a diabetes registry; use of guidelines-based flow sheets; and incorporation of self-management goal-setting. Residents received extensive instruction in diabetes management, quality improvement, and patient self-management.Program Evaluation: We achieved overall improvement in all metabolic and process measures for patients, with the percentage achieving HbA1c, LDL, and BP goals simultaneously increasing from 5.7% to 17.1%. Educational outcomes for residents, as measured by compliance with review of provider performance reports and self-management goal-setting with patients, also significantly improved.Discussion: Through a learning collaborative experience, residency programs can successfully incorporate chronic care training for residents while addressing gaps in care for patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]