Integrating innovation as a core objective in medical training

A Novel Design-Thinking, Hospital Innovation Core Certificate Curriculum for Radiologists and Trainees: Creation, Implementation, and Multiyear Results

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Innovation is a crucial skill for physicians and researchers, yet traditional medical education does not provide instruction or experience to cultivate an innovative mindset. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a novel course implemented in an academic radiology department training program over a 5-year period designed to educate future radiologists on the fundamentals of medical innovation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A pre- and post-course survey and examination were administered to residents who participated in the innovation course (MESH Core) from 2018 to 2022. Respondents were first evaluated on their subjective comfort level, understanding, and beliefs on innovation-related topics using a 5-point Likert-scale survey. Respondents were also administered a 21-question multiple-choice exam to test their objective knowledge of innovation-related topics.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight residents participated in the survey (response rate 95%). Resident understanding, comfort and belief regarding innovation-related topics improved significantly (P < .0001) on all nine Likert-scale questions after the course. After the course, a significant majority of residents either agreed or strongly agreed that technological innovation should be a core competency for the residency curriculum, and that a workshop to prototype their ideas would be beneficial. Performance on the course exam showed significant improvement (48% vs 86%, P < .0001). The overall course experience was rated 5 out of 5 by all participants.

CONCLUSION

MESH Core demonstrates long-term success in educating future radiologists on the basic concepts of medical technological innovation. Years later, residents used the knowledge and experience gained from MESH Core to successfully pursue their own inventions and innovative projects. This innovation model may serve as an approach for other institutions to implement training in this domain.

Medical Student Enrollment in a Voluntary Medical Innovation Course

Background

There is an increasing need for medical innovators to help address the growing challenges within health care. Despite this, the rate of adoption of new medical innovation programs at the United States (US) medical schools has been slow. Existing literature explaining this slow rate of adoption is scant. We examined the rate of student enrollment in a voluntary medical innovation course during an unscheduled summer at our institution and the educational backgrounds of these enrollees.

Methods

This mixed qualitative and quantitative survey study comprised consecutive surveys quantifying a two-stage sign-up process for a voluntary summer medical innovation course for Medical Doctorate (MD) candidates at the David Geffen School of Medicine. After a "General interest" survey, interested students completed an "Enrollment" survey to indicate enrollment, educational background, and open-ended comment about motivations for enrollment. Surveys were administered electronically via email listservs. Statistical methods included chi squared testing with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05.

Findings

A total of 12% of UCLA Class of 2024 expressed an interest in participation in the program, and 10.3% ultimately enrolled. Enrollees were motivated primarily by the opportunity to learn about medical innovation (72%) and also shadow (28%). Enrollees were similar in undergraduate degrees and majors to the general medical student class and US MD candidate population.

Conclusion

A lack of medical student willingness to participate may not underlie the observed slow rate of adoption of medical innovation programs at US MD programs given the observed high voluntary enrollment rate. Enrollee educational background did not differ significantly from non-enrollees or the broader US MD candidate population. Educators should be encouraged by these data to explore student willingness to participate in medical innovation education at their institutions.

Justice and Innovation in Radiology

Imaging is a central determinant of health outcomes, and radiologic disparities can cascade throughout a patient's illness course. Innovative efforts in radiology are constant, but innovation that is driven by short-term profit-making incentives without explicit regard for principles of justice can lead to exclusion of the vulnerable from potential benefits and widening of inequities. Accordingly, we must consider the ways in which the field of radiology can shape innovative efforts to ensure that innovation ameliorates injustice instead of exacerbating it. The authors propose a distinction between approaches to innovation that prioritize justice and those that do not. The authors argue that the field's institutional incentives should be adjusted to prioritize forms of innovation that are likely to ameliorate imaging inequities, and they provide examples of initial steps that can be taken to make these adjustments. The authors propose the term justice-oriented innovation as a way of describing forms of innovation that are motivated by reducing injustice and can reasonably be expected to do so.

Innovating on innovation training with the Virtual Magic Wand (VMW) program: a qualitative study

To identify and solve unmet needs and bring new therapies to patients, clinicians at all levels must engage in innovation. The Magic Wand Initiative, a program based at Massachusetts General Hospital-Wellman Center for Photomedicine, created a 10-months course called the Virtual Magic Wand (VMW) program that is a curriculum that teaches the biomedical innovation pathway to dermatologists and engages them in this creative process. This study aims to identify the impact of the VMW program on participants and consider the potential benefits of an innovation curriculum. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews in which alumni of the VMW program were asked about their experiences with innovation before, during, and after the program. Using grounded theory methodology, data were analyzed using deductive coding methods. The most cited benefit of the program was the opportunity to network (n = 12, 100%)-specifically, the mentorship opportunities (n = 10, 83%) and specialty-specific peer groups (n = 9, 75%). Other benefits included a change in mindset regarding their clinical work (n = 11, 92%) and learning the process of innovation (83%). Among barriers, lack of time (n = 7, 58%), knowledge (n = 6, 50%), and resources (n = 5, 42%), were the most mentioned. All alumni interviewed have stayed engaged in the field of biomedical innovation after their completion of the VMW program. These findings show that the VMW program positively impacted the lives and careers of participants. This study identified some of the systemic reasons that deter physicians from regularly engaging in innovation and provides guidance for how to design other innovation programs and further support the advancement of medicine.

Innovate a Standard for the Future Model of Nursing Care at Medical-Surgical Units in Najran University

Aim

Innovate a standard for the future model of nursing care at medical-surgical units in Najran University through a training program for the standard of the future model evaluation on studied nurses' knowledge, attitude about innovation standards, and innovative behavior among nurses.

Methods

A quasi-experimental research was used to achieve the study's goal; the research was carried out at Najran University Hospital at Najran, in the medical and surgical units, as well as outpatient clinics. The sample is a convenience type; 100 nurses were used. Tool. A structured questionnaire sheet was used for data collection that includes nurses' knowledge, attitude, and individual innovative scale.

Results

This reveals the studied nurses related to their individual innovative scale pre- and postintervention. Concerning resistance to change, the mean of them preintervention is x ® SD 9.08 ± 2.60. Concerning opinion leadership, the mean of them postintervention is x ® SD 14.32 ± 3.16. There is a highly significant difference (p < 0.01∗∗) preintervention as regards all domains listed.

Conclusion

The educational program significantly enhances nurses' knowledge and attitude, according to our present study. Nurses' innovative skills are also improved by enhancing their knowledge and attitude. Before and after the educational program was implemented, there was a highly positive linear association between the nurses' knowledge, attitude, and innovative skills at p < 0.01.