A Responsible Educational Handover: Improving Communication to Improve Learning

Identifying emergency medicine program directors' expectations of competence upon entry into residency: Bridging the distance from the Association of American Medical Colleges Core Entrustable Professional Activities

Background

Residency program directors (PDs) frequently describe students as unprepared for the patient care responsibilities expected of them upon entry into residency. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) developed the Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs) to address this concern by defining 13 tasks students should be able to do with minimal supervision upon graduation. However, the Core EPAs remain difficult for PDs to use due to their breadth and lack of granularity.

Methods

Using Delphi consensus methodology, we identified granular observable practice activities (OPAs) that PDs expect of entering interns derived from the Core EPAs. Twelve emergency medicine education experts drafted OPAs based on the Core EPAs and their associated core functions described in one-page schematics. A separate group of 12 PDs underwent three rounds of voting, and consensus for inclusion was set at 70%. Thematic analysis of comments discussing votes was performed using an inductive approach.

Results

A total of 321 OPAs were drafted and 127 adopted as expectations for entering interns based on the Core EPAs. The adopted OPAs were all general expectations; none were specialty-specific. Four main themes were identified from the comments: Schools are not responsible for specialty-specific training, PDs do not fully trust schools' assessments, supervision expectations of graduates should be lowered for higher-order EPAs, and the context in which the student performs a task and its associated complexity matter greatly in entrustment decisions.

Conclusions

PDs agree with the generalist focus of the AAMC Core EPAs and feel strongly that specialty training should be left to residency programs. They also have mechanisms in place to verify entrustment within their local context. Transparency in assessment and summative entrustment processes in UME may unify expectations. Finally, the granularity of OPAs may aid in a post-Match handover to further operationalize the EPAs and optimize the UME-to-GME transition.

Surgeon Preferences Worldwide in Wound Drain Utilization in Open Lumbar Fusion Surgery for Degenerative Pathologies

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE

Although literature does not recommend routine wound drain utilization, there is a disconnect between the evidence and clinical practice. This study aims to explore into this controversy and analyze the surgeon preferences related to drain utilization, and the factors influencing drain use and criterion for removal.

METHODS

A survey was distributed to AO Spine members worldwide. Surgeon demographics and factors related to peri-operative drain use in 1 or 2-level open fusion surgery for lumbar degenerative pathologies were collected. Multivariate analyses by drain utilization, and criterion of removal were conducted.

RESULTS

231 surgeons participated, including 220 males (95.2%), orthopedics (178, 77.1%), and academic/university-affiliated (114, 49.4%). Most surgeons preferred drain use (186, 80.5%) and subfascial drains (169, 73.2%). Drains were removed based on duration by 52.87% of the surgeons, but 27.7% removed drains based on outputs. On multivariable analysis, significant predictors of drain use were surgeon's aged 35-44 (OR = 11.9, 95% CI = 1.2-117.2, P = .034), 45-54 (29.1, 3.1-269.6, P = .003), 55-64 (8.9, 1.4-56.5, .019), and wound closure using coaptive films (6.0, 1.2-29.0, P = .025). Additionally, surgeons from Asia Pacific (OR = 5.19, 95% CI = 1.65-16.38, P = .005), Europe (3.55, 1.22-10.31, P = .020), and Latin America (4.40, 1.09-17.83, .038) were more likely to remove drain based on time duration, but surgeons <5 years of experience (10.23, 1.75-59.71, P = .010) were more likely to remove drains based on outputs.

CONCLUSIONS

Most spine surgeons worldwide prefer to place a subfascial wound drain for degenerative open lumbar surgery. The choice for drain placement is associated with the surgeon's age and use of coaptive films for wound closure, while the criterion for drain removal is associated with the surgeons' region of practice and experience.

Novice Experts: Exploring Fellows' Perspectives on the Transition from Residency to Fellowship

Introduction

Advanced training experiences are required in certain countries for subspecialization. In the United States, a decline in Milestones and in levels of supervision for Entrustable Professional Activities for incoming subspecialty fellows has been described and attributed to changes in context that fellows experience. We aimed to explore this transition to advanced training, and specifically to describe which contextual factors are salient to fellows at the residency to fellowship transition and the supports available for a smooth transition to fellowship.

Methods

Using contextual competence as a sensitizing concept, ten semi-structured interviews with first- and second-year pediatric subspecialty fellows from three subspecialties were performed at a large academic medical center in 2023, using thematic analysis informed by elements of constructivist grounded theory.

Results

Contextual factors that impacted the transition included changes in systems, necessary knowledge, and roles and responsibilities. At times, participants describe a tension between feeling like novices while simultaneously feeling like they should have more expertise than they had. Supports in navigating this tension, and in navigating the transition more generally, included formal orientations, fellow behaviors and perspective, and input from others.

Conclusions

The transition to advanced training is characterized, at times, by experiencing tension between feeling like a novice while feeling like one should have expertise, with fellows' own behaviors and the support of those around them being essential to fellows' smooth transition. While fellowship programs offer orientations, systems-level solutions for supporting fellows' navigation of the transition are underexplored.

Minding the gap: towards a shared clinical reasoning lexicon across the pre-clerkship/clerkship transition

Teaching and learning of clinical reasoning are core principles of medical education. However, little guidance exists for faculty leaders to navigate curricular transitions between pre-clerkship and clerkship curricular phases. This study compares how educational leaders in these two phases understand clinical reasoning instruction. Previously reported cross-sectional surveys of pre-clerkship clinical skills course directors, and clerkship leaders were compared. Comparisons focused on perceived importance of a number of core clinical reasoning concepts, barriers to clinical reasoning instruction, level of familiarity across the undergraduate medical curriculum, and inclusion of clinical reasoning instruction in each area of the curriculum. Analyses were performed using the Mann Whitney U test. Both sets of leaders rated lack of curricular time as the largest barrier to teaching clinical reasoning. Clerkship leaders also noted a lack of faculty with skills to teach clinical reasoning concepts as a significant barrier (p < 0.02), while pre-clerkship leaders were more likely to perceive that these concepts were too advanced for their students (p < 0.001). Pre-clerkship leaders reported a higher level of familiarity with the clerkship curriculum than clerkship leaders reported of the pre-clerkship curriculum (p < 0.001). As faculty transition students from the pre-clerkship to the clerkship phase, a shared understanding of what is taught and when, accompanied by successful faculty development, may aid the development of longitudinal, milestone-based clinical reasoning instruction.

Improving medical students' responses to emergencies with a simulated cross-cover paging curriculum

New residents are often unprepared to respond to medical emergencies. To address this gap, we implemented a simulated cross-cover paging curriculum. All senior medical students enrolled in a required specialty-specific (internal medicine, procedures, emergency medicine [EM], obstetrics and gynecology [OBGYN], family medicine and pediatrics) residency preparation course (RPC) in 2020-2021 participated. Students received 3-6 specialty-specific pages that represented an urgent change in clinical status about a simulated patient. For each page, students first called a standardized registered nurse (SRN) to ask additional questions, then recommended next steps in evaluation and management. The SRNs delivered immediate verbal feedback, delayed written feedback, and graded clinical performance using a weighted rubric. Some items were categorized as 'must do,' which represented the most clinically important actions. Trends in clinical performance over time were analyzed using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. Of the 315 eligible students, 265 (84.1%) consented for their data to be included in the analysis. Clinical performance improved from a median (interquartile range) of 59.4% (46.9%, 75.0%) on case 1 to 80.0% (68.0%, 86.7%) on case 6 (p < .001). The percentage of 'must do' items improved significantly, from 69.2% (53.8, 81.8%) to 80.0% (66.7%, 88,9%) (p < .001). Scores improved over time for all specialty courses except for EM and OB/GYN. Surveyed students largely found this to be a valuable addition to the RPC curriculum with a 4.4 overall rating (1 = poor to 5 = excellent). This novel curriculum fills important gaps in the educational transition between medical school and residency. The simulated paging platform is adaptable and generalizable to learners entering different residency specialties.

Learning Plan Use in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

How to best support self-regulated learning (SRL) skills development and track trainees' progress along their competency-based medical education learning trajectory is unclear. Learning plans (LPs) may be the answer; however, information on their use in undergraduate medical education (UME) is limited. This study summarizes the literature regarding LP use in UME, explores the student's role in LP development and implementation, and identifies additional research areas.

METHOD

MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, Education Source, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles published from database inception to March 6, 2024, and relevant reference lists were manually searched. The review included studies of undergraduate medical students, studies of LP use, and studies of the UME stage in any geographic setting. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative content analyses.

RESULTS

The database search found 7,871 titles and abstracts with an additional 25 found from the manual search for a total of 7,896 articles, of which 39 met inclusion criteria. Many LPs lacked a guiding framework. LPs were associated with self-reported improved SRL skill development, learning structure, and learning outcomes. Barriers to their use for students and faculty were time to create and implement LPs, lack of training on LP development and implementation, and lack of engagement. Facilitators included SRL skill development, LP cocreation, and guidance by a trained mentor. Identified research gaps include objective outcome measures, longitudinal impact beyond UME, standardized framework for LP development and quality assessment, and training on SRL skills and LPs.

CONCLUSIONS

This review demonstrates variability of LP use in UME. LPs appear to have potential to support medical student education and facilitate translation of SRL skills into residency training. Successful use requires training and an experienced mentor. However, more research is required to determine whether benefits of LPs outweigh the resources required for their use.

Achieving 'something that everybody has invested in': perspectives of diverse stakeholders during co-creation of a transition to residency curriculum

Co-creation of education within the context of student inclusion alongside diverse stakeholders merits exploration. We studied the perspectives of students and teachers from different institutions who participated in co-creating a transition to residency curriculum. We conducted post-hoc in-depth interviews with 16 participants: final-year medical students, undergraduate, and postgraduate medical education stakeholders who were involved in the co-creation sessions. Findings build on the Framework of Stakeholders' Involvement in Co-creation and identify the four key components of co-creation with diverse faculty: immersion in positive feelings of inclusivity and appreciation, exchange of knowledge, engagement in a state of reflection and analysis, and translation of co-creation dialogues into intended outcomes. Despite power dynamics, participants valued open communication, constructive feedback, mutual respect, and effective moderation. The study broadened our understanding of the co-creation process in diverse stakeholder settings. Incorporating key elements in the presence of power relations can enrich co-creation by leveraging wider expertise.

Protocol for a scoping review study on learning plan use in undergraduate medical education

BACKGROUND

The current paradigm of competency-based medical education and learner-centredness requires learners to take an active role in their training. However, deliberate and planned continual assessment and performance improvement is hindered by the fragmented nature of many medical training programs. Attempts to bridge this continuity gap between supervision and feedback through learner handover have been controversial. Learning plans are an alternate educational tool that helps trainees identify their learning needs and facilitate longitudinal assessment by providing supervisors with a roadmap of their goals. Informed by self-regulated learning theory, learning plans may be the answer to track trainees' progress along their learning trajectory. The purpose of this study is to summarise the literature regarding learning plan use specifically in undergraduate medical education and explore the student's role in all stages of learning plan development and implementation.

METHODS

Following Arksey and O'Malley's framework, a scoping review will be conducted to explore the use of learning plans in undergraduate medical education. Literature searches will be conducted using multiple databases by a librarian with expertise in scoping reviews. Through an iterative process, inclusion and exclusion criteria will be developed and a data extraction form refined. Data will be analysed using quantitative and qualitative content analyses.

DISCUSSION

By summarising the literature on learning plan use in undergraduate medical education, this study aims to better understand how to support self-regulated learning in undergraduate medical education. The results from this project will inform future scholarly work in competency-based medical education at the undergraduate level and have implications for improving feedback and supporting learners at all levels of competence.

SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION

Open Science Framework osf.io/wvzbx.

The Inconspicuous Learner Handover: An Exploratory Study of U.S. Emergency Medicine Program Directors' Perceptions of Learner Handovers from Medical School to Residency

Phenomenon: Central to competency-based medical education is the need for a seamless developmental continuum of training and practice. Trainees currently experience significant discontinuity in the transition from undergraduate (UME) to graduate medical education (GME). The learner handover is intended to smooth this transition, but little is known about how well this is working from the GME perspective. In an attempt to gather preliminary evidence, this study explores U.S. program directors (PDs) perspective of the learner handover from UME to GME. Approach: Using exploratory qualitative methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 Emergency Medicine PDs within the U.S. from October to November, 2020. We asked participants to describe their current perception of the learner handover from UME to GME. Then we performed thematic analysis using an inductive approach. Findings: We identified two main themes: The inconspicuous learner handover and barrier to creating a successful UME to GME learner handover. PDs described the current state of the learner handover as "nonexistent," yet acknowledged that information is transmitted from UME to GME. Participants also highlighted key challenges preventing a successful learner handover from UME to GME. These included: conflicting expectations, issues of trust and transparency, and a dearth of assessment data to actually hand over. Insights: PDs highlight the inconspicuous nature of learner handovers, suggesting that assessment information is not shared in the way it should be in the transition from UME to GME. Challenges with the learner handover demonstrate a lack of trust, transparency, and explicit communication between UME and GME. Our findings can inform how national organizations establish a unified approach to transmitting growth-oriented assessment data and formalize transparent learner handovers from UME to GME.

The missing ingredient: Medical student insights to inform and enhance learner handover

BACKGROUND

Learner handover (LH) is the passing on of information about students between educators. In light of broad acceptance that LH can improve learner support experiences and performance outcomes, those involved are seeking greater governance to achieve practical, effective handover implementation. Stakeholder consultation can inform and enable the co-creation of meaningful, robust practice guidance. This study sought to address the gap in literature around in-depth learner opinion, a key element so far overlooked.

METHODS

This qualitative study (2022) investigated undergraduate medical student perspectives on appropriate tutor information-sharing at the University of Limerick School of Medicine (ULSoM). The findings build upon an educator focus group study published by the authors (2021). Eleven participants were recruited to represent the typical graduate-entry medical school programme population across years 1-4 of study. Their understanding and expectations of "learner handover" were explored qualitatively, using online, individual, semi-structured interviews. Inductive transcript coding and thematic data analysis were applied to illustrate learner insights.

FINDINGS

Emergent themes included shared values, individual context and collaborative process, with ideas proposed for specific action around student education, staff training, mental health support, and documented procedures.

DISCUSSION

Consent, system transparency, data security and the development of positive handover culture were revealed as current needs. Student perspectives, together existing LH literature and highlighted aspects of educational theory, allowed the creation a new conceptual LH framework as a foundation for practice improvement.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide clarity and contextual understanding, mainly from a pre-clinical phase learner standpoint, with pragmatic suggestions to enhance LH appeal.

Transition to Residency Courses: Recommendations for Creation and Implementation

Transition to Residency (TTR) courses help ease the critical transition from medical school to residency, yet there is little guidance for developing and running these courses. In this perspective, the authors use their expertise as well as a review of the literature to provide guidance and review possible solutions to challenges unique to these courses. TTR courses should be specialty-specific, allow for flexibility, and utilize active learning techniques. A needs assessment can help guide course content, which should focus on what is necessary to be ready for day one of residency. The use of residents in course planning and delivery can help create a sense of community and ensure that content is practical. While course assessments are largely formative, instructors should anticipate the need for remediation, especially for skills likely to be performed with limited supervision during residency. Additionally, TTR courses should incorporate learner self-assessment and goal setting; this may be valuable information to share with learners' future residency programs. Lastly, TTR courses should undergo continuous quality improvement based on course evaluations and surveys. These recommendations are essential for effective TTR course implementation and improvement.

Exploring Competency-Based Medical Education Through the Lens of the UME-GME Transition: A Qualitative Study

PURPOSE

Competency-based medical education (CBME) represents a shift to a paradigm with shared definitions, explicit outcomes, and assessments of competence. The groundwork has been laid to ensure all learners achieve the desired outcomes along the medical education continuum using the principles of CBME. However, this continuum spans the major transition from undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) that is also evolving. This study explores the experiences of medical educators working to use CBME assessments in the context of the UME-GME transition and their perspectives on the existing challenges.

METHOD

This study used a constructivist-oriented qualitative methodology. In-depth, semistructured interviews of UME and GME leaders in CBME were performed between February 2019 and January 2020 via Zoom. When possible, each interviewee was interviewed by 2 team members, one with UME and one with GME experience, which allowed follow-up questions to be pursued that reflected the perspectives of both UME and GME educators more fully. A multistep iterative process of thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts and identify patterns across interviews.

RESULTS

The 9 interviewees represented a broad swath of UME and GME leadership positions, though most had an internal medicine training background. Analysis identified 4 overarching themes: mistrust (a trust chasm exists between UME and GME); misaligned goals (the residency selection process is antithetical to CBME); inadequate communication (communication regarding competence is infrequent, often unidirectional, and lacks a shared language); and inflexible timeframes (current training timeframes do not account for individual learners' competency trajectories).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the mutual desire and commitment to move to CBME across the continuum, mistrust, misaligned goals, inadequate communication, and inflexible timeframes confound such efforts of individual schools and programs. If current efforts to improve the UME-GME transition address the themes identified, educators may be more successful implementing CBME along the continuum.

Applicant Experience in Communication With Residency Programs After the Introduction of Program Signaling

OBJECTIVE

Examine the applicant experience after introduction of program signaling for the 2023 obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) residency application cycle.

DESIGN

Responses to an online survey of OBGYN applicants participating in the 2023 match who participated in residency program signaling were compared to responses from a similar survey conducted in 2022. Demographic information included personal and academic background and how applicants and advisors communicated with programs. Numbers of applications and interviews, second look visits, away rotations, manner of contact, and timing of communication was compared. Statistical analysis included ANOVA for interval data, and χ2 and Kruskal-Wallis tests for categorical data.

RESULTS

A total of 711 of 2631 (27%) applicants responded in 2022 and 606 of 2492 (24.3%) responded in 2023. Approximately 2/3 of gold signals and 1/3 of silver signals led to an interview. There was no change in number of applications or interviews per applicant, but there was a broader distribution of interviews per applicant in 2023. Applicants in 2023 were less likely to engage in preinterview communication or do an away rotation to indicate interest in a program. There was decreased communication between applicants and programs after signaling was introduced. Informal communication continued to differ by racial and medical school background. Applicants from DO programs and international medical graduates (IMG) had more communication with programs than MD applicants but received fewer interview invitations. Fewer Black and Latin(x)/Hispanic applicants had faculty reach out to residency programs on their behalf compared to White and Asian applicants. There were differences in the number of interviews received based on racial and ethnic identity.

CONCLUSIONS

In the first year after implementation of program signaling, there was a decrease in preinterview communication and a broader distribution of interviews among applicants. Further efforts to create standard means of program communication may help to begin leveling the uneven playing field for applicants.

Having a Bad Day Is Not an Option: Learner Perspectives on Learner Handover

PURPOSE

Learner handover is the sharing of learner-related information between supervisors involved in their education. The practice allows learners to build upon previous assessments and can support the growth-oriented focus of competency-based medical education. However, learner handover also carries the risk of biasing future assessments and breaching learner confidentiality. Little is known about learner handover's educational impact, and what is known is largely informed by faculty and institutional perspectives. The purpose of this study was to explore learner handover from the learner perspective.

METHOD

Constructivist grounded theory was used to explore learners' perspectives and beliefs around learner handover. Twenty-nine semistructured interviews were completed with medical students and residents from the University of Ottawa and University of California, San Francisco. Interviews took place between April and December 2020. Using the constant comparative approach, themes were identified through an iterative process.

RESULTS

Learners were generally unaware of specific learner handover practices, although most recognized circumstances where both formal and informal handovers may occur. Learners appreciated the potential for learner handover to tailor education, guide entrustment and supervision decisions, and support patient safety, but worried about its potential to bias future assessments and breach confidentiality. Furthermore, learners were concerned that information-sharing may be more akin to gossip rather than focused on their educational needs and feared unfair scrutiny and irreversible long-term career consequences from one shared mediocre performance. Altogether, these concerns fueled an overwhelming pressure to perform.

CONCLUSIONS

While learners recognized the rationale for learner handover, they feared the possible inadvertent short- and long-term impact on their training and future careers. Designing policies that support transparency and build awareness around learner handover may mitigate unintended consequences that can threaten learning and the learner-supervisor relationship, ensuring learner handover benefits the learner as intended.

WR, Farrell SE, Hundert EM, Dalrymple JL, Goldhamer MEJ. A pilot clinical skills coaching program to reimagine remediation: a cohort study

Background New approaches are needed to improve and destigmatize remediation in undergraduate medical education (UME).  The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the need to support struggling learners to ensure competency and readiness for graduate medical education (GME).  Clinical skills (CS) coaching is an underutilized approach that may mitigate the stigma of remedial learning. Methods A six-month CS coaching pilot was conducted at Harvard Medical School (HMS) as a destigmatized remedial learning environment for clerkship and post-clerkship students identified as 'at risk' based on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE).  The pilot entailed individual and group coaching with five faculty, direct bedside observation of CS, and standardized patient encounters with video review. Strengths-based coaching principles and appreciative inquiry were emphasized.  Results Twenty-three students participated in the pilot: 14 clerkship students (cohort 1) and 9 post-clerkship students (cohort 2).  All clerkship students (cohort 1) demonstrated sustained improvement in CS across three OSCEs compared to baseline: at pilot close, at 6-months post pilot, and at 21-24 months post-pilot all currently graduating students (10/10, 100%) passed the summative OSCE, an HMS graduation requirement. All post-clerkship students (cohort 2) passed the HMS graduation OSCE (9/9,100%). Feedback survey results included clerkship students (9/14; 64%) and post-clerkship students (7/9; 78%); all respondents unanimously agreed that individual coaching was "impactful to my clinical learning and practice". Faculty and leadership fully supported the pilot as a destigmatized and effective approach to remediation.  Conclusion Remediation has an essential and growing role in medical schools.  CS coaching for remedial learning can reduce stigma, foster a growth mindset, and support sustained progress for 'at risk' early clerkship through final year students. An "implementation template" with suggested tools and timelines can be locally adapted to guide CS coaching for UME remediation. The CS coaching pilot model is feasible and can be generalized to many UME programs.

Precision Medical Education

Medical schools and residency programs are increasingly incorporating personalization of content, pathways, and assessments to align with a competency-based model. Yet, such efforts face challenges involving large amounts of data, sometimes struggling to deliver insights in a timely fashion for trainees, coaches, and programs. In this article, the authors argue that the emerging paradigm of precision medical education (PME) may ameliorate some of these challenges. However, PME lacks a widely accepted definition and a shared model of guiding principles and capacities, limiting widespread adoption. The authors propose defining PME as a systematic approach that integrates longitudinal data and analytics to drive precise educational interventions that address each individual learner's needs and goals in a continuous, timely, and cyclical fashion, ultimately improving meaningful educational, clinical, or system outcomes. Borrowing from precision medicine, they offer an adapted shared framework. In the P4 medical education framework, PME should (1) take a proactive approach to acquiring and using trainee data; (2) generate timely personalized insights through precision analytics (including artificial intelligence and decision-support tools); (3) design precision educational interventions (learning, assessment, coaching, pathways) in a participatory fashion, with trainees at the center as co-producers; and (4) ensure interventions are predictive of meaningful educational, professional, or clinical outcomes. Implementing PME will require new foundational capacities: flexible educational pathways and programs responsive to PME-guided dynamic and competency-based progression; comprehensive longitudinal data on trainees linked to educational and clinical outcomes; shared development of requisite technologies and analytics to effect educational decision-making; and a culture that embraces a precision approach, with research to gather validity evidence for this approach and development efforts targeting new skills needed by learners, coaches, and educational leaders. Anticipating pitfalls in the use of this approach will be important, as will ensuring it deepens, rather than replaces, the interaction of trainees and their coaches.

Effects of informal learner handover in clinical dental education

BACKGROUND

It is currently under discussion whether Learner Handovers (LH) are beneficial, disadvantageous, or useful in Health Professions Education. Research has not been conducted to determine the extent of existing informal learner handover (ILH) through faculty discussions. In addition to providing stakeholders with added context, examining the nature of ILH may also provide insight into the bias associated with Learner Handover.

METHODS

Transcripts from a series of semi-structured Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and interviews (from January to March 2022) were iteratively reviewed to identify relevant patterns and correlations. The study involved the voluntary participation of 16 active clinical dental faculty members with a variety of designations. We did not discard any opinions.

RESULTS

It was found that ILH had a mild impact on students' training. ILH effects can be categorized into four key areas: (1) faculty behavior with students, (2) faculty expectations from students, 3) teaching approach, and 4) faculty feedback practices. Furthermore, five additional factors were identified as having a greater influence on ILH practices.

CONCLUSIONS

In clinical dental training, ILH has a minor effect on faculty-student interactions. Faculty perceptions and ILH are strongly influenced by other factors contributing to the student's 'academic reputation. As a result, student-faculty interactions are never free of prior influences, so stakeholders need to take them into consideration when creating a formal LH.

Master clinical teachers and personalised learning

Clinical history taking and physical examination are two of the most important competencies of physicians. In addition to informing diagnoses, these activities build rapport and establish relationships between caregivers and patients. Despite this, emphasis on the assessment of bedside clinical skills is declining. To prepare our students for clinical work, we began a clinical competency, personalised teaching programme in which students perform a history and physical examination in front of a master clinical teacher (MCT) approximately every 2 weeks throughout their core clerkship year. The MCT works with the student in a clinical encounter, providing personalised bedside instruction on all features of being a clinician including bedside manner, history-taking skills, physical examination skills, and clinical reasoning. The MCT then provides an assessment of student's competency development and gives feedback to the student about what they do well and where they have opportunities for growth. Assessment data are collected and tracked longitudinally across the clerkship phase to ensure that each student is progressing developmentally. With over 6000 observations of student performance, we are able to discern competency development and growth over time. We can identify if a student is not improving as expected during their clerkship phase and intervene by providing extra practice and training. This core clerkship teaching programme has been well received by both students and instructors and has led us to pilot this approach during the post-clerkship phase of our medical training.

Blue Skies With Clouds: Envisioning the Future Ideal State and Identifying Ongoing Tensions in the UME-GME Transition

The transition from medical school to residency in the United States consumes large amounts of time for students and educators in undergraduate and graduate medical education (UME, GME), and it is costly for both students and institutions. Attempts to improve the residency application and Match processes have been insufficient to counteract the very large number of applications to programs. To address these challenges, the Coalition for Physician Accountability charged the Undergraduate Medical Education to Graduate Medical Education Review Committee (UGRC) with crafting recommendations to improve the system for the UME-GME transition. To guide this work, the UGRC defined and sought stakeholder input on a "blue-skies" ideal state of this transition. The ideal state views the transition as a system to support a continuum of professional development and learning, thus serving learners, educators, and the public, and engendering trust among them. It also supports the well-being of learners and educators, promotes diversity, and minimizes bias. This manuscript uses polarity thinking to analyze 3 persistent key tensions in the system that require ongoing management. First, the formative purpose of assessment for learning and growth is at odds with the use of assessment data for ranking and sorting candidates. Second, the function of residents as learners can conflict with their role as workers contributing service to health care systems. Third, the current residency Match process can position the desire for individual choice-among students and their programs-against the workforce needs of the profession and the public. This Scholarly Perspective presents strategies to balance the upsides and downsides inherent to these tensions. By articulating the ideal state of the UME-GME transition and anticipating tensions, educators and educational organizations can be better positioned to implement UGRC recommendations to improve the transition system.

Sailing the boat together: Co-creation of a model for learning during transition

PURPOSE

Medical students' transition to postgraduate training, given the complexity of new roles and responsibilities, requires the engagement of all involved stakeholders. This study aims to co-create a transition curriculum and determine the value of involving the key stakeholders throughout such transition in its design process.

METHODS

We conducted a mixed-methods study involving faculty/leaders (undergraduate/postgraduate), final-year medical students, and chief residents. It commenced with eight co-creation sessions (CCS), qualitative results of which were used to draft a quantitative survey sent to non-participants, followed by two consensus-building CCS with the original participants. We applied thematic analysis for transcripts of all CCS, and mean scores with standard deviations for survey analysis.

RESULTS

We identified five themes: adaptation, authenticity, autonomy, connectedness, and continuity, embedded in the foundation of a supportive environment, to constitute a Model of Learning during Transition (MOLT). Inclusion of various stakeholders and optimizing their representation brought rich perspectives to the design process. This was reinforced through active students' participation enabling a final consensus.

CONCLUSIONS

Bringing perspectives of key stakeholders in the transition spectrum enriches transition curricula. The proposed MOLT can provide a guide for curriculum designers to optimize the final year of undergraduate medical training in preparing students for postgraduate training with essential competencies to be trained.

"Dismantling Fixed Time, Variable Outcome Education: Abandoning 'Ready or Not, Here they Come' is Overdue"

Two decades after competency-based medical education appeared in the lexicon of medical educators, the community continues to struggle with realizing its full potential. The implementation of the time variable, fixed outcome component has languished based on complexity compounded by resistance to change. Learners continue to transition from medical school to residency, and then practice, primarily based on time rather than having achieved the ability to meet the needs of the patient populations they will serve. Only those few who demonstrate glaring deficiencies do not graduate. The authors urge the medical education community to move from the current fixed time path of medical education toward the implementation of a true continuum of time variable, fixed outcome education, training, and deliberate practice. The latter is defined by purposeful learning, coaching, feedback, and repetition on the path to achieving and maintaining expertise. The opportunities afforded by such a time-variable, fixed outcome approach include: 1) development of a career long growth mindset, 2) ability to address evolving population health needs and careers within the context of one's practice, and 3) continual improvement of care quality and outcomes for patients on the journey towards expertise for providers.

Facilitating an Optimal Transition to Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology

The transition to residency in obstetrics and gynecology is difficult, threatening the well-being of residents as well as their preparedness to care for patients. In addition to essential foundational knowledge and skills, obstetrics and gynecology interns must develop professional identity and a growth mindset toward learning to acquire the self-directed learning skills required of physicians throughout their careers. The transition to residency is a critical opportunity for learning and development. A group of educators and learners from around the country created a preparedness program building on available resources. The result is a national curriculum for improving the transition to obstetrics and gynecology residency on three levels: self-directed learning, facilitated small-group workshops, and coaching. Sharing tools for preparing matched applicants for residency in obstetrics and gynecology ensures adequate residency preparation for all interns, independent of medical school attended. This program aims to address potential threats to equity in the training of our future workforce and to ensure that all obstetrics and gynecology interns are prepared to thrive in residency training.

The Best Laid Plans? A Qualitative Investigation of How Resident Physicians Plan Their Learning

PURPOSE

Adaptive expertise (AE) has been identified as a critical trait to cultivate in future physicians. The 4-phase master adaptive learner (MAL) conceptual model describes the learning skills and behaviors necessary to develop AE. Though prior work has elucidated skills and behaviors used by MALs in the initial planning phase of learning, most resident learners are not thought to be MALs. In this study, the authors investigated how these majority "typical" learners develop AE by exploring the strategies they used in the planning phase of learning.

METHOD

Participants were resident physicians at graduate medical education (GME) training programs located at 4 academic medical centers in the United States. Participants participated in semistructured individual interviews in 2021, and interview transcripts were analyzed using constant comparative analysis of grounded theory.

RESULTS

Fourteen subjects representing 8 specialties were interviewed, generating 152 pages of transcripts for analysis. Three themes were identified: "Typical" learners were challenged by the transition from structured undergraduate medical education learning to less-structured GME learning, lacked necessary skills to easily navigate this transition, and relied on trial and error to develop their learning skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants used trial and error to find learning strategies to help them manage the systemic challenges encountered when transitioning from medical school to residency. The success (or failure) of these efforts was tied to learners' efficacy with the self-regulated learning concepts of agency, metacognitive goal setting, and motivation. A conceptual model is provided to describe the impact of these factors on residents' ability to be adaptive learners, and actionable recommendations are provided to help educators' efforts to foster adaptive learning skills and behaviors. These findings also provided valuable evidence of validity of the MAL model that has thus far been lacking.

Competency-Based Frameworks in Medical School Education Programs: A Thematic Analysis of the Academic Medicine Snapshots, 2020

PURPOSE

Educational program objectives (EPOs) provide the foundation for a medical school's curriculum. In recent years, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) endorsed an outcomes-based approach to objectives, to embrace the movement toward competency-based medical education (CBME). The purpose of this study was to explore the CBME frameworks used by medical schools in formulating their EPOs. A secondary aim was to determine factors related to the selection of specific frameworks.

METHOD

The authors performed a quantitative content analysis of entries to the 2020 Academic Medicine Snapshot. Publicly available data gathered included demographic features of each program (e.g., year founded, accreditation status, affiliation, etc.), participation in national medical education consortia, and presence of specific CBME frameworks identified in EPOs. Descriptive statistics were used to examine trends in frameworks used by medical schools. Bivariate comparisons between factors and frameworks were conducted using chi-square tests. Logistic regression was used to examine factors predicting use of more recently developed CBME frameworks.

RESULTS

A total of 135 institutions submitted Snapshots (RR = 88%). All institutions endorsed 1 or more CBME frameworks, with 37% endorsing 2 and 20% endorsing 3 or more. The most common was the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies (63%). In addition to published frameworks, 36% of institutions developed their own competencies. Schools with pending LCME visits were 2.61 times more likely to use a more recently developed curricular framework, P = .022.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical schools in the United States have embraced the CBME movement through incorporation of competency-based frameworks in their EPOs. While it is encouraging that CBME frameworks have been integrated in medical school EPOs, the variability and use of multiple frameworks identifies the pressing need for a unified CBME framework in undergraduate medical education.

Is there a role for a learner education handover as part of the Medical Council of Canada assessment and licensing process?

The transition from undergraduate medical education (UGME) to postgraduate medical education (PGME) is a time of vulnerability for medical schools, postgraduate residency programs, and most importantly, traineesThere is a disconnect between the UGME and PGME experience. Student information shared by UGME is primarily summative of knowledge and skills; PGME programs are unaware of specific learner accommodation requirements, tailored supervisory needs, or potential professionalism concerns identified during UGMEThis lack of integration between UGME and PGME increases potential risk to learners, postgrad programs and patientsBetter linkages and communication along the education continuum could optimize learning and reduce inefficiency and riskThe Medical Council of Canada (MCC) has asked if there is a role for a learner handover (LH) within their licensing processes; however the intended purpose of an LH must first be determinedA Canadian-based LH referred to as a Learner Education Handover (LEH) model including disclosure of student learning/disability accommodation needs, general health concerns, EDI/religious requirements, professionalism concerns, and recommendations for special focus in residency of specific areas of medical knowledge/skill is described.Findings from beta and pilot testing support the value and feasibility of the LEH model. Fundamental principles are outlined: LEH occurs post-residency matchLEH should be forward facing; focused on ongoing or recurring learner issues and needsLearners must be included in the processImplementation would require participation by all Canadian medical schools and all learnersImplementation challenges include: Ensuring learner safety following information disclosureEngaging UGME DeansProtection of information ensuring a 'need-to-know' status is maintainedIncorporating the LEH into the licensing activity could enable the MCC to support a system that proactively responds to learner needs, optimizes physician performance and promotes safe, high quality patient care.

Evolving the Systems-Based Practice Competency in Graduate Medical Education to Meet Patient Needs in the 21st-Century Health Care System

Medical education is increasingly recognizing the importance of the systems-based practice (SBP) competency in the emerging 21st-century U.S. health care landscape. In the wake of data documenting insufficiencies in care delivery, notably in patient safety and health care disparities, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education created the SBP competency to address gaps in health outcomes and facilitate the education of trainees to better meet the needs of patients. Despite the introduction of SBP over 20 years ago, efforts to realize its potential have been incomplete and fragmented. Several challenges exist, including difficulty in operationalizing and evaluating SBP in current clinical learning environments. This inconsistent evolution of SBP has compromised the professional development of physicians who are increasingly expected to advance systems of care and actively contribute to improving patient outcomes, patient and care team experience, and costs of care. The authors prioritize 5 areas of focus necessary to further evolve SBP: comprehensive systems-based learning content, a professional development continuum, teaching and assessment methods, clinical learning environments in which SBP is learned and practiced, and professional identity as systems citizens. Accelerating the evolution of SBP in these 5 focus areas will require health system leaders and educators to embrace complexity with a systems thinking mindset, use coproduction between sponsoring health systems and education programs, create new roles to drive alignment of system and educational goals, and use design thinking to propel improvement efforts. The evolution of SBP is essential to cultivate the next generation of collaboratively effective, systems-minded professionals and improve patient outcomes.

What Behaviors Define a Good Physician? Assessing and Communicating About Noncognitive Skills

Once medical students attain a certain level of medical knowledge, success in residency often depends on noncognitive attributes, such as conscientiousness, empathy, and grit. These traits are significantly more difficult to assess than cognitive performance, creating a potential gap in measurement. Despite its promise, competency-based medical education (CBME) has yet to bridge this gap, partly due to a lack of well-defined noncognitive observable behaviors that assessors and educators can use in formative and summative assessment. As a result, typical undergraduate to graduate medical education handovers stress standardized test scores, and program directors trust little of the remaining information they receive, sometimes turning to third-party companies to better describe potential residency candidates. The authors have created a list of noncognitive attributes, with associated definitions and noncognitive skills-called observable practice activities (OPAs)-written for learners across the continuum to help educators collect assessment data that can be turned into valuable information. OPAs are discrete work-based assessment elements collected over time and mapped to larger structures, such as milestones, entrustable professional activities, or competencies, to create learning trajectories for formative and summative decisions. Medical schools and graduate medical education programs could adapt these OPAs or determine ways to create new ones specific to their own contexts. Once OPAs are created, programs will have to find effective ways to assess them, interpret the data, determine consequence validity, and communicate information to learners and institutions. The authors discuss the need for culture change surrounding assessment-even for the adoption of behavior-based tools such as OPAs-including grounding the work in a growth mindset and the broad underpinnings of CBME. Ultimately, improving assessment of noncognitive capacity should benefit learners, schools, programs, and most importantly, patients.

Facilitated transitions: coaching to improve the medical school to residency continuum

Background: Current efforts incompletely address the educational, social, and developmental aspects of a learner's transition from medical school to residency.Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a transition to residency (TTR) coaching program.Designs: In March 2019, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a TTR coaching program for students who matched into residency programs at our institution. Goals were to stimulate reflection on successes and challenges encountered during medical school, develop strategies to problem-solve barriers and address concerns, identify professional and personal resources, improve confidence, and make an action plan.Results: Of eligible learners, 42% (10/24) enrolled in TTR coaching. Learners were most interested in coaching in the following areas: wellbeing (70%, 7/10), interpersonal/communication skills (60%, 6/10), and learning plan development (50%, 5/10). The majority (90%; 9/10) expressed satisfaction with the program and would recommend participation. One month after starting internship, 90% (9/10) of learners stated the program helped facilitate their transition. Learners who did not enroll in TTR cited concerns around the coach selection process (72%, 8/11), upcoming travel (45%, 5/11), insufficient time/competing demands (27%, 3/11), and lack of perceived benefit (18%, 2/11).Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated preliminary feasibility and acceptability for TTR coaching.

Content of an Educational Handover Letter From Medical Schools to Surgery Residencies: A Mixed Method Analysis

PURPOSE

To identify the content of an educational handover letter from undergraduate to graduate education in General Surgery.

METHOD

Expert consensus was attained on the content of an educational handover letter. A 3-stage Delphi technique was employed with 8 experts in each of 4 stakeholder groups: program directors in general surgery, medical student surgical acting internship or prep course directors, authors of medical student performance evaluations, and current categorical General Surgery residents. Data were collected from April through July 2019. A mixed method analysis was performed to quantitatively assess items selected for inclusion and qualitatively provide guidance for the implantation of such a letter.

RESULTS

All 32 experts participated in at least one round. Of the 285 initially identified individual items, 22 were ultimately selected for inclusion in the letter. All but one expert agreed that the list represents what the content of an educational handover letter in General Surgery should be. Qualitative analysis was performed on 395 comments and identified 4 themes to guide the implementation of the letter: "minimize redundancy, optimize impact, use appropriate assessments, and mitigate risk."

CONCLUSIONS

A framework and proposed template are provided for an educational handover letter from undergraduate to graduate medical education in General Surgery based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of expert consensus of major stakeholders. This letter holds promise to enhance the transition from undergraduate to graduate medical education by allowing programs to capitalize on strengths and efficiently address knowledge gaps in new trainees.

Entrustable Professional Activities and Entrustment Decision Making: A Development and Research Agenda for the Next Decade

To establish a research and development agenda for Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for the coming decade, the authors, all active in this area of investigation, reviewed recent research papers, seeking recommendations for future research. They pooled their knowledge and experience to identify 3 levels of potential research and development: the micro level of learning and teaching; the meso level of institutions, programs, and specialty domains; and the macro level of regional, national, and international dynamics. Within these levels, the authors categorized their recommendations for research and development. The authors identified 14 discrete themes, each including multiple questions or issues for potential exploration, that range from foundational and conceptual to practical. Much research to date has focused on a variety of issues regarding development and early implementation of EPAs. Future research should focus on large-scale implementation of EPAs to support competency-based medical education (CBME) and on its consequences at the 3 levels. In addition, emerging from the implementation phase, the authors call for rigorous studies focusing on conceptual issues. These issues include the nature of entrustment decisions and their relationship with education and learner progress and the use of EPAs across boundaries of training phases, disciplines and professions, including continuing professional development. International studies evaluating the value of EPAs across countries are another important consideration. Future studies should also remain alert for unintended consequences of the use of EPAs. EPAs were conceptualized to support CBME in its endeavor to improve outcomes of education and patient care, prompting creation of this agenda.

Learner Levels of Supervision Across the Continuum of Pediatrics Training

PURPOSE

To describe trajectories in level of supervision ratings for linked entrustable professional activities (EPAs) among pediatric learners in medical school, residency, fellowship.

METHOD

The authors performed secondary analyses of 3 linked datasets of level of supervision ratings for the Core EPAs for Entering Residency, the General Pediatrics EPAs, and the Subspecialty Pediatrics EPAs. After identifying 9 activities in common across training stages and aligning the level of entrustment-supervision scales across the datasets, piecewise ordinal and linear mixed effects models were fitted to characterize trajectories of supervision ratings.

RESULTS

Within each training period, learners were rated as needing less supervision over time in each activity. When transitioning from medical school to residency or during the first year of residency, learners were rated as needing greater supervision in activities related to patient management, teamwork, emergent care, and public health/QI than in earlier periods. When transitioning from residency to fellowship, learners were always rated as needing greater supervision than they had been accorded at the end of residency and sometimes even more than they had been accorded at the start of residency.

CONCLUSIONS

Although development over training is often imagined as continuous and monotonically increasing competence, this study provides empirical evidence supporting the idea that entrustment is a set of discrete decisions. The relaxation of supervision in training is not a linear process. Even with a seamless curriculum, supervision is tightly bound to the training setting. Several explanations for these findings are discussed.

The critical role of infrastructure and organizational culture in implementing competency-based education and individualized pathways in undergraduate medical education

In 2010, several key works in medical education predicted the changes necessary to train modern physicians to meet current and future challenges in health care, including the standardization of learning outcomes paired with individualized learning processes. The reframing of a medical expert as a flexible, adaptive team member and change agent, effective within a larger system and responsive to the community's needs, requires a new approach to education: competency-based medical education (CBME). CBME is an outcomes-based developmental approach to ensuring each trainee's readiness to advance through stages of training and continue to grow in unsupervised practice. Implementation of CBME with fidelity is a complex and challenging endeavor, demanding a fundamental shift in organizational culture and investment in appropriate infrastructure. This paper outlines how member schools of the American Medical Association Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium developed and implemented CBME, including common challenges and successes. Critical supporting factors include adoption of the master adaptive learner construct, longitudinal views of learner development, coaching, and a supportive learning environment.

Medical School to Residency: How Can We Trust the Process?

Background

To say that the transition from undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) is under scrutiny would be an understatement. Findings from a panel discussion at the 2018 Association of American Medical Colleges Annual meeting entitled, “Pass-Fail in Medical School and the Residency Application Process and Graduate Medical Education Transition” addressed what and when information should be shared with residency programs, and how and when that information should be shared.

Materials and Methods

Over 250 participants representing UME and GME (e.g. leadership, faculty, medical students) completed worksheets addressing these questions. During report-back times, verbal comments were transcribed in real time, and written comments on worksheets were later transcribed. All comments were anonymous. Thematic analysis was conducted manually by the research team to analyze the worksheet responses and report back comments.

Results

Themes based on suggestions of what information should be shared included the following: 1) developmental/assessment benchmarks such as demonstrating the ability/competencies to do clinical work; 2) performance on examinations; 3) grades and class ranking; 4) 360 evaluations; 5) narrative evaluations; 6) failures/remediation/gaps in training; 7) professionalism lapses; 8) characteristics of students such as resiliency/reliability; and 9) service/leadership/participation. In terms of how this information should be shared, the participants suggested enhancements to the current process of transmitting documents rather than alternative methods (e.g., video, telephonic, face-to-face discussions) and information sharing at both the time of the match and again near/at graduation to include information about post-match rotations.

Discussion

Considerations to address concerns with the transition from medical school to residency include further enhancements to the Medical Student Performance Evaluation, viewing departmental letters as ones of evaluation and not recommendation, a more meaningful educational handoff, and limits on the number of residency applications allowed for each student. The current medical education environment is ready for meaningful change in the UME to GME transition.

Learner Handover: Who Is It Really For?

PURPOSE

Learner handover is the sharing of information about learners between faculty supervisors. Learner handover can support longitudinal assessment in rotation-based systems, but there are concerns that the practice could bias future assessments or stigmatize struggling learners. Because successful implementation relies on an understanding of existing practices and beliefs, the purpose of this study was to explore how faculty perceive and enact learner handover in the workplace.

METHOD

Using constructivist grounded theory, 23 semistructured interviews were conducted with faculty from 2 Canadian universities between August and December 2018. Participants were asked to describe their learner handover practices, including learner handover delivered or received about resident and student trainees either within or between clinical rotations. The authors probed to understand why faculty used learner handover and their perceptions of its benefits and risks.

RESULTS

Learner handover occurs both formally and informally and serves multiple purposes for learners and faculty. While participants reported that learner handover was motivated by both learner benefit and patient safety, they primarily described motivations focused on their own needs. Learner handover was used to improve faculty efficiency by focusing teaching and feedback and was perceived as a "self-defense mechanism" when faculty were uncertain about a learner's competence and trustworthiness. Informal learner handover also served social or therapeutic purposes when faculty used these conversations to gossip, vent, or manage insecurities about their assessment of learner performance. Because of its multiple, sometimes unsanctioned purposes, participants recommended being reflective about motivations behind learner handover conversations.

CONCLUSIONS

Learners are not the only potential beneficiaries of learner handover; faculty use learner handover to lessen insecurities surrounding entrustment and assessment of learners and to openly share their frustrations. The latter created tensions for faculty needing to share stresses but wanting to act professionally. Formal education policies regarding learner handover should consider faculty perspectives.

Student Perceptions of educational handovers

BACKGROUND

Educational handovers can provide competency information about graduating medical students to residency program directors post-residency placement. Little is known about students' comfort with this novel communication.

OBJECTIVE

To examine graduated medical students' perceptions of educational handovers.

METHODS

The authors created and distributed an anonymous survey to 166 medical students at a single institution following graduation in the spring of 2018. Within this cohort, 40 students had an educational handover sent to their future program director. The survey explored comfort level with handovers (1=very uncomfortable; 5=very comfortable) and ideal content (e.g., student strengths, areas for improvement, goals, grades received after residency application). Respondents self-reported their performance in medical school and whether a handover was sent. Correlation analyses examined relationships between performance and other variables. T-tests examined differences between students who did and did not have a handover letter sent.

RESULTS

The survey response rate was 40.4% (67/166) - 47.8% of students felt comfortable with handovers, 19.4% were neutral, and 32.8% were uncomfortable. There was no correlation between self-reported medical school performance and comfort level. Respondents felt most strongly that strengths should be included, followed by goals. Those who had a handover letter sent expressed significantly higher comfort level (3.8 ± 1.0 vs. 2.6 ±1.3, p=0.003) with this communication.

CONCLUSION

Medical students reported varying levels of comfort with educational handovers; however, those who had handovers sent had more positive perceptions. In order to improve the education continuum, it is essential to engage students in the development of this handover communication.

Facilitating Learner-Centered Transition to Residency: A Scoping Review of Programs Aimed at Intrinsic Competencies

Phenomenon: There is currently a move to provide residency programs with accurate competency-based assessments of their candidates, yet there is a gap in knowledge regarding the role and effectiveness of interventions in easing the transition to residency. The impact of key stakeholder engagement, learner-centeredness, intrinsic competencies, and assessment on the efficacy of this process has not been examined. The objective of this scoping review was to explore the nature of the existing scholarship on programs that aim to facilitate the transition from medical school to residency. Approach: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from inception to April 2020. Programs were included if they were aimed at medical students completing undergraduate medical training or first year residents and an evaluative component. Two authors independently screened all abstracts and full text articles in duplicate. Data were extracted and categorized by type of program, study design, learner-centeredness, key stakeholder engagement, the extent of information sharing about the learner to facilitate the transition to residency, and specific program elements including participants, and program outcomes. We also extracted data on intrinsic (non-Medical Expert) competencies, as defined by the CanMEDS competency framework. Findings: Of the 1,006 studies identified, 55 met the criteria for inclusion in this review. The majority of the articles that were eligible for inclusion were from the United States (n = 31, 57%). Most of the studies (n = 47, 85%) employed quantitative, or mixed method research designs. Positive outcomes that were commonly reported included increased self-confidence, competence in being prepared for residency, and satisfaction with the transition program. While a variety of learner-centered programs that focus on specific intrinsic competencies have been implemented, many (n = 29, 52%) did not report engaging learners as key stakeholders in program development. Insights: While programs that aim to ease the transition from medical school to residency can enhance both Medical Expert and other intrinsic competencies, there is much room for novel transition programs to define their goals more broadly and to incorporate multiple areas of professional development. The existing literature highlights various gaps in approaches to easing the transition from medical school to residency, particularly with respect to key stakeholder engagement, addressing intrinsic CanMEDS competencies, and focusing on individual learners' needs.

Evaluation of a telemedicine-based training for final-year medical students including simulated patient consultations, documentation, and case presentation

Background: Focused history taking, knowledge-based clinical reasoning, and adequate case presentation during hand-offs represent important facets of competence of practicing physicians. Based on a validated 360-degree assessment simulating a first day of residency we developed a training for final-year medical students including patient consultation, patient management, and patient hand-off. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the training was changed to a telemedicine format and evaluated. Methods: In 2019, 103 final-year students participated in a newly designed competence-based training including a consultation hour with simulated patients, a patient management phase with an electronic patient chart, and a case presentation in hand-off format. Due to social distancing regulations, the training was not allowed to take place in this way. Therefore, we changed the training to a telemedicine format. In May 2020, 32 students participated in the telemedicine training. A 5-point Likert scale (1: does not apply to 5: fully applies) was used for the evaluation items. The two formats were compared with t-tests. Results: The students were similarly satisfied with the content of the training independently of its format. Both groups found the patient cases interesting (presence: 4.68 ± 0.49, telemedicine: 4.66 ± 0.48). With respect to the telemedicine format, participants were glad that an option had been found that could be offered throughout the final year (4.94 ± 0.24) despite the COVID-19 pandemic and they regarded it as a very useful training for their final examination (4.94 ± 0.24). Conclusion: The telemedicine format of the competence-based training worked as well as the presence format. In its telemedicine format, the training can be offered to students independently of their location.