Virtual training for small group facilitators

BACKGROUND

In addition to providing patient care, interprofessional health care teams work collaboratively on a variety of projects. These projects often benefit from using facilitated small group project discussion sessions, such as the Harvard Macy Institute's (HMI) Step Back Process (SBP). Although having a trained facilitator is an important component of the SBP, only a limited number of health care professionals can attend HMI courses in person or virtually, limiting its impact.

APPROACH

We developed three video-based education (VBE) modules to deliver facilitator training on the SBP, informed by principles of Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning. For module development, we used a five-step approach. We evaluated effectiveness of the modules as a self-directed method to enhance SBP facilitator training. An initial survey collected demographic data and module feedback, a follow-up survey collected feedback on the modules' impact on facilitation and interviews focused on the participants' overall experience.

EVALUATION

Survey results indicated that the modules were positively received and helped to improve participant confidence in facilitating. We identified four themes from the interviews: challenges of facilitating, value of group feedback, value of modules for experienced facilitators and the modules as part of a multi-modal approach to train new facilitators.

IMPLICATIONS

This innovation provides insight on delivering facilitator training on the SBP using VBE. Health professions educators developing online facilitator training could adapt our development process and modify implementation guided by our results. Future work should evaluate the best methods to integrate VBE modules into a longitudinal virtual community and assess facilitation techniques.

Developing Disability-Focused Pre-Health and Health Professions Curricula

People with disabilities (PWD) comprise a significant part of the population yet experience some of the most profound health disparities. Among the greatest barriers to quality care are inadequate health professions education related to caring for PWD. Drawing upon the expertise of health professions educators in medicine, public health, nursing, social work, and physician assistant programs, this forum showcases innovative methods for teaching core disability skills and concepts grounded in disability studies and the health humanities. Each of the essays offers practical guidance for developing curricular interventions appropriate for students at various levels of training and familiarity with disability to be implemented in classroom discussions, case-based learning, lectures, panels, and clinical simulations across the full spectrum of pre-health and health professions education.

Interdisciplinary simulation for nursing and medical students about final conversations: Catalyzing relationships at the end of life (CAREol)

OBJECTIVES

Final conversations (FCs) go beyond how patients want to be cared for at the end of life (EOL) and focus on messages of love, identity specific, and unique to an individual and relationship that requires self-examination, everyday talk that normalizes a difficult situation, religious/spiritual messages, and if needed, difficult relationship talk to heal broken relationships. The purpose of the Catalyzing Relationships at the End of Life (CAREol) program was to provide interdisciplinary education to nursing and medical students and clinical faculty about facilitating FCs among patients and families.

METHOD

This two-part, quasi-experimental program consisted of a cognitive (online) and experiential (live simulation) curriculum experience. Program curriculum, including video vignettes, readings, and live simulation (utilizing actors), was developed by the study team. Reflective journaling and researcher designed pre- and post-tests were used to assess comfort, confidence, importance, and distress regarding FCs and collaboration with other disciplines.

RESULTS

The pre-/post-test questions demonstrate statistical significance based on a paired t-test with effect sizes supporting the practical importance of the findings for effect size. Preliminary content and thematic analysis of qualitative responses describe categories of the mock team meeting experience and interaction with the actors to change patient and family outcomes.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

Early intervention with the CAREol program provides a framework to help students and clinical faculty facilitate FCs that may result in peace and comfort for patients and families during a difficult time.

Evaluating an Interprofessional Trauma-Based Education Course to Advance the Care and Health of Refugees

Refugee patients benefit from interdisciplinary approaches that address trauma-related migration in culturally responsive ways. This qualitative evaluation assessed the interdisciplinary trauma-based course for refugee populations. The qualitative data comes from focus groups and surveys to evaluate medical, social work, and public health students' perceptions of the interprofessional education course of refugee patient care. The evaluators analyzed qualitative data through a thematic content analysis method. Following key themes emerged from students' reflections: (1) collaboration in interdisciplinary learning, (2) role of clinical learning, (3) skills and knowledge related to refugee population care, (4) improvements for interprofessional education, and (5) strengths of the interprofessional education course. The Interprofessional Refugee Health Elective course enhanced their knowledge and competence in refugee health care. Educators, students, and the patient population will benefit from investing in interprofessional education courses that focus on specific needs and complex care management for refugee patients.

A decade of faculty development for health professions educators: lessons learned from the Macy Faculty Scholars Program

Faculty development (FD) programs are critical for providing the knowledge and skills necessary to drive positive change in health professions education, but they take many forms to attain the program goals. The Macy Faculty Scholars Program (MFSP), created by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation (JMJF) in 2010, intends to develop participants as leaders, scholars, teachers, and mentors. After a decade of implementation, an external review committee conducted a program evaluation to determine how well the program met its intended goals and defined options for ongoing improvement.The committee selected Stufflebeam's CIPP (context, input, process, products) framework to guide the program evaluation. Context and input components were derived from the MFSP description and demographic data, respectively. Process and product components were obtained through a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from participant survey responses, and curriculum vitae (CV).The evaluation found participants responded favorably to the program and demonstrated an overall increase in academic productivity, most pronounced during the two years of the program. Mentorship, community of practice, and protected time were cited as major strengths. Areas for improvement included: enhancing the diversity of program participants, program leaders and mentors across multiple sociodemographic domains; leveraging technology to strengthen the MFSP community of practice; and improving flexibility of the program.The program evaluation results provide evidence supporting ongoing investment in faculty educators and summarizes key strengths and areas for improvement to inform future FD efforts for both the MFSP and other FD programs.

A Novel Case-Based Learning Activity With a Focus on Food Insecurity

OBJECTIVE

Food insecurity is a social determinant of health (SDOH) affecting 1 in 10 households per year in the United States and has major impacts on the course of chronic health conditions. It is beneficial to introduce screening and appropriate treatment plans to medical students. This study utilized a novel case-based learning exercise (CBLE) to assess confidence, attitudes and improvements in knowledge on recognizing and addressing food insecurity.

METHODS

A CBLE focused on food insecurity was developed to be implemented in a 2-h session as part of the curriculum for all first-year medical students at the Medical University of South Carolina. The CBLE included a case for discussion, followed by an interview with a standardized patient. Students received invitations to complete pre- and post-CBLE assessment surveys.

RESULTS

Completion of both pre- and post-surveys was achieved by 29% of students (48 out of 166). Knowledge around the formal definition of "food insecurity," how to recognize food insecurity versus hunger, and how to screen for food insecurity all increased significantly (P < .05). Responses relating to the association between certain chronic diseases and food insecurity did not change pre and post-CBLE.

CONCLUSION

This novel CBLE was successfully implemented within a 2-h teaching session and improved knowledge on recognizing food insecurity in practice. However, additional learning exercises are likely needed to improve knowledge of the relationship between food insecurity and chronic disease states. Nonetheless, the CBLE structure provided students with multiple formats of learning and integration of skills, which shows promise and may be applicable to improve knowledge of other SDOHs.

US medical student perspectives on asian american patient inclusion in medical education: a qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Asian American (AsAm) representation is lacking in conversations surrounding cultural humility in healthcare. We aimed to investigate US medical student perspectives on AsAm patient inclusion in cultural humility training in medical education.

METHODS

This qualitative study analyzed free-text responses to an optional, open-ended question presented at the conclusion of an online survey assessing medical student experiences with and perceptions regarding AsAm patients in their medical education. This survey was distributed to a convenience sample of nine US medical schools. Medical students who completed at least one clinical rotation were eligible to participate in the survey. Qualitative analysis of free-text responses was conducted in an iterative process to generate emergent themes.

RESULTS

There was a total of 195 optional free-text responses from 688 participants (28%). Motivation to learn about AsAm population included shared identity and desire to better serve the AsAm population in their local community and future careers. Topics of interest included healthcare-related cultural preferences, healthcare delivery strategies, and health disparities for the AsAm population and other minority patients. Students reported that they drew on personal experiences and some pre-clinical or clinical exposures to learn about AsAm patients. Respondents cited the lack of exposure in the medical school curriculum and clinical experiences as the main challenge to learning about AsAm health and provided suggestions for the delivery of this education in their pre-clinical and clinical education. Respondents emphasized that AsAms are treated as a monolith in medical education and healthcare, despite their heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical students identified a need and interest for greater inclusion of AsAm topics in medical education on cultural humility and minority health.

Virtual Interprofessional Education (VIPE): a Multi-institutional Innovation

The virtual interprofessional (VIPE) site provides asynchronous content with both video and written case vignettes, pedagogic facilitator guides, and synchronous scheduling options for IPE trainings. VIPE offers an efficient opportunity for educators and students to learn from, with, and about each other in the virtual world.

Ready to collaborate?: medical learner experiences in interprofessional collaborative practice settings

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) offers great potential to improve healthcare. Increases in IPCP will require educating learners in authentic IPCP settings and will generate opportunities and challenges.

METHODS

In January 2015, we implemented an IPCP model called Collaborative Care (CC) for hospitalized adult medical patients. We explored learner perspectives regarding their educational experiences. We deductively coded transcripts from semi-structured interviews with medical learners. Data related to educational experiences were thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

Twenty-four of 28 (85.7%) medical learners rotating on CC from January to May 2015 completed interviews. Subsequent inductive analysis of these interviews identified four themes: Loss of Educational Opportunities during Rounds, Feelings of Uncertainty during New Situations, Strategies for Adaptation, and Improved Communication with Patients and the Team.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased implementation of IPCP will lead to a greater number of learners being exposed to authentic IPCP settings and will generate opportunities and challenges. Though learners perceived improved communication skills in an IPCP model, they also described loss of profession-specific learning opportunities and feelings of uncertainty. These findings corroborate the need for novel teaching methods aligned with IPCP clinical learning environments and educational assessment strategies that reflect attainment of both profession-specific and interprofessional competencies.

Implementing an interprofessional narrative medicine program in academic clinics: Feasibility and program evaluation

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a critical component of medical education and is affected by the characteristics of the clinical teams in which students and residents train. However, clinical teams are often shaped by professional silos and hierarchies which may hinder interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP). Narrative medicine, a branch of health humanities that focuses on close reading, reflective writing, and sharing in groups, could be an innovative approach for improving IPE and IPCP. In this report, we describe the structure, feasibility, and a process-oriented program evaluation of a narrative medicine program implemented in interprofessional team meetings in three academic primary care clinics. Program evaluation revealed that a year-long narrative medicine program with modest monthly exposure was feasible in academic clinical settings. Staff members expressed engagement and acceptability as well as support for ongoing implementation. Program success required administrative buy-in and sustainability may require staff training in narrative medicine.