Inequity is woven into the fabric: a discourse analysis of assessment in pediatric residency training.

Intrinsic inequity in assessment refers to sources of harmful discrimination inherent in the design of assessment tools and systems. This study seeks to understand intrinsic inequity in assessment systems by studying assessment policies and associated procedures in residency training, using general pediatrics as a discourse case study. Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) was conducted on assessment policy and procedure documents. Two authors independently prepared structured analytic notes using guiding questions. Documents and respective analytic notes were subsequently reviewed independently by all authors. Each author prepared further unstructured analytic notes on the documents' discourse. The authors then compared notes and constructed truth statements (i.e., interpretations of what the discourse establishes as true about the construct under study) and sub-strands (i.e., themes) that were repeated and legitimized across the documents via iterative discussion. Based on analysis, the authors constructed two truth statements. These truth statements, "good assessment is equitable assessment," and "everyone is responsible for inequity," conceptualized inequity in assessment as an isolated or individual-level aberration in an otherwise effective or neutral system. Closer examination of the truth statements and sub-strands in the discourse presented an alternative view, suggesting that inequity may in fact not be an aberration but rather an inherent feature of assessment systems.

Counternarratives that illuminate faculty agency: A five-year longitudinal qualitative study of physician educators in academic medicine.

PURPOSE: Physician educators are often expected to direct educational programs and assume roles that conform to field norms for career advancement but that may not afford meaningful work for educators. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse the perspectives and actions taken by physician educators in response to tension between feeling compelled to direct an educational program and doing educationally meaningful work. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We used data from a longitudinal study and focused on three participants who, over the course of the five-year study, offered significant insights into how physician educators act in ways that run counter to expectations for career advancement. Our narrative analysis entailed organizing data from interview transcripts into time-ordered displays, weaving data into counternarratives that were edited by participants, and using the theory of faculty agency (and its key constructs, strategic perspectives and strategic action) to thread the stories together. RESULTS: In each counternarrative, the participant deliberated their sense of being a physician educator (strategic perspectives) and when expectations became untenable, they did what they needed to do to engage in meaningful work (strategic action) rather than comply with expectations for career advancement in academic medicine. For one participant, faculty agency meant leaving academic medicine; for another, it meant reducing clinical time so that unpaid time could be devoted to education; and for another, it meant opting not do direct a reputable education program. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty agency is a useful theoretical lens for conceptualizing how physician educators navigate their careers in academic medicine. Counternarratives that illuminate faculty agency offer stories that describe alternate career paths and portend a different future for physician educators.

Conducting qualitative research through time: how might theory be useful in longitudinal qualitative research?

This paper explores the use of theory in longitudinal qualitative research, an approach to research which explores lived experiences as they unfold. The authors illustrate how the complexity of conducting qualitative research through time drives an understanding and use of theory that differs from other research approaches. Longitudinal qualitative research considers time as fluid, subjective, and unbounded-in contrast to the more common taken-for-granted understanding of time as fixed, objective, and linear. Furthermore, longitudinal qualitative research is predicated on a premise of trust in the context of enduring research relationships. Therefore, while subject-matter theories used to investigate topics of interest to health professions educators may be useful frameworks for other types of research, longitudinal qualitative research needs theories that accommodate the myriad of changes in lived experiences through time. The authors share their decade-long, longitudinal qualitative research story, highlighting their decision points and insights. In doing so, they foreground issues such as time as fluid as an important contribution to health professions education literature.

Replace, amplify, transform: a qualitative study of how postgraduate trainees and supervisors experience and use telehealth for instruction in ambulatory patient care.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about using telehealth patient visits as an educational mode. Therefore, rapid implementation of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic had to be done without understanding how to optimize telehealth for education. With the likely sustained/post-pandemic use of telehealth in ambulatory patient care, filling gaps in our understanding of how telehealth can be used for instruction in this context is critical. This study sought to understand perceptions of pediatric postgraduate trainees and supervisors on the use of telehealth for instruction in ambulatory settings with the goal of identifying effective ways to enhance learning during telehealth visits. METHODS: In May-June of 2020, the authors purposefully sampled first- and third-year postgraduate trainees and supervising attendings from pediatric fellowship programs at one institution that implemented telehealth for instructional activities. They conducted semi-structured interviews; interviews lasted a median of 51 min (trainees) and 41 min (supervisors). They conducted interviews and data analysis iteratively until reaching saturation. Using thematic analysis, they created codes and constructed themes from coded data. They organized themes using the Replace-Amplify-Transform (RAT) model, which proposes that technology can replace in-person learning and/or amplify and transform learning. RESULTS: First-year trainees (n = 6), third-year trainees (n = 5) and supervisors (n = 6) initially used telehealth to replace in-person learning. However, skills that could be practiced in telehealth visits differed from in-person visits and instructional activities felt rushed or awkward. Trainees and supervisors adapted and used telehealth to amplify learning by enhancing observation and autonomy. They also transformed learning, using telehealth to develop novel skills. CONCLUSIONS: To harness telehealth for instructional activities, our findings indicated that trainees and supervisors should shift from using it as a direct replacement for in-person education to taking advantage of novel opportunities to amplify and transform education in PGME. The authors provide data-driven recommendations to help PGME trainees, supervisors and educators capitalize on the educational advantages of telehealth.

Creating a "Culture of Triage": A Dual-Perspective Study of Interruptions During ICU Rounds.

OBJECTIVES: To explore interrupters' and interruptees' experiences of interruptions occurring during morning rounds in a PICU in an attempt to understand better how to limit interruptions that threaten patient safety. DESIGN: Qualitative ethnographic study including observations, field interviews, and in-depth interviews. SETTING: A 55-bed PICU in a free-standing, quaternary-care children's hospital. SUBJECTS PARTICIPANTS: Attending physicians, fellow physicians, frontline clinicians (resident physicians and nurse practitioners), and nurses working in the PICU. INTERVENTIONS: Data collection occurred in two parts: 1) field observations during morning rounds with brief field interviews conducted with participants involved in an observed interruption and 2) in-depth interviews conducted with selected participants from prior field observations. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data were coded using a constant comparative method with thematic analysis, clustering codes into groups, and subsequently into themes. We observed 11 rounding encounters (17 hr of observation and 48 patient encounters), conducting 25 field interviews and eight in-depth interviews. Themes included culture of interruption triage, interruption triage criteria, and barriers to interruption triage. Interruptees desired forming a culture of triage, whereby less-urgent interruptions were deferred until later or addressed through an asynchronous method; this desire was misaligned with interrupters who described ongoing interruption triage based on clinical changes, time-sensitivity, and interrupter comfort, despite not having a formal triage algorithm. Barriers to interruption triage included a lack of situational awareness and experience among interrupters and interruptees. CONCLUSIONS: Interrupters and interruptees did not have a shared understanding of the culture of triage within the PICU. Although interrupters attempted to triage interruptions, no formal triage algorithm existed and interruptees did not perceive a triaging culture. Using data from this study, we created a triage algorithm that could inform future studies, potentially decrease unnecessary interruptions, and optimize information sharing for essential interruptions.

Navigating landscapes of practice: A longitudinal qualitative study of physicians in medical education.

INTRODUCTION: Despite its widespread application in medical education, belonging to a single community of practice does not reflect the overall experience of physician-educators. Knowing how physician-educators find their way among different communities of practice (ie their landscape of practice) has implications for professional development but the limited description in the literature. In this longitudinal qualitative research, we explored how physicians who pursue graduate degrees in medical education navigate their landscape of practice. METHODS: 11/29 physicians in one cohort of a masters in medical education programme were interviewed annually from 2016 (programme start) to 2020 (2 years post-graduation). We iteratively collected and analysed data, creating inductive codes and categorising coded data by mode of identification (engagement, imagination, alignment) and time. We organised narratives into time-ordered data matrices so that final analysis wove together mode, time and participant. RESULTS: All participants consistently spoke of navigating their landscape of practice, which included the community created in the graduate programme; but that single community 'doesn't define the journey itself'. They shifted engagement from teaching individual learners to translating what they learned in the graduate programme to develop educational projects and produce scholarship. They shifted the imagination from relying on internal and external assessments to experience-inspired versions of their future self. And they shifted alignment from belonging to the graduate programme's community of practice, then belonging to different communities in their landscape of practice and ultimately focussing on communities that mattered most to them. DISCUSSION: Physicians in a graduate programme in medical education navigated their dynamic landscape of practice by shifting how they engaged in medical education, as well as what they imagined and who they aligned with as physician-educators. Our work offers novel insights into how knowledgeability emerges through time as overlapping modes of identification.

Longitudinal qualitative research in medical education: Time to conceptualise time.

CONTEXT: Longitudinal qualitative research is an approach to research that entails generating qualitative data with the same participants over extended periods of time to understand their lived experiences as those experiences unfold. Knowing about dynamic lived experiences in medical education, that is, learning journeys with stops and starts, detours, transitions and reversals, enriches understanding of events and accomplishments along the way. The purpose of this paper is to create access points to longitudinal qualitative research in support of increasing its use in medical education. METHODS: The authors explore and argue for different conceptualisations of time: analysing lived experiences through time versus analysing lived experiences cross-sectional or via 2-point follow-up studies and considering time as subjective and fluid as well as objective and fixed. They introduce applications of longitudinal qualitative research from several academic domains: investigating development and formal education; building longitudinal research relationship; and exploring interconnections between individual journeys and social structures. They provide an illustrative overview of longitudinal qualitative research in medical education, and end with practical advice, or pearls, for medical education investigators interested in using this research approach: collecting data recursively; analysing longitudinal data in three strands; addressing mutual reflexivity; using theory to illuminate time; and making a long-term commitment to longitudinal qualitative research. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal qualitative research stretches investigators to think differently about time and undertake more complex analyses to understand dynamic lived experiences. Research in medical education will likely be impoverished if the focus remains on time as fixed. Seeing things qualitatively through time, where time is fluid and the past, present and future interpenetrate, produces a rich understanding that can move the field forward.

Applying the Theory of Gendered Organizations to the Lived Experience of Women with Established Careers in Academic Medicine.

Phenomenon: The number of women who enter medical school has been on par with the number of men for almost 20 years, but parity in training has not translated to equity in professional life. To capitalize on the perspective of women faculty with established careers in academic medicine and to bring theory to the largely descriptive research on gender inequity in academic medicine, the authors used the Theory of Gendered Organizations to demonstrate how academic medical centers function as inherently gendered organizations. Approach: The authors recruited women faculty with established careers at one academic medical center based on purposeful and snowball sampling and interviewed 30 participants in Summer/Fall 2018. They coded and analyzed data inductively. In later stages of analysis they used sensitizing concepts from the Theory of Gendered Organizations to guide our focus on formal expectations of, and informal interactions in, the academic medical center. Findings: The disjuncture, i.e., "lip service", between formal expectations intended to be gender-neutral and informal interactions that advantaged men demonstrated how the academic medical center functioned as a gendered organization. Participants experienced these interactions as being treated differently than men and/or being stereotyped. As their careers progressed, participants recognized gender inequity as embedded in the organization, or as they said, "the way things were stacked". Subsequent to this recognition, they navigated this gendered organization by advocating for themselves and younger women faculty. Insights: Women with established careers in academic medicine experienced gender inequity as embedded in the organization but navigate gendered interactions by advocating for themselves and for younger women. Using the Theory of Gendered Organizations as an analytic lens demonstrates how academic medical centers function as gendered organizations; these findings can inform both theory-based research and pragmatic change strategies.

Changes in medical errors after implementation of a handoff program.

BACKGROUND: Miscommunications are a leading cause of serious medical errors. Data from multicenter studies assessing programs designed to improve handoff of information about patient care are lacking. METHODS: We conducted a prospective intervention study of a resident handoff-improvement program in nine hospitals, measuring rates of medical errors, preventable adverse events, and miscommunications, as well as resident workflow. The intervention included a mnemonic to standardize oral and written handoffs, handoff and communication training, a faculty development and observation program, and a sustainability campaign. Error rates were measured through active surveillance. Handoffs were assessed by means of evaluation of printed handoff documents and audio recordings. Workflow was assessed through time-motion observations. The primary outcome had two components: medical errors and preventable adverse events. RESULTS: In 10,740 patient admissions, the medical-error rate decreased by 23% from the preintervention period to the postintervention period (24.5 vs. 18.8 per 100 admissions, P<0.001), and the rate of preventable adverse events decreased by 30% (4.7 vs. 3.3 events per 100 admissions, P<0.001). The rate of nonpreventable adverse events did not change significantly (3.0 and 2.8 events per 100 admissions, P=0.79). Site-level analyses showed significant error reductions at six of nine sites. Across sites, significant increases were observed in the inclusion of all prespecified key elements in written documents and oral communication during handoff (nine written and five oral elements; P<0.001 for all 14 comparisons). There were no significant changes from the preintervention period to the postintervention period in the duration of oral handoffs (2.4 and 2.5 minutes per patient, respectively; P=0.55) or in resident workflow, including patient-family contact and computer time. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the handoff program was associated with reductions in medical errors and in preventable adverse events and with improvements in communication, without a negative effect on workflow. (Funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and others.).

A Qualitative Study Exploring Moral Distress Among Pediatric Resuscitation Team Clinicians: Challenges to Professional Integrity.

OBJECTIVE: Our study objectives were to explore moral distress among pediatric team clinicians within the context of resuscitation experiences, and determine whether there were any distinctively ethical perspectives on moral distress that could be conceptualized as challenges to professional integrity, rather than to previously described psychological responses of clinicians. DESIGN: Descriptive, exploratory qualitative study. SETTING: A large tertiary pediatric academic hospital in Houston, TX. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five PICU resuscitation team clinicians were interviewed from December 2012 to April 2013. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All clinicians reported experiencing moral distress during certain resuscitations. Twenty-one of 25 clinicians reflected and acknowledged that their sense of professional integrity had been challenged during those resuscitation events. Four main components of resuscitation experience that induced moral distress were identified: 1) experiences where there was lack of understanding of the big picture; 2) experiences where there was suboptimal team leadership; 3) experiences where there was variable meanings to the word "resuscitation"; and 4) experiences were there was uncertainty of role responsibility. CONCLUSIONS: The perception of moral distress exists among pediatric clinicians during resuscitations and could be conceptualized as challenges to professional integrity. This ethical framework offers an alternative approach to understanding and investigating the complex layers of moral distress.

How students experience and navigate transitions in undergraduate medical education: an application of Bourdieu's theoretical model.

Using Bourdieu's theoretical model as a lens for analysis, we sought to understand how students experience the undergraduate medical education (UME) milieu, focusing on how they navigate transitions from the preclinical phase, to the major clinical year (MCY), and to the preparation for residency phase. Twenty-two medical students participated in this longitudinal case study. Students had similar preclinical and post-MCY experiences but different MCY experiences (rotational vs. longitudinal tracks). We interviewed students every 6 months in the preclinical phase, mid-way through MCY, and 7-8 months before graduation (101 total interviews). We inductively created codes, iteratively revised codes to best-fit the data, and thematically clustered codes into Bourdieu-informed categories: field (social structures), capital (resources) and habitus (dispositions). We found that students acclimated to shifts in the UME field as they moved through medical school: from medical school itself to the health system and back. To successfully navigate transitions, students learned to secure capital as medical knowledge and social connections in the preclinical and preparation for residency phases, and as reputable patient care and being noticed in the clinical phase. To obtain capital, and be well-positioned for the next phase of training, students consistently relied on dispositions of initiative and flexibility. In summary, students experience the complex context of medical school through a series of transitions. Efforts to improve UME would be well-served by greater awareness of the social structures (field) that students encounter, the resources to which they afford value (capital), and the dispositions which aid acquisition of these resources (habitus).

Methodologies and study designs relevant to medical education research.

Research is an important part of educational scholarship. Knowledge of research methodologies is essential for both conducting research as well as determining the soundness of the findings from published studies. Our goals for this paper therefore are to inform medical education researchers of the range and key components of educational research designs. We will discuss both qualitative and quantitative approaches to educational research. Qualitative methods will be presented according to traditions that have a distinguished history in particular disciplines. Quantitative methods will be presented according to an evidence-based hierarchy akin to that of evidence-based medicine with the stronger designs (systematic reviews and well conducted educational randomized controlled trials) at the top, and weaker designs (descriptive studies without comparison groups, or single case studies) at the bottom. It should be appreciated, however, that the research question determines the study design. Therefore, the onus is on the researcher to choose a design that is appropriate to answering the question. We conclude with an overview of how educational researchers should describe the study design and methods in order to provide transparency and clarity.

Program Evaluation in Health Professions Education: An Innovative Approach Guided by Principles.

PROBLEM: Program evaluation approaches that center the achievement of specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound goals are common in health professions education (HPE) but can be challenging to articulate when evaluating emergent programs. Principles-focused evaluation is an alternative approach to program evaluation that centers on adherence to guiding principles, not achievement of goals. The authors describe their innovative application of principles-focused evaluation to an emergent HPE program. APPROACH: The authors applied principles-focused evaluation to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Medical Education Collaboratory, a works-in-progress program for HPE scholarship. In September 2019, the authors drafted 3 guiding principles. In May 2021, they used feedback from Collaboratory attendees to revise the guiding principles: Advance Excellence , Build Bridges , and Cultivate Learning . OUTCOMES: In July 2021, the authors queried participants about the extent to which their experience with the Collaboratory adhered to the revised guiding principles. Twenty of the 38 Collaboratory participants (53%) responded to the survey. Regarding the guiding principle Advance Excellence , 9 respondents (45%) reported that the Collaboratory facilitated engagement in scholarly conversation only by a small extent, and 8 (40%) reported it facilitated professional growth only by a small extent. Although some respondents expressed positive regard for the high degree of rigor promoted by the Collaboratory, others felt discouraged because this degree of rigor seemed unachievable. Regarding the guiding principle Build Bridges , 19 (95%) reported the Collaboratory welcomed perspectives within the group. Regarding the guiding principle Cultivate Learning , 19 (95%) indicated the Collaboratory welcomed perspectives within the group and across disciplines, and garnered collaboration. NEXT STEPS: Next steps include improving adherence to the principle of Advancing Excellence , fostering a shared mental model of the Collaboratory's guiding principles, and applying a principles-focused approach to the evaluation of multi-site HPE programs.

EKG Acquisition Curriculum for Pediatric Trainees.

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric residency trainees interface with electrocardiograms (EKG) as part of routine clinical care. Depending on workflow and availability of support staff, trainees may be required to obtain EKGs on patients, though training on this skill varies. Our intervention seeks to train incoming pediatric residents on obtaining EKGs from pediatric patients and identifying common problems that may result in acquisition of low-fidelity EKGs. METHODS: A team of physicians, EKG technicians, and simulation educators designed a 30-min didactic and experiential learning opportunity for incoming pediatric trainees held prior to their start of clinical responsibilities. During the session, trainees were introduced to the basics of EKG acquisition and common quality issues that arise. Afterwards, they practiced placing EKG leads on a mannequin and a live model. A pre- and post-session survey was utilized to assess the session's utility and participant's learning. RESULTS: The intervention was perceived as a valuable experience by participants over the course of 2 years. We found increased participant comfort with performing and troubleshooting EKGs (P<.001). There was a 33% improvement in quality assessment of EKG rhythm strips after the session (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Given the importance of EKGs to the care of pediatric patients, it is essential that pediatricians receive adequate training in acquiring and assessing EKG quality. This intervention was deemed to be highly useful with a demonstrated improvement in EKG troubleshooting skills among first year pediatric residents. This session improves learner comfort with essential clinical responsibilities and identification of low-quality EKGs that often warrant repeat testing.

Faculty development as transformation: lessons learned from a process-oriented program.

BACKGROUND: Faculty development programs tend to be oriented around content, yet many have produced positive outcomes unrelated to the content. We describe a faculty development program that utilized the processes of shared reading and guided reflection espoused by narrative medicine. DESCRIPTION: To date, 25 preceptors in the Foundations of Clinical Medicine course have participated. The program consists of weekly seminars in which participants actively engage with text as a basis for conversation around content as well as teaching strategies. EVALUATION: Using qualitative methods, we examined notes from seminars, in-depth interviews, and review of curricular documents; we used conceptual frameworks from education as interpretive lenses. Participants recognized both personal growth and transformation in relationships with each other, which created the opportunity, and the means, to address and reshape norms and teaching practices at the institution. CONCLUSIONS: Process-oriented faculty development programs may foster growth of individuals, contribute to transformation in relationships, and ultimately influence teaching practices.

Diagnostic Reasoning of Resident Physicians in the Age of Clinical Pathways.

Background: Development of skills in diagnostic reasoning is paramount to the transition from novice to expert clinicians. Efforts to standardize approaches to diagnosis and treatment using clinical pathways are increasingly common. The effects of implementing pathways into systems of care during diagnostic education and practice among pediatric residents are not well described. Objective: To characterize pediatric residents' perceptions of the tradeoffs between clinical pathway use and diagnostic reasoning. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study from May to December 2019. Senior pediatric residents from a high-volume general pediatric inpatient service at an academic hospital participated in semi-structured interviews. We utilized a basic interpretive qualitative approach informed by a dual process diagnostic reasoning framework. Results: Nine residents recruited via email were interviewed. Residents reported using pathways when admitting patients and during teaching rounds. All residents described using pathways primarily as management tools for patients with a predetermined diagnosis, rather than as aids in formulating a diagnosis. As such, pathways primed residents to circumvent crucial steps of deliberate diagnostic reasoning. However, residents relied on bedside assessment to identify when patients are "not quite fitting the mold" of the current pathway diagnosis, facilitating recalibration of the diagnostic process. Conclusions: This study identifies important educational implications at the intersection of residents' cognitive diagnostic processes and use of clinical pathways. We highlight potential challenges clinical pathways pose for skill development in diagnostic reasoning by pediatric residents. We suggest opportunities for educators to leverage clinical pathways as a framework for development of these skills.

Can I Ask a Question About URiM Awards That I Don't Know the Answer to? Designing an Award for Underrepresented Medical Education Researchers.

Meaningful Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) efforts may be stymied by concerns about whether proposed initiatives are performative or tokenistic. The purpose of this project was to analyze discussions by the Research in Medical Education (RIME) Program Planning committee about how best to recognize and support underrepresented in medicine (URiM) researchers in medical education to generate lessons learned that might inform local, national, and international actions to implement meaningful EDI initiatives. Ten RIME Program Planning Committee members and administrative staff participated in a focus group held virtually in August 2021. Focus group questions elicited opinions about "if and how" to establish a URiM research award. The focus group was recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Recognition of privilege, including who has it and who doesn't, underpinned the focus group discussion, which revolved around 2 themes: (1) tensions between optics and semantics, and (2) potential unintended consequences of trying to level the medical education playing field. The overarching storyline threaded throughout the focus group discussion was intentionality. Focus group participants sought to avoid performativity by creating an award that would be meaningful to recipients and to career gatekeepers such as department chairs and promotion and tenure committees. Ultimately, participants decided to create an award that focused on exemplary Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) scholarship, which was eventually named the "RIME URiM Research Award." Difficult but productive conversations about EDI initiatives are necessary to advance underrepresented in medicine (URiM) scholarship. This transparent commentary may trigger further critical conversations.

Stability and Change in the Journeys of Medical Trainees: A 9-Year, Longitudinal Qualitative Study.

PURPOSE: It takes many years for trainees to become physicians-so long that their individual journeys through medical school and residency are seldom systematically studied and thus not well understood. Lack of understanding hinders effective support of future physicians' development across traditional time-bound phases of medical education. The authors initiated a longitudinal qualitative study, tracing a cohort of 6 trainees through the same medical school and 6 different residencies. They asked, how do stability and change characterize the lived experience of trainees through time? METHOD: From 2010 to 2019, the authors conducted in-depth interviews every 6 to 12 months with 6 trainees, using reflective prompts about formative events and prior interviews. Data were inductively coded and analyzed in an iterative fashion. By scrutinizing data via time-ordered displays of codes, the authors identified 3 patterns of stability and change, particularly related to constructing careers in medicine. The study originated at a private medical school in New York, New York. RESULTS: Patterns in the balance between stability and change were shaped by trainees' career interests. Trainees motivated by stable clinical interests perceived their journey as a "series of stepping-stones." Trainees motivated by evolving clinical interests described disruptive change or "upsets"; however, they were still accommodated by medical education. In contrast, trainees motivated by stable nonclinical (i.e., social science) interests perceived their journey as a "struggle" in residency because of the clinically heavy nature of that phase of training. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this descriptive, 9-year study of a small number of trainees, medical education seems to accommodate trainees whose journeys are motivated by clinical interests, even if those clinical interests change through time. Medical education could consider alternatives to time-bound frames of reference and focus on the right time for trainees to integrate clinical and social sciences in medical training.

How Full Is Your Tank? A Qualitative Exploration of Faculty Volunteerism in a National Professional Development Program.

OBJECTIVE: Professional development programs (PDPs) within academic professional organizations rely on faculty volunteers, but little is known about the volunteering process and experience. Our aim was to gain insights into the initial decision to volunteer, the experience of volunteering and the decision to re-volunteer or not (ie, remain or leave as a volunteer). The study setting was a PDP of the Academic Pediatric Association, the Educational Scholars Program. METHODS: In 2014, 13 Educational Scholars Program faculty members participated in semistructured phone interviews. The authors performed a general inductive analysis of the data, inductively created codes, and analyzed coded data for emergent themes that led to the creation of a model for recruiting and sustaining volunteers. RESULTS: Four themes related to the initial volunteer decision and the decision to re-volunteer or not (self-interest and altruism, reputation of the program, relevant skill set, and doability), and 4 themes related to the experience of volunteering (emotional impact, career advancement and professional recognition, professional growth, and doability) emerged. The relationship among the themes led to the creation of a model of volunteering, involving a metaphorical volunteerism "tank" that is full when faculty initially volunteer and subsequently fills or empties as a result of dynamic interplay between the themes for each individual. CONCLUSIONS: Leaders of PDPs may find our model of volunteering beneficial for enhancing the emotional and tangible benefits and minimizing the logistical issues of volunteering. This information should contribute to success in recruiting and retaining the volunteers who are essential for developing and sustaining PDPs.