Psychiatry Vice Chairs of Education: Expected and Actual Responsibilities, Satisfaction, and Work Barriers.

OBJECTIVES: The current study investigated the gap between actual and expected work responsibilities of psychiatry vice chairs of education (VCEs), their work satisfaction, and perceived work barriers. METHODS: Psychiatry VCEs were identified through professional memberships and school websites within the USA. In 2021, identified VCEs were emailed an anonymous survey that was based on past research on roles and responsibilities of VCEs. Through qualitative and quantitative questions, the survey assessed demographic characteristics, actual and expected work responsibilities, work satisfaction, and work barriers during time spent in the VCE role. RESULTS: Of 57 identified psychiatry VCEs, 32 (56.1%) completed the survey. Most respondents (59.4%) said their department/institution did not have a written VCE job description. There were gaps between actual and expected VCE responsibilities, especially with the performance review of education leaders (Δ - 11; actual n = 20 vs. expected n = 31). The greatest satisfaction came from mentoring trainees/faculty (respectively 4.88 ± 0.33 and 4.85 ± 0.37 on a 5-point scale) and overseeing/supporting educational programs (4.66 ± 0.48). Comments on work barriers included limited protected time (n = 11), education budget constraints (n = 6), and having multiple leadership roles (n = 5). The actual full-time equivalent in the VCE role was significantly lower than expected (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Considering the role of psychiatry VCEs remains relatively new and is evolving, adequate allocation of resources and improved job descriptions may help close the gap between expected and actual responsibilities. The current findings can assist in developing such job descriptions to attract and define the work of a VCE based on specific responsibilities and associated work satisfaction.

Climate Change as a Social Determinant of Health: An Interactive Case-Based Learning Activity.

Introduction: Despite consensus on climate change's impact on humans, medical schools have not widely adopted inclusion of environmental topics into their mandatory curriculum. This educational activity explicitly addresses climate change as one of the environmental determinants of health (EDH). Methods: We developed a required, 1-hour module for all first-year medical students. This interactive, case-based, small-group activity was incorporated into a curriculum within an advising program but could be run independently. Before and after the session, participants completed evaluations assessing knowledge gains and attitude shifts. Results: Of 183 first-year students, 155 completed both pre- and postmodule surveys. Participants' rating increased on the postmodule survey item "priority should be given to the discussion of EDH in medical education." The Wilcoxon signed rank test determined this difference in priority was statistically significant (p < .001). Reported strengths of this activity included the cases, informative content on EDH, the video, the discussion, and highlighted EDH resources. Suggested areas for improvement included more information on how to apply concepts to clinical contexts, guidance on how to engage in EDH concepts, and more discussion time. As a result of the module, students planned to engage in recycling, reduced consumption, advocacy, and changes to mode of transportation. Discussion: Climate change remains the greatest global threat to human health, and future physicians must be equipped to educate patients and policymakers on the harms of environmental hazards. This brief yet effective module offers one approach to incorporating this topic into medical school curricula.

Becoming a Doctor During a Pandemic: Impact on Medical Student Social Identity Formation.

The COVID-19 pandemic required modifications to undergraduate medical education that likely affected medical students' social identity formation (SIF). SIF is shaped by experiences throughout the medical education continuum. This commentary explores factors potentially affecting medical student SIF during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on students' perceptions of being part of the healthcare team, their role in medicine, and their engagement during the pandemic. Based on such considerations, we propose that educators should aim to design effective learning environments to support a full educational experience that encompasses acquiring medical knowledge and building strong social identities even during a pandemic.

Taking Leave During Residency: Types of Absences and Subsequent Delays and Variations in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medical Board Pass Rates.

ABSTRACT: There is limited literature examining the reasons physical medicine and rehabilitation residents take an extended leave of absence during residency and the impact of leave on board examination performance. Such information could better inform leave policies, help guide residency program directors, and potentially destigmatize taking leave. Study objectives were to describe the characteristics of physical medicine and rehabilitation residents who take leave during residency, compare differences in part I (written) and part II (oral) certification examination performance, and determine the prevalence of delays in taking board examinations. Study methodology was a retrospective analysis of deidentified information from the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation database between 2008 and 2020. Results indicated four reasons for extended leave of absence: medical, parental, academic/remediation, and unspecified personal reasons. Residents who took an extended leave of absence for medical or parental reasons had similar or better odds of passing their part I and part II examinations compared with those without leave. Residents who took leave for academic/remediation concerns or unspecified personal reasons had lower odds of passing their board examinations. Examination delays for those taking parental or personal health leaves did not affect board pass rates. Further investigation is needed to identify how to support residents on academic/remediation and unspecified leaves during training.

Influence of Psychological Safety and Organizational Support on the Impact of Humiliation on Trainee Well-Being.

OBJECTIVES: To develop physicians who can practice safely, we need better understanding of how the clinical learning environment affects trainee well-being. Two psychosocial constructs may help us understand the context: psychological safety (belief one can speak up without concerns) and perceived organizational support (degree to which members feel that their organization cares for them and values their contributions). The objective of this study is to test a moderated mediation model to determine how humiliation (X) impacts trainees' well-being (Y) while taking into account psychological safety (mediator) and organizational support (moderator). METHODS: Between May and June 2018, a single health system recruited resident physicians across 19 programs to complete an anonymous electronic survey to assess facets of the clinical learning environment, well-being, and experiences of humiliation. In a moderated mediation analysis, mediation helps explain how a predictor variable (X) impacts an outcome variable (Y) through a mediating variable, whereas moderation helps explain under what conditions such a relationship exists. RESULTS: Of 428 residents, 303 responded (71%) to the survey across 19 training programs. The effects of humiliation on well-being were mitigated by psychological safety, which varied depending on the levels of perceived organizational support. Environments rated 1 SD below the mean on perceived organization support by residents had a stronger negative impact of public humiliation on psychological safety. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that humiliation is associated with well-being through the effects of psychological safety and influenced by organizational support. Further work might explore the relationship by investing resources (e.g., faculty development, mentorship) to increase psychological safety and reduce humiliation during training, especially within environments prone to be perceived as unsupportive of trainees.

Towards equitable learning environments for medical education: Bias and the intersection of social identities.

CONTEXT: Medical educators are increasingly paying attention to how bias creates inequities that affect learners across the medical education continuum. Such bias arises from learners' social identities. However, studies examining bias and social identities in medical education tend to focus on one identity at a time, even though multiple identities often interact to shape individuals' experiences. METHODS: This article examines prior studies on bias and social identity in medical education, focusing on three social identities that commonly elicit bias: race, gender and profession. By applying the lens of intersectionality, we aimed to generate new insights into intergroup relations and identify strategies that may be employed to mitigate bias and inequities across all social identities. RESULTS: Although different social identities can be more or less salient at different stages of medical training, they intersect and impact learners' experiences. Bias towards racial and gender identities affect learners' ability to reach different stages of medical education and influence the specialties they train in. Bias also makes it difficult for learners to develop their professional identities as they are not perceived as legitimate members of their professional groups, which influences interprofessional relations. To mitigate bias across all identities, three main sets of strategies can be adopted. These strategies include equipping individuals with skills to reflect upon their own and others' social identities; fostering in-group cohesion in ways that recognise intersecting social identities and challenges stereotypes through mentorship; and addressing intergroup boundaries through promotion of allyship, team reflexivity and conflict management. CONCLUSIONS: Examining how different social identities intersect and lead to bias and inequities in medical education provides insights into ways to address these problems. This article proposes a vision for how existing strategies to mitigate bias towards different social identities may be combined to embrace intersectionality and develop equitable learning environments for all.

Applying the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle in medical education to refine an antibiotics therapy active learning session.

BACKGROUND: Active learning improves learner engagement and knowledge retention. The application of continuous quality improvement methodologies, such as the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework, may be useful for optimizing medical education, including active learning sessions. We aimed to enhance student satisfaction and achievement of learning outcomes by applying the PDSA framework to an antibiotic utilization curriculum for medical students. METHODS: Guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework, between February 2017 and July 2019, we developed, implemented, and revised an active learning session for medical students, focused on appropriate utilization of antibiotics during their Internal Medicine clerkship. RESULTS: Across twelve sessions, 367 students (83.4%) completed the post-evaluation survey. Although baseline ratings were high (97% of respondents enjoyed the "active learning" format), constructive comments informed iterative improvements to the session, such as modifying session timing, handouts and organization of the gaming component. Intervention 3, the last improvement cycle, resulted in more favorable ratings for the active learning format (p = 0.015) improvement in understanding antibiotics and their clinical application (p = 0.001) compared to Baseline ratings. CONCLUSIONS: This intervention suggests that active learning, with regular incorporation of student feedback vis-à-vis a PDSA cycle, was effective in achieving high student engagement in an Internal Medicine core clerkship session on antibiotic therapy. Iterative interventions based on student feedback, such as providing an antibiotic reference table and answer choices for each case, further improved student receptivity and perceived educational value. The study findings have potential implications for medical education and suggest that the application of the PDSA cycle can optimize active learning pedagogies and outcomes.

Variations in Medical Students' Educational Preferences, Attitudes and Volunteerism during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic.

Public health crises require individuals, often volunteers, to help minimize disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic required such activation of individuals, but little is known about medical students' preferences of such engagement. We investigated potential variations in medical students' educational preferences, attitudes, and volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic based on socio-demographics to better prepare for future activation scenarios. A web-based, anonymous survey of U.S. medical students at a single institution was conducted in May 2020. Across four training year, 518 (68% response rate) students completed the survey. During the pandemic, 42.3% (n = 215) wanted to discontinue in-person clinical experiences, 32.3% (n = 164) wanted to continue, and 25.4% (n = 129) were neutral. There was no gender effect for engagement in volunteer activities or preference to engage in clinical activities during the pandemic. However, second-year (n = 59, 11.6%) and third-year students (n = 58, 11.4%) wanted to continue in-person clinical experiences at a greater proportion than expected, while a small proportion of fourth-year students (n = 17, 3.3%) wanted to continue, χ2(6) = 43.48, p < .001, φ = 0.29. Majority of respondents (n = 287, 55.5%) volunteered in clinical and non-clinical settings. A lower proportion of fourth-year (n = 12, 2.3%) and first-year students (n = 50, 9.7%) volunteered than expected. Likelihood to volunteer during a pandemic varied by gender, training year, and/or prior experience with disaster event depending on the type of volunteer-site setting. Our findings suggest socio-demographic factors may impact medical student engagement and volunteerism during a public health crisis. Educational leadership should be sensitive to such variations and can facilitate volunteer activities that allow student engagement during future pandemics.

Surgery Resident Perceptions of the Clicker Evaluation System: A Novel Approach to Collecting and Utilizing Clinical Faculty Performance Data.

OBJECTIVE: Medical trainees often have a process in place to receive feedback from clinical faculty regarding overall performance. While there is guidance on effective methodologies for faculty to provide feedback for learners, there is a dearth of literature analyzing trainees' evaluation of faculty performance. We sought to identify an effective and anonymous method for surgery residents to evaluate clinical faculty. DESIGN: The Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health implemented a novel process to gather annual clinical faculty performance data from residents for the purpose of program improvement starting in 2012. Specifically, residents used a web-based audience response system, also known as a "clicker" system, to evaluate faculty performance over the academic year. During the June 2018 evaluation session, residents also completed an anonymous, 9 question survey to assess the residents' perceptions regarding this clicker evaluation process. SETTING: VCU Health System, a tertiary care hospital in Richmond, Virginia. PARTICIPANTS: All 24 orthopaedic surgery residents at VCU Health participated in the evaluation process and completed the perception survey in 2018. RESULTS: Ninety-six percent (n = 23) of the residents agreed that they are able to accurately rate their attendings' performance, felt confident that their responses remained anonymous, and that their departmental chair values their opinion when evaluating their attendings' performance through the clicker process. Qualitative responses identified anonymity as a strength of the clicker process, while opportunities for improvement included refinement of questions. CONCLUSIONS: The clicker evaluation system is an effective and anonymous method for resident evaluation of clinical faculty performance in academic settings. Future steps include refinement of questions based on departmental goals for education, adoption of the clicker evaluation system by other specialties, as well as research into ways to optimize the clicker evaluation process. Additional research should be done to see if and how the clicker evaluation feedback translates into change in clinical faculty behavior.

Incidence of resident mistreatment in the learning environment across three institutions.

INTRODUCTION: Mistreatment in the learning environment is associated with negative outcomes for trainees. While the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) has collected medical student reports of mistreatment for a decade, there is not a similar nationally benchmarked survey for residents. The objective of this study is to explore the prevalence of resident experiences with mistreatment. METHODS: Residents at three academic institutions were surveyed using questions similar to the GQ in 2018. Quantitative data were analyzed based on frequency and Mann-Whitney U tests to detect gender differences. RESULTS: Nine hundred ninety-six of 2682 residents (37.1%) responded to the survey. Thirty-nine percent of residents reported experiencing at least one incident of mistreatment. The highest reported incidents were public humiliation (23.7%) and subject to offensive sexist remarks/comments (16.0%). Female residents indicated experiencing significantly more incidents of public embarrassment, public humiliation, offensive sexist remarks, lower evaluations based on gender, denied opportunities for training or rewards, and unwanted sexual advances. Faculty were the most frequent instigators of mistreatment (66.4%). Of trainees who reported experiencing mistreatment, less than one-quarter reported the behavior. CONCLUSION: Mistreatment in the academic learning environment is a concern in residency programs. There is increased frequency among female residents.

Patient Safety Over Power Hierarchy: A Scoping Review of Healthcare Professionals' Speaking-up Skills Training.

Communication failures in healthcare constitute a major root cause of adverse events and medical errors. Considerable evidence links failures to raise concerns about patient harm in a timely manner with errors in medication administration, hygiene and isolation, treatment decisions, or invasive procedures. Expressing one's concern while navigating the power hierarchy requires formal training that targets both the speaker's emotional and verbal skills and the receiver's listening skills. We conducted a scoping review to examine the scope and components of training programs that targeted healthcare professionals' speaking-up skills. Out of 9,627 screened studies, 14 studies published between 2005 and 2018 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the existing training exclusively relied on one-time training, mostly in simulation settings, involving subjects from the same profession. In addition, most studies implicitly referred to positional power as defined by titles; few addressed other forms of power such as personal resources (e.g., expertise, information). Almost none addressed the emotional and psychological dimensions of speaking up. The existing literature provides limited evidence identifying effective training components that positively affect speaking-up behaviors and attitudes. Future opportunities include examining the role of healthcare professionals' conflict engagement style or leaders' behaviors as factors that promote speaking-up behaviors.

Perceived influence of power distance, psychological safety, and team cohesion on team effectiveness.

Interprofessional education needs a stronger theoretical basis informed by the challenges facing collaboration across professions. This study explores the impact of power distance (perception of role hierarchy), on team effectiveness as mediated by team cohesion and psychological safety (believe one can speak up without the fear of negative consequences). Furthermore, it tests for differences between medical and nursing students in these concepts. Final-year medical and nursing students completed a paper survey on study constructs at the end of a three-session, 6-h interprofessional critical care simulation activity. Two hundred and forty-three (76% response rate) retrospective surveys found the relationship between power distance and perceived team effectiveness was mediated by perceptions of team cohesion and psychological safety, suggesting these concepts influence desired interprofessional collaboration. There were no differences between medical and nursing students on study variables. While interprofessional training typically focuses on general attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration and on the acquisition and demonstration of knowledge and skills, these findings suggest important team concepts underlying effective collaboration may include perceptions of psychological safety and power distance. These concepts can be key drivers of cohesion and effectiveness during interprofessional simulation exercises and may be targets for future interventions.

A Medical School Dean's Guide to Orienting Educational Leaders on Roles, Responsibilities, and Resources.

Continuing professional development of physicians often revolves around clinical activities. Accordingly, there is a lack of intentional development and support of medical education leaders despite such individuals having critical influence over key organizational functions. Unequivocally, educational leaders have complex and dynamic jobs that require clear delineation of roles, responsibilities, and resources available to successfully train the next generation of health professionals. Although there is guidance on how to longitudinally onboard medical education leaders, there is little information on how to effectively orient such leaders on the functional nature of their jobs. Baylor College of Medicine's medical school dean developed and delivered a 2-day orientation program to educational leaders to clarify roles, responsibilities, and resources. Postevaluation surveys aimed to identify key session content that would be frequently used by educational leaders to oversee key aspects of medical education. The purpose of this article is to outline the structure and content of an orientation program designed for medical education leaders, and share postevaluation data to identify which sessions were most used in practice. Other deans are encouraged to take ownership over the professional development of their educational leaders and delivering similar programming.

Threats to Reliability and Validity With Resident Wellness Surveying Efforts.

BACKGROUND: Residency programs and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) use survey data for the purpose of program evaluation. A priority for many programs is to improve resident wellness, often relying on self-reported surveys to drive interventions. OBJECTIVE: We tested for result differences on wellness surveys collected through varying survey methodology and identified potential causes for differences. METHODS: Aggregated results on the resident wellness scale for a single institution were compared when collected electronically through the ACGME Resident Survey immediately following the program evaluation survey for accreditation purposes and anonymously through an internal survey aimed at program improvement. RESULTS: Across 18 residency programs, 293 of 404 (73%) residents responded to the internal survey, and 383 of 398 residents (96%) responded to the 2018 ACGME survey. There was a significant difference (P < .001, Cohen's d = 1.22) between the composite wellness score from our internal survey (3.69 ± 0.34) compared to its measurement through the ACGME (4.08 ± 0.30), indicating reports of more positive wellness on the national accreditation survey. ACGME results were also statistically more favorable for all 10 individual scale items compared to the internal results. CONCLUSIONS: Potential causes for differences in wellness scores between internal and ACGME collected surveys include poor test-retest reliability, nonresponse bias, coaching responses, social desirability bias, different modes for data collection, and differences in survey response options. Triangulation of data through multiple methodologies and tools may be one approach to accurately gauge resident wellness.

Otolaryngology Resident Well-Being and Perceptions of the Clinical Learning Environment.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the current state of organizational and well-being factors in otolaryngology residency programs and associate these perceptions with demographics, pursuit of subspecialty fellowships, and performance on the Otolaryngology Training Examination (OTE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anonymous mail and online survey study of otolaryngology residents from the Southern, Mid-Atlantic, and East South-Central Regions of the United States. SUMMARY OF RESULTS: A total of 46 otolaryngology residents across 14 residency training programs (22% resident response rate) completed our survey. Residents who scored above the 80th percentile on the OTE perceived greater organizational support (median = 3.84) than residents who scored below the 40th percentile (median = 3.31), U = 48.00, P = .047, η2 = 0.14. Residents interested in fellowship reported less burnout (median = 2.44) compared to those who did not plan to pursue fellowship (median = 3.56), U = 105.00, P = .010, η2 = 0.05. Residents pursuing fellowship also reported less work-life strain (median = 2.56) than those forgoing fellowship (median = 2.89), U = 126.00, P = .044, η2 = 0.10. Residents with children reported greater work-life strain (median = 3.11) compared to those without (median = 2.56), U = 60.50, P = .008, η2 = 0.15. CONCLUSION: For otolaryngology residents in this survey sample, the perception of organizational support and well-being may influence resident performance (on OTE examinations) and ultimate career goals (fellowship applications). Program directors and coordinators can use this information to strengthen the perceptions of organizational support as well as improve the clinical learning environment to optimize training conditions for their residents. Residency program directors can also use the identified study measures to assess resident perceptions of the clinical learning environment and well-being for annual evaluation and improvement purposes.

The Application of Virtual Reality in Patient Education.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) provides an immersive image-viewing experience that has recently been expanding in use in clinical medicine. We developed a three-dimensional (3D) model of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) for patients with a diagnosis of an AAA to view in VR to assess the use of VR in patient education. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using an educational intervention. A standardized 3D model of an AAA was generated from a computed tomography scan and uploaded onto a 3D image-hosting website. Patients with an AAA who participated in the study wore a Google Cardboard VR headset, with a mobile device displaying the digital 3D AAA image in VR. Patients completed a survey afterward for assessing satisfaction with VR on a 5-point agreement Likert scale. RESULTS: Between September 2017 and January 2018, 19 patients participated in our study (90% participation rate). Most participants had no prior experience with VR (n = 15; 79%), and the mean age was 69 ± 8 years. Seventeen (89%) participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt better informed about their health status after using VR and would like to see VR used more in their health care, while sixteen (84%) agreed or strongly agreed that they felt more engaged in their health care because of using VR. Almost all participants felt comfortable using VR (n = 17; 90%) and enjoyed using the technology (n = 16; 84%). CONCLUSIONS: VR proved to be an engaging learning tool that patients perceived as beneficial in understanding their health status. Further efforts to investigate the role of VR in education and health care should be explored.

Surgical Resident Burnout and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Workplace Climate and Perceived Support.

BACKGROUND: Surgical residents train under immense stress, often manifesting into poor well-being. While recent research identifies methods of coping with stress, few studies empirically investigate the role of the environment on surgical resident well-being. We aimed to assess surgical resident perceptions of workplace climate, organizational support, burnout, and job satisfaction to test a mediation model identifying antecedents to well-being. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A convenience sampling of program directors from general surgery within the Eastern region of the United States were emailed to request either agenda time to collection data via paper survey or to forward an electronic survey link to their residents between March 2016 and June 2016. The survey included scales demonstrating validity evidence on well-being, climate, and perceptions of support. RESULTS: Based on 160 general surgery residents (out of 557; 29% response rate) across 19 training programs, our mediation model found that job satisfaction was significantly predicted by workplace climate directly (direct effect = 0.37, 95% CI [0.19, 0.55]) and indirectly (specific indirect effect = 0.07, 95% CI [0.01, 0.13]) through perceived organizational support and burnout, while controlling for training year and gender, F(5,147) = 53.76, P < 0.001, Rsq. = 0.65. CONCLUSIONS: Medical education requires an additional focus on how the clinical learning environment affects surgical resident well-being. Health systems and training programs will need to collaborate on workplace innovations to improve workplace climate for trainees to address the concerns of well-being with a modern surgical workforce.

Psychological Safety and Support: Assessing Resident Perceptions of the Clinical Learning Environment.

BACKGROUND: Assessments of the clinical learning environment could allow early interventions to improve graduate medical education. To date, measurement tools for this have not been identified. OBJECTIVE: We established the concurrent validity of 2 instruments that assess cultural facets of the clinical learning environment by correlating them with external program evaluation data. METHODS: In 2017 we surveyed residents across 19 training programs on their perceptions of organizational support by using the Short Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS), and psychological safety by using the Psychological Safety Scale (PSS). Data were aggregated to the program level and correlated with results from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Resident Survey. RESULTS: Of 511 residents, 322 (63%) completed the survey, and 496 of 516 residents (96%) completed the ACGME Resident Survey. Perceived organizational support correlated positively with overall program evaluation score (r = 0.75, P < .001); faculty (r = 0.72, P < .001); evaluation (r = 0.73, P < .001); educational content (r = 0.52, P = .022); and resources domains (r = 0.55, P = .014). Psychological safety had a positive correlation with overall program evaluation (r = 0.57, P = .011); faculty (r = 0.50, P = .028); and evaluation (r = 0.62, P < .005). CONCLUSIONS: The SPOS and PSS correlated with key ACGME Resident Survey domains. Programs showing greater support of residents were likely to show more positive ratings on program evaluation metrics. Teaching institutions may benefit from actively monitoring and improving aspects of their learning environment through internal assessments.