A step-by-step guide for mentors to facilitate team building and communication in virtual teams.

As collaborative work in medical education has increasingly moved online, team mentors have had to adapt their practices into the virtual environment. Fostering connection, communication and productivity on virtual teams requires specific skills and deliberate practice that differ from in-person teamwork. Drawing from best practices in business, education and medicine and also from our own experience as a virtual team, we present a guide for mentors to create and sustain successful virtual teams. Grounded in Tuckman's Five Stage Model of Team Development, we offer specific strategies for virtual team mentors to promote team cohesion, mitigate conflict, maintain productivity and leverage the benefits of the virtual environment.

Creation of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors Faculty Development for Educators "Nuts and Bolts" Teaching Aids.

Faculty development (FD) continues to be a great need and challenge for faculty engaged in graduate medical education (GME) and such educator development should ultimately benefit learners in GME programs. As a Task Force within the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) FD Learning Community, our Educator subcommittee utilized multiple needs assessments to develop a novel educator development program called the APPD FD for Educators Nuts and Bolts (Nuts & Bolts) consisting of 1 to 2 page FD teaching aids. This paper outlines the development of these teaching aids and can be used as a reference for developing future Nuts & Bolts teaching aids. The development was based on 1) a defining framework (Glassick's criteria), 2) a clear model for evaluation of the program (Logic model), and 3) development of an assessment tool to demonstrate effectiveness of the teaching aids in FD at the local level. These 3 components help establish the scholarly nature of the FD Nuts & Bolts program. Multiple lessons learned from development of this program are presented to inform others engaged in educator program development. Detailed proposals for use of FD Nuts & Bolts for faculty improvement and plans for generating additional teaching aids are presented.

Growth mindset in competency-based medical education.

The ongoing adoption of competency-based medical education (CBME) across health professions training draws focus to learner-centred educational design and the importance of fostering a growth mindset in learners, teachers, and educational programs. An emerging body of literature addresses the instructional practices and features of learning environments that foster the skills and strategies necessary for trainees to be partners in their own learning and progression to competence and to develop skills for lifelong learning. Aligned with this emerging area is an interest in Dweck's self theory and the concept of the growth mindset. The growth mindset is an implicit belief held by an individual that intelligence and abilities are changeable, rather than fixed and immutable. In this paper, we present an overview of the growth mindset and how it aligns with the goals of CBME. We describe the challenges associated with shifting away from the fixed mindset of most traditional medical education assumptions and practices and discuss potential solutions and strategies at the individual, relational, and systems levels. Finally, we present future directions for research to better understand the growth mindset in the context of CBME.

Planning and Presenting Workshops That Work: A Faculty Development Workshop.

Introduction: Workshops are commonly used in higher education, although faculty often have little or no training in how to develop and deliver this type of teaching methodology. This publication can be used to deliver a 1-hour active learning session to faculty utilizing experiential learning as a framework. Methods: An hour-long workshop on developing and implementing effective workshops was given to five cohorts of participants in the Academic Pediatric Association's Educational Scholars Program (ESP) between 2010 and 2018, following a 2008 pilot. After a brief didactic presentation, participants developed their own workshop plans. A unique reflection in action was utilized to model effective workshop facilitation techniques. Written surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop. Data from the ESP graduates were used to report the percentage of respondents who conducted their own workshop postgraduation. Results: A total of 116 faculty participated in this workshop over the course of 5 years. One hundred and fourteen participants stated they found the session to be useful. The role modeling/reflection by the facilitators and the opportunity to work with others on a workshop plan were described as the most valuable aspects. Approximately 70% of scholars who responded to postgraduation surveys had conducted at least one regional, national, or international workshop. Discussion: This faculty development session implements active and adult learning principles to model and teach participants how to develop and lead an effective workshop. It also provides a mechanism for collaboration among participants to develop a workshop based on shared interests.

Academic General Pediatrics Hiring Practices and Completion of Academic General Pediatrics Fellowships.

OBJECTIVE: Academic General Pediatrics (AGP) is a pediatric subspecialty with substantial faculty contributions in clinical care, research, education, and advocacy. However, AGP fellowship recruitment challenges exist. We aimed to describe AGP hiring practices from 2014 to 2019 and the role of fellowship training in hiring decisions. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey study of AGP Division Directors (DDs) and Fellowship Program Directors (PDs) from US-based academic institutions. Survey questions were developed iteratively and pilot-tested for content validity. Participants were identified from the Association of American Medical Colleges' directory of pediatric departments, Academic Pediatric Association's AGP Accreditation Committee's list of fellowship programs, and institutional websites. Descriptive analysis was used for close ended survey questions. Narrative responses were reviewed for trends. RESULTS: Forty-nine DDs (57%) and 22 PDs (73%) responded. All DDs reported at least one available faculty position and 73% reported filling a position with protected time. PDs reported 89 graduating fellows, 88% of whom secured an academic position with protected time. Seventy-percent of DDs and 100% of PDs reported that AGP fellows could secure an academic position with protected time, while only 22% and 1%, respectively, reported a graduating pediatric resident could secure a similar position. DDs indicated AGP fellowship trained candidates are preferable for enhancing research and education programs. CONCLUSION: AGP remains an active subspecialty and the majority of graduating fellows secured faculty positions with protected time. Further studies are needed to understand ways to improve visibility of AGP fellowships.

"PLEASE Complete Your Evaluations!" Strategies to Engage Faculty in Competency-Based Assessments.

Competency-based assessments (CBAs) have gained traction in graduate medical education and inform important learner outcomes through the continuum of medical training. Active participation in new CBAs presents challenges to faculty working in a busy clinical environment. As such, the implementation of new CBAs can be approached with intention to foster acceptance and engagement with new evaluations. This paper describes strategies utilized to implement CBAs among clinician educators during a national assessment pilot. Our methods are grounded in educational, psychological, business, ecological, communication, and information technology theory. Our primary interventions included creating a multilevel vision, engaging a dedicated work group, incorporating quality improvement methodology, and integrating technology to successfully implement the assessments. These practical and effective interventions may also be applied to the implementation of other educational innovations.

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.

Twelve tips for organising speed mentoring events for healthcare professionals at small or large-scale venues.

Mentors play a critical role in the development of professionals, influencing their job satisfaction, career aspirations and evolving professional identity. A variety of mentoring models exist, each with distinct benefits and challenges. Speed mentoring, based on the concept of speed dating, provides mentees with opportunities to meet multiple mentors over a short time and pose focussed career development questions. At large-scale events such as the annual AMEE (Association for Medical Education in Europe) meeting, speed mentoring sessions can successfully connect aspiring, novice and mid-career educators with international educational leaders to facilitate transfer of valuable insights for professional growth. For some mentors and mentees, this might spur ongoing communications or even longitudinal relationships. In this paper, we aim to provide strategies for planning and implementing speed mentoring events, combining insights gained from the literature and our experience of organising speed mentoring at the 2019 AMEE meeting in Vienna. These tips will be useful to a variety of professionals planning to organise speed mentoring initiatives.

An Annotated Bibliography of Key Studies in Medical Education in 2018: Applying the Current Literature to Pediatric Educational Practice and Scholarship.

Pediatric educators desire to and should strive to incorporate current educational methods and ideas into their professional practices. The overwhelming volume of medical education literature makes this difficult. This article provides an overview of 18 key articles from the 2018 literature that the authors considered impactful for the field of pediatric medical education. The author group has extensive combined leadership experience and expertise across the continuum of pediatric medical education and used an iterative, staged process to review 2270 abstracts from 13 medical education-related journals. This process aimed to identify a subset of articles that were most relevant to educational practice and scholarship and most applicable to pediatric medical education. Author pairs independently reviewed and scored abstracts and reached consensus to identify the abstracts that best met these criteria. Selected abstracts were discussed using different author pairs to determine the final articles included in this review. The 18 articles selected are summarized. The results showed a cluster of studies related to assessment, learner education and teaching, communication, and culture and climate. This review offers a summary for educators interested in remaining knowledgeable and current regarding the most relevant and valuable information in the field of medical education.

Reshaping the residency environment to enhance education and mitigate burnout.

Burnout remains a widespread issue in graduate medical education, with current trends to mitigate burnout shifting toward institutional systematic interventions as opposed to personal individual interventions. In this article, we propose utilizing Knowle's adult learning theory in conjunction with Maslach's organizational context for burnout to implement systemic changes within the postgraduate training environment that we posit would both optimize the learning experience and reduce the incidence of burnout.

Reciprocity? International Preceptors' Perceptions of Global Health Elective Learners at African Sites.

BACKGROUND: Short-term global health electives (STGHEs) have become increasingly common, with evidence showing educational and clinical benefits for short-term learners (STLs). Despite increased recognition that STGHEs should be mutually beneficial for host sites and STLs, evidence demonstrating the impact on international host preceptors is lacking. OBJECTIVES: To understand international host preceptors' perceptions regarding benefits and burdens of hosting STLs. METHODS: Focus group discussions with a convenience sample of 10 of 18 eligible preceptors were conducted at pediatric STGHE sites in Malawi and Lesotho. Qualitative content analysis was performed to identify themes using a deductive-inductive approach. FINDINGS: Common themes regarding benefits to preceptors included increased knowledge and resources for learning from STLs, broadened differential diagnoses, and the satisfaction of teaching. Regarding burdens, preceptors perceived that supervising STLs decreases efficiency. Preceptors identified the burden of having to intervene in instances that could lead to patient harm. Some preceptors perceived that STLs under-valued preceptors' clinical decision-making in resource-limited contexts. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasize the need for institutions to identify mutuality of benefits between STLs and host sites when developing STGHEs. Host preceptors identified robust pre-departure training for STLs, lengthened duration of STGHEs, and formal preceptor orientation as ways to enhance mutuality of benefits.

Key Studies in Medical Education from 2017: ANarrative Review.

Education, like clinical medicine, should be based on the most current evidence in the field. Despite the overwhelming breadth of literature in medical education, pediatric educators desire and need to incorporate best practices into their educational approaches. This article provides an overview of 18 articles from the literature in 2017 that the authors consider to be key articles in the field of pediatric medical education. The 7 authors, all medical educators with combined leadership experience and expertise across the continuum of pediatric medical education, used an iterative, staged process to review more than 1682 abstracts published in 2017. This process aimed to identify a subset of articles that were most relevant to educational practice and most applicable to pediatric medical education. In the process, pairs of authors independently reviewed and scored abstracts in 13 medical education-related journals and reached consensus to identify the abstracts that best met these criteria. Selected abstracts were discussed using different pairs to select the final articles included in this review. This paper presents summaries of the 18 articles that were selected. The results revealed a cluster of studies related to feedback, coaching, and observation; trainee progression, educator development, trainee entrustment, culture, and climate; and the medical student experience. This narrative review offers a useful tool for educators interested in keeping informed about the most relevant and valuable information in the field of medical education.

Impact of the final adjective in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation on determination of applicant desirability.

BACKGROUND: The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is a primary source of information used by residency programs in their selection of trainees. The MSPE contains a narrative description of the applicant's performance during medical school. In 2002, the Association of American Medical Colleges' guideline for preparation of the MSPE recommended inclusion of a comparative summative assessment of the student's overall performance relative to his/her peers (final adjective). OBJECTIVE: We hypothesize that the inclusion of a final adjective in the MSPE affects a reviewer's assessment of the applicant's desirability more than the narrative description of performance and designed a study to evaluate this hypothesis. DESIGN: Fifty-six faculty members from the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine with experience reviewing MSPEs as part of the intern selection process reviewed two pairs of mock MSPE letters. In each pair, the narrative in one letter was superior to that in the other. Two final adjectives describing relative class ranks were created. Each subject was first presented with a pair of letters with mismatched final adjective (study), i.e., the letter with the stronger narrative was presented with the weaker final adjective and vice versa. The subject was then presented with a second pair of letters without final adjectives (control). Subjects ranked the relative desirability of the two applicants in each pair. RESULTS: The proportion of rankings congruent with the strength of the narratives under study and control conditions were compared. Subjects were significantly less likely to rank the applicants congruent with the strength of the narratives when the strength of the final adjectives conflicted with the strength of the narrative; 42.9% of study letters were ranked congruent with the narrative versus 82.1% of controls (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The MSPE final adjective had a greater impact than the narrative description of performance on the determination of applicant desirability. ABBREVIATIONS: MSPE: Medical Student Performance Evaluation; AAMC: Association of American Medical Colleges; BCM: Baylor College of Medicine.

Host clinical preceptors' perceptions of professionalism among learners completing global health electives.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to gain an understanding of the perceptions of host clinical preceptors in Malawi and Lesotho of the professionalism exhibited by short-term learners from the United States and Canada during short-term global health electives. METHODS: Focus group discussions were conducted with 11 host clinical preceptors at two outpatient pediatric HIV clinics in sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi and Lesotho). These clinics host approximately 50 short-term global health learners from the United States and Canada each year. Focus group moderators used open-ended discussion guides to explore host clinical preceptors' perceptions of the professionalism of short-term global health learners. Thematic analysis with an inductive approach was used to identify salient themes from these focus group discussions. RESULTS: Eleven of the 18 possible respondents participated in two focus group discussions. Adaptability, eagerness to learn, active listening, gratitude, initiative, and punctuality was cited as professional behaviors among short-term global health learners. Cited unprofessional behaviors included disregard of local clinicians' expertise and unresponsiveness to feedback. Host clinical preceptors described difficulty providing feedback to short-term global health learners and discrepancies between what may be considered professional in their home setting versus in the study settings. Respondents requested pre-departure orientation for learners and their own orientation before hosting learners. CONCLUSIONS: Both host clinical preceptors and short-term global health learners should be aware that behaviors that may be considered best practice in one clinical setting may be perceived as unprofessional in another. Future studies to develop a common definition of professionalism during short-term global health electives are merited.

Top Medical Education Studies of 2016: A Narrative Review.

Education, like clinical medicine, should be based on the most current evidence in the field. Unfortunately, medical educators can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume and range of resources for this literature. This article provides an overview of 15 articles from 2016 that the authors consider the top articles in the field of pediatric medical education. The 7 authors, all medical educators with combined leadership and expertise across the continuum of pediatric medical education, used an iterative 3-stage process to review more than 6339 abstracts published in 2016. This process was designed to identify a small subset of articles that were most relevant to educational practices and most applicable to pediatric medical education. In the first 2 stages, pairs of authors independently reviewed and scored abstracts in 13 medical education-related journals and reached consensus to identify the articles that best met these criteria. In the final stage, all articles were discussed using a group consensus model to select the final articles included in this review. This article presents summaries of the 15 articles that were selected. The results revealed a cluster of studies related to observed standardized clinical encounters, self-assessment, professionalism, clinical teaching, competencies/milestones, and graduate medical education management strategies. We provide suggestions on how medical educators can apply the findings to their own practice and educational settings. This narrative review offers a useful tool for educators interested in keeping informed about the most relevant and valuable information in the field.

Creating a medical education enterprise: leveling the playing fields of medical education vs. medical science research within core missions.

BACKGROUND: Unlike publications of medical science research that are more readily rewarded, clinician-educators' scholarly achievements are more nebulous and under-recognized. OBJECTIVE: Create an education enterprise that empowers clinician-educators to engage in a broad range of scholarly activities and produce educational scholarship using strategic approaches to level the playing fields within an organization. DESIGN: The authors analyzed the advantages and disadvantages experienced by medical science researchers vs. clinician educators using Bolman and Deal's (B&D) four frames of organization (structural, human resource, political, symbolic). The authors then identified organizational approaches and activities that align with each B&D frame and proposed practical strategies to empower clinician-educators in their scholarly endeavors. RESULTS: Our medical education enterprise enhanced the structural frame by creating a decentralized medical education unit, incorporated the human resource component with an endowed chair to support faculty development, leveraged the political model by providing grant supports and expanding venues for scholarship, and enhanced the symbolic frame by endorsing the value of education and public recognition from leaderships. In five years, we saw an increased number of faculty interested in becoming clinician-educators, had an increased number of faculty winning Educational Awards for Excellence and delivering conference presentations, and received 12 of the 15 college-wide awards for educational scholarship. These satisfactory trends reflect early success of our educational enterprise. CONCLUSIONS: B&D's organizational frames can be used to identify strategies for addressing the pressing need to promote and recognize clinician-educators' scholarship. We realize that our situation is unique in several respects, but this approach is flexible within an institution and transferable to any other institution and its medical education program. ABBREVIATIONS: B&D: Bolman and Deal; CRIS: Center for Research, Innovation, and Scholarship; OOR: Office of Research.