Medical student evaluation of faculty in student-preceptor pairs.

BACKGROUND: Students' willingness to provide candid feedback about faculty in student-preceptor pairs is unknown. Strategies addressing this in U.S. medical schools have not been reported. This study describes student comfort in evaluating preceptors and how medical schools obtain/use evaluations of preceptors. METHOD: First- and second-year medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University completed a survey at midyear and year end. A Web-based survey of U.S. medical schools was conducted. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-two (78%) students and 84 (70%) medical schools responded. Most students felt comfortable providing feedback to program faculty (95%), whereas fewer felt comfortable with the preceptor (77%). Students commented on both the importance and awkwardness of giving feedback. Approximately 75% of medical schools agreed that lack of anonymity limits student candor on preceptorship evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the impact of one-to-one ratio on student evaluations of faculty may enable programs to develop more effective evaluation strategies.

Effective Learning in an Ambulatory Family Medicine Clerkship: A Qualitative Study of Medical Student Midpoint Feedback.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is substantial research on the effectiveness of ambulatory medical preceptors' teaching skills, but less is known about the student perspective on what contributes most to effective learning in a busy clinical practice. METHODS: As part of a formative midpoint assessment during the third-year clerkship in family medicine, students were asked to respond to the following open-ended reflective prompt: "My preceptor contributed to my learning by..." A qualitative assessment of student responses was conducted to identify themes describing effective learning in the ambulatory setting. Responses for all clerkship students from the years 2012-2014 were examined (N=314). RESULTS: The most common characteristic of effective learning identified by respondents was Autonomy in Practice. Other prominent themes included Stimulating Critical Thinking and Feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding student perceptions of the critical components of learning in ambulatory settings will allow medical educators to design meaningful student learning experiences and coach community teachers on effective teaching practices.

Beyond diagnoses: family medicine core themes in student reflective writing.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We share qualitative study results of third-year medical student writings during their family medicine clerkship utilizing a reflective writing exercise from 2005 and 2013. METHODS: For this paper, 50 student writings were randomly selected from the 2005 cohort in addition to 50 student writings completed by the 2013 cohort. Deductive thematic analysis utilizing Atlas.ti software was completed utilizing the Future of Family Medicine core attributes of family physicians as the a priori coding template. RESULTS: Student writings actively reflect key attributes of family physicians as described by the Future of Family Medicine Report: a deep understanding of the dynamics of the whole person, a generative impact on patients' lives, a talent for humanizing the health care experience, and a natural command of complexity and multidimensional access to care. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss how to lead the writing exercise and provide suggestions for facilitating the discussion to bring out these important aspects of family medicine care.

Residency faculty opinions about medical student advising: a national survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medical student faculty advisors are charged with providing students the best possible information and advice regarding residency selection and how to increase their likelihood of matching into the program of their choice. Given the lack of clear and consistent processes for ranking residency applicants, medical student advisors will benefit from better insight into the perspectives of family medicine residency (FMR) faculty. METHODS: This study was designed to increase understanding of the perceptions of FMR faculty in evaluating and ranking medical student applicants. We surveyed all FMR programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Program directors, or their designees, were asked to provide basic program characteristics and then to either agree or disagree with various advising statements medical school faculty might say to students applying to FMR programs. RESULTS: Of the 24 items in the survey, consensus among programs was reached for only seven. CONCLUSIONS: These results, especially given the current climate of an increasing number of applicants for a nearly stable number of residency training slots, clearly support the need for enhanced communication and collaboration between family medicine student advisors and residency educators.

A collaboration among health sciences schools to enhance faculty development in teaching.

Those involved in providing faculty development may be among only a few individuals for whom faculty development is an interest and priority within their work setting. Furthermore, funding to support faculty development is limited. In 2010, an interprofessional, self-formed, faculty learning community on faculty development in teaching was established to promote collaboration on faculty development initiatives that have transference to faculty members across disciplines and to share expertise and resources for wider impact. The organic structure and processes of the faculty learning community created an environment that has not only resulted in an increased offering of faculty development opportunities and resources across the health science campus, but has created a rich environment that combines the knowledge, innovation, and experience to promote collaborative efforts that benefit all. The background, structure, processes, successes, and lessons learned of the interprofessional faculty learning community on faculty development in teaching are described.

Career advising in family medicine: a theoretical framework for structuring the medical student/faculty advisor interview.

BACKGROUND: There are unique challenges to recruiting students into the specialty of family medicine within academic medical centers. METHODS: At Virginia Commonwealth University, we developed an advising framework to help students address institutional and personal obstacles to choosing family medicine as a career. RESULTS: The role of a faculty advisor is not to direct the student to a career choice but rather to foster a mentor relationship and help the student come to his or her own realizations regarding career choice. The faculty advisor/medical student interview is conceptualized as five discussion topics: self-knowledge, perception, organizational voice, cognitive dissonance, and anticipatory counseling. CONCLUSION: This framework is intended to assist faculty in their efforts to encourage students to consider a career in family medicine.