Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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Comparative Study
The experience of minority faculty who are underrepresented in medicine, at 26 representative U.S. medical schools.
A diverse medical school faculty is critical to preparing physicians to provide quality care to an increasingly diverse nation. The authors sought to compare experiences of underrepresented in medicine minority (URMM) faculty with those of non-URMM faculty in a nationally representative sample of medical schools. ⋯ Encouragingly, for most aspects of academic medicine, the experiences of URMM and non-URMM faculty are similar, but the differences raise important concerns. The combination of higher leadership aspirations with lower feelings of inclusion and relationships might lead to discouragement with academic medicine.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A randomized trial of two e-learning strategies for teaching substance abuse management skills to physicians.
To compare the educational effectiveness of two virtual patient (VP)-based e-learning strategies, versus no training, in improving physicians' substance abuse management knowledge, attitudes, self-reported behaviors, and decision making. ⋯ This study did not provide evidence that a brief, worked example, VP-based e-learning program or a traditional, unworked, VP-based e-learning program was superior to no training in improving physicians' substance abuse management skills. The study did provide additional evidence that the P-CSAT distinguishes between physicians who should possess different levels of substance abuse management skills.
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Multicenter Study
Frequency and determinants of residents' narrative feedback on the teaching performance of faculty: narratives in numbers.
Physicians involved in residency training often receive feedback from residents on their teaching. Research shows that learners value narrative feedback, but knowledge of the frequency and determinants of narrative feedback in teaching performance evaluation is lacking. This study aims to identifythe frequency with which residentsgave positive comments and suggestions for improvement to faculty, and the factors influencing that frequency. ⋯ Residents provided narrative feedback that paralleled and elaborated on quantitative evaluations they provided; therefore, faculty would be wise to attend to narrative feedback. Analysis of the quality of narrative feedback is needed to understand its effectiveness.
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Graduate medical education (GME) plays a key role in the U.S. health care workforce, defining its overall size and specialty distribution and influencing physician practice locations. Medicare provides nearly $10 billion annually to support GME and faces growing policy maker interest in creating accountability measures. The purpose of this study was to develop and test candidate GME outcome measures related to physician workforce. ⋯ GME outcomes are measurable for most institutions and training sites. Specialty and geographic locations vary significantly. These findings can inform educators and policy makers during a period of increased calls to align the GME system with national health needs.
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Comparative Study
Evaluating oral case presentations using a checklist: how do senior student-evaluators compare with faculty?
Previous studies have shown student-evaluators to be reliable assessors of some clinical skills, but this model has not been studied for oral case presentations (OCPs). The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of student-evaluators in assessing OCP by comparing them with faculty. ⋯ Senior student-evaluators were able to reliably assess second-year medical students' OCP skills. The results support the use of student-evaluators for peer assessment of OCPs in low-stakes settings, but evidence of leniency compared with faculty assessment suggests caution in using student-evaluators in high-stakes settings. Extending peer assessment to OCPs provides a practical approach for low-resource evaluation of this essential skill.