Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Mentoring is an important aspect of career development for medical students, residents, and junior faculty. It is vital to the professional growth and maturation of individuals early in each phase of their careers. Additionally, mentoring has a critical role throughout all career stages, because the mentor-mentee relationship provides mutual benefit to both participants. ⋯ In contrast to role models, mentors play an active part in the development of a young physician's career. This difference will be discussed. Finally, this article will describe the responsibilities of career guidance and recommendation letter authorship that mentors assume for medical students.
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Review Case Reports
Profiles in patient safety: authority gradients in medical error.
The term "authority gradient" was first defined in aviation when it was noted that pilots and copilots may not communicate effectively in stressful situations if there is a significant difference in their experience, perceived expertise, or authority. A number of unintentional aviation, aerospace, and industrial incidents have been attributed, in part, to authority gradients. ⋯ The concept that authority gradients might contribute to medical error is largely unrecognized. This article presents one case and a series of examples to detail how authority gradients can contribute to medical error, and describes methods used in other disciplines to avoid their potentially negative impact.
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Mentorship has been shown to have a positive impact on academic faculty members in terms of career advancement. The guidance of a mentor has been shown to increase academic outcome measures such as peer-reviewed publications and grant support for junior academic faculty. ⋯ This group has also been reported to have a lower scholarly productivity rate than the typical research-based faculty. This article addresses the current state of mentorship as it applies specifically to clinician-educators, offers advice on how a potential protégé might seek out a potential mentor, and finally, suggests a possible mentoring system for academic emergency physicians who are focusing on careers in medical education.
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The emergency department provides a rich environment for diverse patient encounters, rapid clinical decision making, and opportunities to hone procedural skills. Well-prepared faculty can utilize this environment to teach residents and medical students and gain institutional recognition for their incomparable role and teamwork. Giving effective feedback is an essential skill for all teaching faculty. ⋯ Specific examples of redirection and reflection are offered, and pitfalls are reviewed. Suggestions for streamlining verbal and written feedback and obtaining feedback from others in a fast-paced environment are given. Ideas for further individual and group faculty development are presented.
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Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the rubric for an approach to learning and practicing medicine that applies skills from clinical epidemiology, library science, and information management to clinical practice. Teaching EBM effectively requires a longitudinal approach throughout medical education. This presents many opportunities for academic emergency physicians, especially in the setting of an emergency medicine clerkship. ⋯ Bedside teaching of EBM also requires ready access to modern information resources. Other venues for teaching EBM include morning report, teaching conferences, and journal clubs. Many tools can be used to aid the process, including Web-based sources such as UpToDate, textbooks, and Web-based tutorials, educational prescriptions, and critically appraised topics.