Kathleen Timme Spotlight

Kathleen Timme recently started a new podcast called Teaching in Medicine where she interviews current and aspiring clinician-educators as a means to explore triumphs, struggles, and effective approaches in medical education.  The first two episodes feature Dr. Benjamin Chan, Associate Dean of Admissions for the University of Utah School of Medicine (and 2018 graduate of the MEd program), where they discuss the reasons why they chose our online MEd program.

Kathleen’s inspiration for the podcast came from her relationship with the Rural Underserved Utah Training Experience (RUUTE) program and her work on creating a trainee-as-teacher program for students and residents doing rural rotations. As a means to reach remote populations, she considered audio and video content for learners to access while away from the academic hub.  On a personal note, she enjoys listening to podcasts while driving and exercising and thought that this would be a good way to bring brief lessons to learners that can be accessed at their convenience.  She was also inspired by Dr. Benjamin Chan's podcast Talking Admissions and Med Student Life that brings to life the stories of medical students and how they ended up in medical school.  Her hope is to capture the stories of clinician-educators and how they ended up in medical education.

In the future, Kathleen hopes that the Teaching In Medicine podcast will become a place where medical students, trainees, and clinician-educators alike can learn about the art of teaching as a healthcare provider.  She hopes that students and trainees can find inspiration in the "Meet The Educator" episodes and that we all improve our teaching skills through careful exploration of pedagogy, teaching approaches, and review of the literature on medical education.

Kathleen invites those interested in being a guest on the show or those with questions to teachinginmedicinepodcast@gmail.com.  You can subscribe anywhere you get podcasts: anchor.fm/teachinginmedicine.  New episodes come out every other Monday.

Bio:
Kathleen Timme is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Utah and serves as Director of Educational Development for the Graduate Medical Education Committee and Co-Director of the Students-as-Teachers pathway. She attended the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, followed by pediatrics residency and endocrine fellowship at Yale.

Kathleen is a current student in the online Master of Education program here at the University of Cincinnati.  Her research interest is in training physicians how to effectively teach. She is currently working on an asynchronous trainee-as-teacher program for the Rural Underserved Utah Training Experience (RUUTE) and creating material to supplement resident-as-teacher programs throughout the University.

Eric Velazquez spotlight

“You have more to teach than you think!”

As a current second year pediatric endocrinology fellow at the University of Minnesota, I teach medical students, pediatric residents and my co-fellows. Through the master’s courses, I’ve discovered my style of teaching falls under the categories of “personal model” and “facilitator;” I use real-world cases to teach concepts to learners who have less experience than me in the world of pediatric endocrinology.

This past October my department chair asked my first-year co-fellow and me if we wanted to teach review courses to endocrinology fellows in Africa. A part of the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), the Pediatric Endocrine Training Centers for Africa (PETCA) helps train pediatricians from Sub-Saharan African countries to be pediatric endocrinologists in their home countries. Fellows in this program are selected from around the continent and undergo 18 months of intensive training in Kenya and their home countries. The program culminates in a primary research project, oral boards, and a written examination. We were being asked to help the fellows review material before their board exams.

Teaching material that I was still learning, to learners who’d been practicing pediatric endocrinology longer than I had, and who came from radically different healthcare systems than I knew was mildly overwhelming.

Trying not to panic, I drew on my “personal model” of teaching. I wrote up collections of cases to allow open discussions of patient care instead of rote didactic lectures. Over the course of multiple days, and we engaged in deep conversations with the four fellows that touched on material from pathophysiology to treatment options to patient care communication techniques. We covered many topics, including bone health, adrenal function, and thyroid disease.

Most of what I ended up teaching was not what I thought I was going to teach, but instead was what my learners wanted to know. We discussed the cost of diagnostic testing and prioritization of tests, how to discuss sensitive diagnoses with families, and how to educate new mothers on the etiology and importance of therapies for neonatal endocrine disorders. The fellows helped me improve my cultural competency for managing endocrine disorders in persons from East African countries.

While far from perfect, this experience allowed me to let go of my anxiety over teaching in new settings and be more confident that I truly did have things other people wanted to learn. The biggest thing I learned from the PETCA program is that no matter the setting, all of us have something we can teach and learn from others if we’re open to learning.

Cristina Gonzalez Spotlight

Tell us a little about yourself--what are you doing today, and in what areas of medical education are you focused?

Obtaining my Master’s Degree in Medical Education (MEd) at the University of Cincinnati was transformative for my career. I am an associate professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where I have worked for my entire career as faculty. I initially began as a clinician educator with an interest in health disparities education, which I subsequently honed into a passion for addressing physician implicit bias in clinical encounters.

My MEd allowed me to develop the skills to pursue a career in medical education research. I am currently the principal investigator of a research program working to design, implement, and evaluate curricular innovations to help medical students recognize and manage their implicit biases during clinical encounters. My team and I have developed interventions that address knowledge, attitudes, and initial strategy identification and implementation. We are working to design opportunities to build on those strategies to allow for skill development and practice, and have expanded the research along the spectrum of physician training and practice.

In the very near future, we anticipate collaborating with our interprofessional colleagues to broaden our target audience. To date, I have received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Scholar in the Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, as well as the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation through my selection as a Scholar in the Macy Faculty Scholars Program. This summer I am writing my first grant application to the National Institutes of Health to continue this work (fingers crossed!).

What do you think has been the most significant change in the field of medical education since you began your career?

In my opinion, the most significant change in medical education since I began my career has been the increased focus of the role of medical education in contributing to the elimination of health disparities and ultimate health equity. This focus has moved beyond addressing individual patient behaviors; as a field we are elucidating and striving to address the influences of systemic racism and other systemic inequities, encompassed within the social determinants of health. In addition, there is a focus on our potential to improve our patient interactions and more frequently deliver excellent, equitable care to all of our patients through interventions aiming to help all providers recognize and manage their implicit biases during clinical encounters. Within these innovations is the spirit to move away from blaming of individuals and towards action and capitalizing on each individual provider’s good intentions. I think there is a lot of promise for success and growth in this area.

Of all the things that give me hope for medical education’s potential to positively influence health disparities, the most exciting is the knowledge of the amazing people doing this important work. Over the last several years I have had the great privilege to work with so many wonderful people on my own team from college graduates in a gap year, to medical students, residents, and faculty. I have been extremely fortunate to become part of a national network of colleagues through the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM). AAMC has had a strong focus on implicit bias in its last few annual meetings. In fact, our paper was accepted for presentation at the RIME session during the 2018 annual meeting and it focuses on faculty perceptions of challenges and opportunities when facilitating instruction on implicit bias. The theme for the 2019 annual meeting is “Courage to Lead: Equity, Engagement, and Advocacy in Turbulent Times.” I serve both on the planning committee for this meeting and as co-chair for the society’s Health Equity Commission. The enthusiasm of my colleagues and the scientific rigor with which they are working to help overcome health disparities is simultaneously refreshing and inspiring.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for medical education today?

One major challenge, in my opinion, is that medical educators trying to incorporate new content into the existing, already crowded, curriculum are often asked to demonstrate an impact in patient outcomes before the content is taken seriously and seen as a necessary part of the education of a physician. This is not a requirement of content areas that have traditionally been taught to medical students for decades. I recognize that curricula are often over-crowded and we cannot just keep adding and adding content for our students. At the same time, our patients would likely benefit from being cared for by physicians with not only a firm grasp of basic science, pathophysiology, communication and physical exam skills, but also social determinants of health and other aspects of health systems sciences. Such a well-rounded physician could take even better care of his/her/their patients in the context of the patient’s actual lived experience. If we can work to identify the parts of the traditional curriculum that are essential to becoming an excellent physician, then we can open up space for the integration of these newer content areas.

Bill Cutrer Spotlight

 

Tell us a little about yourself.
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and my M.D. with high distinction from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. I completed a Pediatrics residency, chief residency and Pediatric Critical Care fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. I am currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM). 

As advisory college mentor for Batson College, I am responsible for providing wellness guidance, career advising and professional development for more than 100 medical students. In addition to my direct student contact, I am also actively involved in the curricular revision process at Vanderbilt. I direct the Learning Communities, the professional development component of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Curriculum 2.0 and the advisory colleges.  I also serves as the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and have focused on the design, implementation, and ongoing improvement of the Immersion Phase of Curriculum 2.0, the two-year, post-clerkship phase that advances fundamental knowledge in the context of clinical settings.

How is the program helping your professionally?
The program provided me a very solid foundation for launching a career as a medical educator. Knowledge obtained and lessons learned during the program allowed me to jump into the curricular revision process quickly after joining the faculty at VUSM.  The program provided me with a systematic approach to curricular design and assessment, as well as a solid foundation for educational scholarship. I utilize expertise developed in the program daily as I seek to tackle new opportunities for ongoing curricular and assessment improvement here at VUSM. The program gave me a systematic way of thinking about educational issues that continues to allow me to contribute to problem-solving.  I am incredibly thankful for this solid educational foundation developed in the program.

What educational and research projects are you working on?  

I am passionately interested in understanding how students learn in the workplace and how to help them more effectively.  I have published and presented widely on these topics. This driving interest has led to my participation in several national initiatives.  I have the privilege of co-leading the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative Master Adaptive Learner Working Group  which is thinking deeply about how to develop adaptive expertise in medical trainees through a staged self-regulated learning process.  How do we develop and encourage lifelong learning? How do we know if lifelong learning is happening?  These questions drive my inquiry and work. I am also a member of the Vanderbilt core team participating in the AAMC pilot project Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (Core EPAs). The group is thinking deeply about entrustment and the transition of learners from UME to GME training.

What do you see as a challenge for medical education today?

There are many challenges for medical education today, but I currently find two the most interesting. First, as noted above, I think the development and assessment of lifelong learning is an issue that is central to so many other issues within medical education.  How do we foster this type of mindset and behaviors in our trainees? How does the learning environment impact lifelong learning?  So many intriguing questions!  The second major challenge I see is related to the tension between true competency-based education and normative grading/ranking so often requested by GME programs. I think there is much to be learned in our field about this tension, and the impact it has on learner growth and development.

Whitney Bowen Spotlight

Tell us a little about yourself.
Born and raised in the small town of Proctorville, Ohio, I never imagined I would attend the University of Cincinnati upon high school graduation and later find Cincinnati as my home. I am a full-time faculty member in the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences Advanced Medical Imaging Technology Program. My primary duty here is Clinical Coordinator to both the Nuclear Medicine and Magnetic Resonance Imaging students. Working with students and watching them grow into amazing imaging technologist is such a joy. In September 2016, I was elected President-elect to a local medical imaging organization, the Society to Advance Radiologic Technology (START), and look forward to continuing my role in this organization for many years to come. In my spare time, I enjoy refinishing antique furniture, supporting Bearcats basketball and football teams and spending time with my husband and our two dogs.

How is the program helping you professionally?
The Medical Education program has helped tremendously with my professional development. The program has not only allowed me to increase my knowledge of curriculum principles but also the application of those principles which has allowed me to add incremental value in the work environment. All of this has played a significant role in my transition from my previous staff position to my current full-time faculty role. This new role has given me the opportunity to begin teaching many courses in the College of Allied Health Sciences. Each program course provided me with information and tools to shape my personal experience of emerging into education at a new level. I look forward to continuing to grow as an educator, perfecting my teaching skills, and expanding my course load.

What educational and research projects are you working on?
Currently I am completing a project to research best practices to assign students to their medical imaging clinical rotations. I foresee most of my future research being directly related to student experiences, curriculum improvements and medical education. I am so thankful the program has given me the knowledge and tools to complete my current and future research endeavors.

What do you see as a challenge for medical education today?
One challenge I see in medical imaging education is ensuring that each student is making the most of their experiences and seeing the value in each clinical rotation experience. Younger generations of students tend to want to do the bare minimum at times and it can be very difficult for faculty to ensure these students are fully engaged in their learning and development.

Alexzandra Hollingworth Spotlight

Tell us about yourself

As a 4th generation native from New York City, I have traveled around the country to become a Trauma, Critical Care and General Surgeon. I am a full-time Trauma Surgeon in Phoenix, AZ who also teaches at our local medical school and works with our general surgery residency program. My passion is in medical education and women in surgery. I founded the Arizona Chapter of the Association of Women Surgeons in order to mentor other women in surgery and who are pursuing surgery. I have a wonderful husband, Nachum, and a 3-year old son, Idan! They help me stay balanced!

How is the program helping you professionally?

Since I began with the program at UC, my career has gone to the next level! I recently became the Chair of Surgery and Anesthesia at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ! This is a huge accomplishment for me since the number of women Chairs of Surgery is very small. My education at UC has enabled me to help develop and run the faculty development program at our hospital system and to be active in my Associate Program Director and Clerkship Director positions, where I am developing curricula and chairing the Program Evaluation Committee. I am grateful for the amazing opportunities that I have been able to obtain in medical education as a result of the education I am receiving at UC. This program is very feasible even for a busy full-time surgeon with all of the academic positions I hold.

What are some research projects that you are working on?

I am involved in several research projects that are based in medical education. These research projects were started during the courses I have attended at UC. One project involves the use of self-directed learning contracts (SDLC) for medical students in their surgical clerkship. This project came to fruition when I was in the human learning course. The use of contracts for surgery medical students is not well described in the United States. Another project I am obtaining IRB approval for involves attitude change in 3rd year medical students entering their surgical clerkship. These projects are needed in the surgical education literature. I have always struggled with coming up with research ideas. During my education at UC, however, I am coming up with so many ideas for research projects!

What do you see as a challenge for medical education today?

The biggest challenge today is getting faculty on board with teaching the Millennials in a different way than we were taught. Understanding the Millennials and their needs is easy. Convincing older surgeons to teach differently is another. Surgery is changing. There are more women in surgery and the way we teach is changing for the better using the principles I am learning at UC. Furthermore, the apprenticeship model has disappeared and the proficiency model is being utilized. The problem lies in hour restrictions under the new model. It requires more time! So, we may need to increase surgery residency to 6 years. I am currently involved in the faculty development program development at my institution and am looking forward to educating the surgeons! My transition from the Certificate to the Master’s was a natural one because I saw the progress I was making with my career and with my students from the moment I started with UC.

Joe Real Spotlight

 

Tell us a little about yourself
I am second year General Pediatric Master Educator Fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). This fellowship provides protected time for me to obtain the Online Master’s Degree in Education (MEd) for healthcare professionals from the University of Cincinnati (UC). As long as I can remember, I have always been interested in education. I was a tutor for science courses at the University of Notre Dame where I completed my undergraduate studies in pre-professional science and Greek and Roman civilization. I attended Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where my interest in education continued through curricula development and evaluation of medical student burnout. Even as a pediatric resident at CCHMC, I continued to pursue education studies.

How is the program helping your professionally?
It was not until my experiences with the MEd program through UC that I began to understand the science behind adult learning and educational research. Through my course work, I have learned that there are step-wise approaches to curriculum development and standardized methods to evaluate testing strategies. Subjects that intimidated me before such as validation studies, qualitative research, and use of technology in education no longer seem unapproachable thanks to the MEd. My educational work is more thoughtful and meaningful as a result of my coursework.

What educational and research projects are you working on?
My fellowship research is focused on use of immersive virtual reality in medical education. Specifically, I have created a virtual reality simulation focused on teaching pediatric residents how to address vaccine hesitancy in the primary care setting. Thanks to what I have learned through the MEd, I have been able to assess this educational study rigorously and plan to disseminate my findings through peer-reviewed publications. I am looking forward to evaluating how emerging technologies such as virtual reality might change the face of medical education!   

Additionally, based on preliminary data obtained through the qualitative research course, I developed a curriculum for caregivers regarding asthma management that has received grant funding.  

What do you see as a challenge for medical education today?
Resident duty hour restrictions and high patient turnover make medical education challenging in the modern era. Consideration of effective and efficient educational modalities that appeals to millennial learners is critical.