From Theory to Practice: The Enacted Curriculum of a Successful Master's Program in Quality Improvement and Leadership.

INTRODUCTION: Blended learning has taken on new prominence in the fields of higher and continuing education, especially as programs have shifted in response to teaching in a global pandemic. The faculty at the Jönköping Academy's Masters in Quality Improvement and Leadership program has been offering a blended learning curriculum, based on four core design principles, since 2009. We studied key features of the enacted curriculum to understand conditions that can support an effective blended learning model. METHODS: We used a case study approach underpinned by interactive research. Document analysis, a focus group, individual interviews, and stimulated recall interviews were used for data collection. Themes were identified through qualitative content analysis and data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. RESULTS: We grouped data into six emergent themes that clarify the enacted curriculum of an established Master's program: focusing on a common purpose, developing technical and relational knowledge and skills, linking theory and practice in the workplace, leveraging collaboration for mutual benefit, concentrating on leadership and coaching, and applying a blended and interprofessional learning model. CONCLUSION: Educators faced with increased demands to be flexible and to offer opportunities for distance education can learn from this case example of effective teaching of quality improvement and leadership in a blended format.

Providing comparison normal examples alongside pathologic thoracic radiographic cases can improve veterinary students' ability to identify abnormal findings or diagnose disease.

Learning by comparison is a frequently employed education strategy used across many disciplines and levels. Interpreting radiographs requires both skills of perception and pattern recognition, which makes comparison techniques particularly useful in this field. In this randomized, prospective, parallel-group study, students enrolled in second and third-year radiology veterinary courses were given a case-based thoracic radiographic interpretation assignment. A cohort of the participants was given cases with side-by-side comparison normal images while the other cohort only had access to the cases. Twelve cases in total were presented to the students, with 10 cases depicting examples of common thoracic pathologies, while 2 cases were examples of normal. Radiographs of both feline and canine species were represented. Correctness of response to multiple choice questions was tracked, as was year and group (group 1: non compare, Control; group 2: compare, Intervention). Students assigned to group 1 had a lower percentage of correct answers than students assigned to group 2 (45% Control vs. 52% Intervention; P = 0.01). This indicates that side-by-side comparison to a normal example is helpful in identifying disease. No statistical significance was noted for the correctness of responses according to the year of training (P = 0.90). The overall poor performance on the assignment, regardless of group or year, shows that students in the early years of undergraduate veterinary radiology training struggle with the interpretation of common pathologies, likely a result of a lack of exposure to a multitude of cases and normal variants.

Warning: medical education is hazardous to your mental health. Medical students should make an informed decision to begin and continue training.

For decades there has been ample evidence that training to become a physician and practicing medicine is hazardous to one's health and wellness. In the face of the extremely high rates of suicide, substance abuse, depression and burnout in the medical student, resident, and physician populations, it would be dishonest to suggest medical education and practice is all gain and no pain. This article is directed to members of the medical education community and challenges stakeholders to view their teaching and training of medical students as an intervention requiring free and informed consent. We hope this exercise shifts the paradigm of educators and enables students to enter medical training from a free and informed position.

Depuis des décennies, il existe amplement de preuves à l'effet que la formation t et la pratique de la médecine peuvent compromettre la santé et le bien-être de la personne. Face aux taux extrêmement élevés de suicide, de toxicomanie, de dépression et d'épuisement professionnel tant chez les étudiants, les résidents que les médecins, il serait faux de prétendre qu'on est ou qu'on devient médecin sans faire de sacrifice. Cet article s'adresse aux acteurs du milieu de l'éducation médicale pour les inciter à considérer la formation qu'ils donnent aux étudiants en tant qu'intervention nécessitant le consentement libre et éclairé de ces derniers. Nous espérons que cet exercice amènera les enseignants à changer de paradigme et les étudiants à entreprendre leur formation médicale de façon libre et informée.

Five ways for facilitators to get a grip on small group learning.

Successful groups do not happen by chance, and they do not depend solely or even mainly on the interpersonal skills of the group members. Cooperative learning (CL) theory tells us that small groups are successful when facilitators structure and organize the small group to include each one of the five elements of cooperative learning. In this article, we have described each of these five elements as a way to get a grip on small group learning: positive interdependence, promotive interaction, group and individual accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. To help our readers remember the five key elements of CL, the five ways to get a grip on small group facilitation, we have created an infographic.

La réussite du travail en groupe n'est pas le fruit du hasard et ne dépend pas uniquement, ni même principalement, des compétences interpersonnelles des membres du groupe. D'après la théorie de l'apprentissage coopératif (l'AC), le travail en petits groupes est efficace lorsque les facilitateurs structurent et organisent le petit groupe de manière à inclure chacun des cinq éléments de l'apprentissage coopératif. Dans cet article, nous avons décrit chacun de ces cinq éléments comme un moyen de maîtriser l'apprentissage en petit groupe : l'interdépendance positive, l'interaction engagée, la responsabilisation du groupe et de l'individu, les habiletés interpersonnelles et liées au fonctionnement en petit groupe, et l'évaluation du groupe. Pour aider nos lecteurs à se souvenir des cinq éléments clés de l'AC, les cinq façons de maîtriser l'animation de petits groupes, nous avons créé une infographie.

Engaging medical education scholars with a Twitter conference on professionalism and professional identity formation.

The Education Innovation Institute (EII) of Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, hosted a conference on Twitter about Professional Identity Formation (PIF), #MCGConf2021PIF, on February 25, 2021. The conference featured five presentations by 15 authors from Canada and the U.S. A Twitter conference is a versatile, affordable, and accessible digital option for medical education groups interested in diversifying conference offerings and reaching a broader audience. It was low-cost, organized in six months, and garnered over 9,000 Twitter impressions. Small networks and interest groups can organize Twitter conferences for their constituencies and larger conference organizations can host online mini-conferences to supplement in-person events.

Le 25 février 2021, l'Educational Innovation Institute (EII) du Medical College of Georgia de l'Université Augusta a tenu une conférence sur la construction de l'identité professionnelle sur le réseau social Twitter (#MCGConf2021PIF). Cinq communications y ont été présentées par 15 chercheurs du Canada et des États-Unis. Elle a été organisée en six mois, à coût modeste, et elle a recueilli plus de 9000 impressions sur Twitter. La conférence Twitter s'avère être une option numérique polyvalente, abordable et accessible pour les membres du milieu de l'éducation médicale désireux de diversifier leur offre de symposiums et de toucher un public plus large. Twitter offre aux petits réseaux et groupes d'intérêt la possibilité de convier leurs membres à des conférences restreintes et aux organisateurs de conférences plus importantes la possibilité de tenir des mini-conférences en ligne pour compléter leurs activités en personne.

The effect of case nodes in problem-based learning on the length and quality of discussion: a 2x2 factorial study.

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) relies heavily on case structure for their success. To make more meaningful cases, faculty introduced a "case node" that requires students to make a group decision on the action they will take at a given point in the case. The purpose of this study was to determine whether case nodes enhance PBL discussions. Methods: Two PBL cases were designed with and without a node. In 2011, 2012, and 2015, first-year medical students were assigned one PBL case with a node and one without a node. In total, 26 groups processed cases with a node while 27 groups processed the same cases without the node. All sessions were audio recorded and analyzed to determine the length and quality of discussions. Results: Groups with a node, regardless of case (M = 25.62, SD = 12.25) spent significantly more time in discussion on the node topic than those without a node (M = 16.54, SD = 10.33, p=.005, d = .80). Groups with a node, regardless of case (M = 14.38, SD = 8.04) expressed an opinion significantly more frequently than those without a node (M = 6.07, SD = 5.80, p < .001, d = 1.19). Conclusions: Case nodes increased both the length and depth of discussion on a topic and may be an effective way to enhance case-based instruction.

Contexte: Le succès de l'apprentissage par problèmes (APP) repose en grande partie sur la structure des cas. Pour rendre les cas plus significatifs, les membres du corps professoral ont introduit dans les scénarios un «nœud¼, ou un point nodal, marquant un moment où les étudiants doivent prendre une décision de groupe quant à l'action à entreprendre. L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer si les cas comportant de tels points nodaux amélioraient la discussion dans le cadre de l'APP. Méthodes: On a conçu deux cas d'APP en deux versions, l'une comportant un nœud, l'autre non. En 2011, 2012 et 2015, on a soumis à des étudiants en première année de médecine un cas d'APP avec un nœud et un cas sans nœud. Au total, 26 groupes ont travaillé sur le cas avec un nœud et 27 groupes sur le cas sans nœud. Toutes les séances ont été enregistrées et analysées afin de déterminer la durée et la qualité des discussions. Résultats: Les groupes qui ont travaillé sur un cas comportant un nœud, quel que soit le cas (M = 25.62, SD = 12.25), ont consacré significativement plus de temps à la discussion que ceux qui avaient un cas sans nœud (M = 16.54, SD =1 0.33, p = .005, d = .80). Les premiers ont également exprimé des opinions significativement plus fréquemment, quel que soit le cas (M = 14.38, SD = 8.04), que les seconds (M = 6.07, SD = 5.80, p < .001, d = 1.19). Conclusions: Les nœuds introduits dans les cas ont entraîné des discussions à la fois plus longues et plus approfondies sur le sujet abordé. Par conséquent, ils constitueraient un moyen efficace d'améliorer l'enseignement fondé sur l'étude de cas.

Development and validation of patient-community pharmacist encounter toolkit regarding substance misuse: Delphi procedure.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists' roles and services for patients with substance use are not well defined and inconsistent from site to site. Several barriers have been identified that hinder pharmacists' care for people who use substances, such as a lack of training and resources. Clinical practice tools can aid in transferring evidence-based approaches to the practice sphere. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to develop a substance misuse management toolkit for community pharmacists to help them manage their encounters with people who use substances. METHODS: A focused literature review was conducted and 2 needs assessment studies, one for community pharmacists and one for patients informed the development of the toolkit. The toolkit is an adaption of the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) approach, which is one of the most well-defined and effective strategies for substance use management. However, SBIRT is a novel care model in community pharmacy settings. Therefore, a substance misuse management toolkit with 20 items was created for community pharmacists incorporating evidence-based strategies and clinical algorithms. Delphi procedure was used to validate the toolkit. RESULTS: Two rounds of questions were sent to experts in the field of substance misuse, some of whom were pharmacists. In both rounds, these experts were asked to rate the appropriateness and clarity of items in the toolkit and provide comments and suggestions. Items with a median rating of 7 or more out of 10 were included in the toolkit. In the second round, the experts were asked to rerate the revised version and provide additional feedback. After the second round, agreement was reached for almost all items of the toolkit. CONCLUSION: A Delphi procedure was successfully used to provide evidence of the validity of the new guiding toolkit for community pharmacists. The toolkit will be implemented and evaluated to provide additional evidence of validity in practice.