Exploring How the Terms "Black" and "African American" May Shape Health Communication Research.

Several distinct terms are used to identify descendants of the African diaspora (DADs) as fellow members of a racialized population. However, "Black" and "African American" are the two labels most commonly used. Given the recent calls for examining institutionalized racism in the United States, health scholars must contemplate the problems that may arise when these two terms are used interchangeably, namely the extent to which mislabeling may reify already significant health disparities. This essay examines the histories and meanings of "Black" and "African American" as identity labels and explores their importance in relationship to the effective recruitment of DADs to health research and clinical trials. In this paper, we employ the communication theory of identity and critical race theory as lenses to call attention to the discursive challenges associated with recruitment of DADs in health research. We also encourage health communication scholars to explore and extend the scope of this research. We do this by first describing the unintended consequences in health research through disregard of DADs' chosen identity labels. We then use the various terms to describe DADs to illuminate existing tensions between "Black" and "African American." We describe how each moniker is used and perceived, broadly and in health contexts. Finally, we call for more research into the effects of mislabeling and propose a plan for researchers' next steps.

Fostering Interdisciplinary Boundary Spanning in Health Communication: A Call for a Paradigm Shift.

Scholarship in the field of health communication is broad, with interdisciplinary contributions from researchers trained in a variety of fields including communication, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, public health, and social work. In this paper, we explore the role of "health communication boundary spanners" (HCBS), individuals whose scholarly work and academic appointment reflect dual citizenship in both the communication discipline and the health professions or public health. Using a process of critical reflective inquiry, we elucidate opportunities and challenges associated with HCBS across the spectrum of health communication in order to provide guidance for individuals pursuing boundary spanning roles and those who supervise and mentor them. This dual citizen role suggests that HCBS have unique skills, identities, perspectives, and practices that contribute new ways of being and knowing that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. The health communication field is evolving in response to the need to address significant healthcare and policy problems. No one discipline has the ability to single-handedly fix our current healthcare systems. Narrative data from this study illustrate the importance of seeing HCBS work beyond simply being informed by disciplinary knowledge. Rather, we suggest that adapting ways of knowing and definitions of expertise is an integral part of the solution to solving persistent health problems.

The Conscientious Use of Images Illustrating Diversity in Medical Education Marketing.

An institution's marketing materials are an important part of presenting its culture. In 2018, communication professionals in the Office of Faculty Affairs, Professional Development, and Diversity at the Indiana University School of Medicine recognized after reviewing the literature that using images illustrating diversity in marketing materials may have unintended negative consequences and could potentially reflect poorly on the institution. Representations of diversity that are discordant with the actual demographics of an institution can create distrust among faculty, students, and staff who discover an institution is not as diverse or supportive of diversity as their marketing materials suggest. If institutions adopt an aspirational approach to images and depict more diversity than actual demographics reflect, the authors of this Perspective recommend that they both develop marketing materials that present a widely diverse selection of images and demonstrate transparency in their communication strategies.To improve their promotional materials, the authors conducted an analysis of their institution's strategy for selecting images for these materials, identified institutional goals related to the strategic use of images, created training materials for staff, and drafted a public-facing statement about diversity in images. These measures are a significant step forward in cultivating the ethical use of images illustrating diversity. In the future, institutions should highlight their approaches to using images to portray diversity, as well as photograph and document a wide range of events that represent diverse topics and individuals. When these images are used for marketing purposes, it is also important to ensure that they are used in an appropriate context and not selected with the single goal of presenting diversity. Future research should focus on how underrepresented students and faculty interpret the use of diverse images in marketing, as well as their preferences for the use of their own images in marketing materials portraying diversity.

Development of an empathy and clarity rating scale to measure the effect of medical improv on end-of-first-year OCSE performance: a pilot study.

Patients want empathetic physicians who listen and understand. How do you teach and measure empathy? Medical educators, including those inspired by Alan Alda, have turned to theater to teach skills in empathetic communication. Improvisation-informedcurriculum (medical improv) draws upon foundational actors training: deep listening, emotional understanding, connections, authenticity. Arating scale to measure the impact of medical improv on empathetic and clear communication does not exist. Objective: To develop aframework and instrument, the Empathy and Clarity Rating Scale (ECRS), for measuring communication elements used by actors and physicians, and pilot ECRS to test effectiveness of medical improv on first-yearstudents' communication skills. Design: Four medical schools collaborated. USMLE Step 2 Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS) domains were used as framework for discussion among three focus groups, each with clinicians, actors, communication experts, and community members with patient experience. Audiotaped discussions were transcribed; open coding procedures located emerging themes. The initial coding scheme was compared with the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure. ECRS content was aligned with CARE, CIS and focus group themes. Modified nominal processes were conducted to finalize the scale. We implemented procedures to establish content validity and interrater reliability. Final ECRS was used to study student performance across three levels of experience with medical improv. Results: The final ECRS was comprised of seven five-pointscale items. Narrative comments precede behaviorally anchored ratings: 5=desired, 1=ineffective, 2-4=developing based upon adjustment needed. Rater agreement across all items was 84%. There was asmall correlation between the ECRS and another measure interviewing (r=0.262, p=0.003). Students with advanced medical improv training outperformed those without (F=3.51, p=.042). Conclusion: Acommunication scale enlightened by experiences of actors, clinicians, scholars and patients has been developed. The ECRS has potential to detect the impact of medical improv on development of empathetic and clear communication.

Active Learning on Center Stage: Theater as a Tool for Medical Education.

Introduction: Knowledge and skill development related to communication must incorporate both affective and behavioral components, which are often difficult to deliver in a learning activity. Using theater techniques and principles can provide medical educators with tools to teach communication concepts. Methods: This 75-minute faculty development workshop presents a variety of techniques from theater and adapts them for use in medical education. Using examples related to diversity and inclusion, this session addresses general educational and theater principles, role-play, sociodrama, applied improvisation, and practical aspects of involving theater partners. The session materials include a PowerPoint presentation with facilitator notes, interactive activities to demonstrate each modality, and an evaluation. The sessions can be extended to longer formats as needed. Results: Forty-five participants at Learn Serve Lead 2016: The AAMC Annual Meeting attended the 75-minute session. We emailed 32 participants 5 months after the conference, and eight responded. Participants reported that their confidence level in using theater techniques as a tool for medical education increased from low-to-medium confidence presession to high confidence postsession. All survey respondents who were actively teaching said they had made changes to their teaching based on the workshop. All commented that they appreciated the active learning in the session. Many indicated they would appreciate video or other follow-up resources. Discussion: Principles and techniques from theater are effective tools to convey difficult-to-teach concepts related to communication. This workshop presents tools to implement activities in teaching these difficult concepts.

Bridging the gap for future clinician-educators.

BACKGROUND: In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited. Resident-as-teacher programmes are typically insufficient to prepare trainees to be successful clinician-educators, but few pursue formal education degrees. We sought to assess the need for, and feasibility of, a training pathway for subspecialty fellows in a large Department of Medicine that would prepare our trainees to become effective educators. METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Previous fellowship applicants and current programme directors were surveyed to determine the potential benefits of the programme. A pilot programme was conducted with fellows interested in education to determine the feasibility of the programme. Pilot participants were interviewed regarding the benefits that they gained from the pilot and the logistical challenges that they experienced. In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited RESULTS: Five highly ranked fellows would have scored our programmes higher if we offered this training pathway. Pilot participants and fellowship programme directors agreed that there is a compelling need for such a training pathway. A number of themes arose from the interviews that enabled us to build the framework for a strong programme. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that a clinician-educator training pathway that draws from multiple subspecialties has the potential to improve recruitment, provide needed career counselling and skills development to trainees, and to build a community of educators that will benefit the institution. Important insights from pilot participant interviews will inform the programme design, in order to keep trainees engaged and overcome logistical challenges.

Twelve tips for using applied improvisation in medical education.

Future physicians will practice medicine in a more complex environment than ever, where skills of interpersonal communication, collaboration and adaptability to change are critical. Applied improvisation (or AI) is an instructional strategy which adapts the concepts of improvisational theater to teach these types of complex skills in other contexts. Unique to AI is its very active teaching approach, adapting theater games to help learners meet curricular objectives. In medical education, AI is particularly helpful when attempting to build students' comfort with and skills in complex, interpersonal behaviors such as effective listening, person-centeredness, teamwork and communication. This article draws on current evidence and the authors' experiences to present best practices for incorporating AI into teaching medicine. These practical tips help faculty new to AI get started by establishing goals, choosing appropriate games, understanding effective debriefing, considering evaluation strategies and managing resistance within the context of medical education.

A competency-based approach to recruiting, developing, and giving feedback to department chairs.

Academic health centers (AHCs) are under unprecedented pressure, making strong leadership during these challenging times critical. Department chairs have tremendous influence in their AHCs, yet data indicate that--despite outstanding academic credentials--they are often underprepared to take on these important leadership roles. The authors sought to improve the approach to recruiting, developing, and giving feedback to department chairs at their institution, the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), by reorganizing these processes around six key leadership competencies: leadership and team development, performance and talent management, vision and strategic planning, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and commitment to the tripartite mission. Over a two-year period (2009-2011), IUSM faculty and administrators developed standardized recruitment procedures to assess potential chairs based on the six leadership domains, and searches are now streamlined through centralized staff support in the dean's office. Additionally, IUSM offers a chair development series to support learning around these leadership competencies and to meet the stated professional development needs of the chairs. Finally, chairs receive structured feedback regarding their leadership (among other considerations) through two different assessment instruments, IUSM's Department Chair 360° Leadership Survey and IUSM's Faculty Vitality Survey--both of which the dean reviews annually. Strategically attending to the way that chairs are selected, developed, and given feedback has tremendous potential to increase the success of chairs and, in turn, to constructively shape the culture of AHCs.