Public and Population Health in U.S. Medical Education: A Review of Guidance in Extraordinary Times.

Generations of medical educators have recommended including public and population health (PPH) content in the training of U.S. physicians.

Physicians' continuing medical education activities and satisfaction with their ability to stay current in medical information and practice: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Little is known about physicians' approaches to continuing medical education (CME) for continuing professional development despite the rapid evolution of CME offerings. We sought to identify the extent to which demographic, career, and experiential CME-activity variables were independently associated with physicians' satisfaction with their ability to stay current on medical information and practice.

Methods: Using the 2019 Association of American Medical Colleges' National Sample Survey of Physicians data, we ran multivariable logistic regression models examining demographic, career, and experiential (participation in 11 CME activities in the past year) variables for their associations with physicians' satisfaction (satisfied vs.

Discontinuation of the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills Examination: Studying the Past to Define the Future.

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) was discontinued in January 2021, marking a significant milestone in assessment of clinical skills. In this commentary, the authors trace the history of the Step 2 CS exam-beginning with its early roots in the 1960s up to its discontinuation in 2021. In this new era, the medical education community is replete with opportunities for advancing methodology and content associated with clinical skills assessment.

Teaching Public and Population Health in Medical Education: An Evaluation Framework.

Curriculum models and training activities in medical education have been markedly enhanced to prepare physicians to address the health needs of diverse populations and to advance health equity. While different teaching and experiential learning activities in the public health and population health sciences have been implemented, there is no existing framework to measure the effectiveness of public and population health (PPH) education in medical education programs. In 2015, the Association of American Medical Colleges established the Expert Panel on Public and Population Health in Medical Education, which convened 20 U.

A Mixed-methods Comparison of Participant and Observer Learner Roles in Simulation Education.

Background: Traditional simulation-based education prioritizes participation in simulated scenarios. The educational impact of observation in simulation-based education compared with participation remains uncertain. Our objective was to compare the performances of observers and participants in a standardized simulation scenario.

Unifying interdisciplinary education: designing and implementing an intern simulation educational curriculum to increase confidence in critical care from PGY1 to PGY2.

Background: A longitudinal, multidisciplinary critical care simulation curriculum was developed and implemented within a teaching hospital to address the need for consistent, safe, efficient, and unified critical care training within graduate medical education. Primary goals were to increase learner confidence in critical care topics and procedural skills across all specialties. Secondary goals included improving communication skills and obtaining a high level of learner satisfaction.

Effects of a novel mental skills curriculum on surgical novices' attention.

Background: Surgery is very cognitively demanding, particularly for novices. Novices are required to direct full attention on the procedure at hand, and additional demands can lead to cognitive overload. Through extensive practice, experts develop spare attentional capacity (SAC) for simultaneous tasks.

Effectiveness of a mental skills curriculum to reduce novices' stress.

Background: Stress has been shown to negatively impact surgical performance, and surgical novices are particularly susceptible to its effects. Mental skills are psychological strategies designed to enhance performance and reduce the impact of stress to consistently facilitate the ideal mental conditions that enable performers to perform their best. Mental skills have been used routinely in other high-stress domains (e.

Effectiveness of a comprehensive mental skills curriculum in enhancing surgical performance: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: We hypothesized that the implementation of a novel mental skills curriculum (MSC) during laparoscopic simulator training would improve mental skills and performance, and decrease stress.

Methods: Sixty volunteer novices were randomized into intervention and control groups. All participants received FLS training while the intervention group also participated in the MSC.

From the coliseum to the convention centre: a reflection on the current state of medical education conferences and conference-goers.

The advancement of knowledge and development of policy in the field of medical education require critical academic discourse among the most intelligent medical educators; and critical academic discourse requires coffee. In this essay, we reflect on the state of professional development conferences in the field of medical education and the rituals that surround their success. Having begun in ancient Greece, symposia were ripe with debauchery.

Implementation results of a novel comprehensive mental skills curriculum during simulator training.

Background: Mental skills training refers to the implementation of cognitive performance-enhancing strategies to promote optimal performance. We aimed to develop a surgery-specific mental skills curriculum (MSC) and obtain initial evidence of efficacy.

Methods: The developed MSC consisted of 8 proven performance-enhancing modules.

What stress coping strategies are surgeons relying upon during surgery?

Background: The objective of this study was to determine sources of intraoperative stress, impact on surgical outcomes, coping strategies, and surgeon interest in stress management training.

Methods: An anonymous survey was electronically distributed to surgeons at a tertiary care hospital. Respondents were asked to rate the perceived impact of 9 stressors on operative performance, identify stress coping strategies, list witnessed stress-related complications, and opine on the perceived need for stress management training.

Poor resident-attending intraoperative communication may compromise patient safety.

Background: Prior research suggests that hierarchy in medicine may impact communication and patient safety. This study examined the factors that influence surgical trainees in expressing their opinion in the operating room and the consequences this might have on patient safety.

Methods: An anonymous survey of general surgery, gynecology, and orthopedic surgery residents and attendings was conducted at a teaching institution in 2010.

Standardized patient practices: initial report on the survey of US and Canadian medical schools.

Background: There is currently a lack of information about the ways in which standardized patients (SPs) are used, how programs that facilitate their use are operated, the ways in which SP-based performance assessments are developed, and how assessment quality is assured. This survey research project was undertaken to describe the current practices of programs delivering SP-based instruction and/or assessment.

Method: A structured interview of 61 individual SP programs affiliated with the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) was conducted over a 7-month period.

Performance assessment in medical education: where we've been and where we're going.

The assessment of clinical competence is becoming increasingly complex, patient centered, and student driven. Traditionally, clinical evaluation methods consisted primarily of faculty observations, oral examinations, and multiple-choice tests. Increased faculty work load, discontent with traditional methods of clinical skill assessment, and developments in the fields of psychology and education have led to the formation of new modalities, namely performance assessments.

Direct observation of students during clerkship rotations: a multiyear descriptive study.

Purpose: To determine how often students report that they are observed while performing physical examinations and taking histories during clerkship rotations.

Method: From 1999-2001, 397 students at the University of Virginia School of Medicine were asked at the end of their third year to report the number of times they had been observed by a resident or faculty member while taking histories and performing physical examinations on six rotations.

Results: Three hundred and forty-five students (87%) returned the survey instrument; of these, 322 (81%) returned instruments with complete information.

Medical Students' First Male Urogenital Examination: Investigating the Effects of Instruction and Gender on Anxiety.

Objectives: To investigate the effect that standardized instruction of the male urogenital examination had on the anxiety levels of students and to determine what influence, if any, the gender of the student had on this experience.

Methods: One hundred thirty six second year medical students were asked to report their level of anxiety before and after participation in a small group teaching session on the male urogenital examination. We gathered both qualitative and quantitative information to better understand students' anxiety surrounding this instruction.