Optimizing Multidisciplinary Simulation in Medical School for Larger Groups: Role Assignment by Lottery and Guided Learning.

Purpose: Medical school simulations are often designed for a limited number of students to maximize engagement and learning. To ensure that all first-year medical students who wished to join had an opportunity to participate, we designed a novel method for larger groups.

Patients And Methods: We devised a low technology "Orchestra Leader's" chart approach to prominently display students' roles, chosen by lottery.

Revitalizing pathology laboratories in a gastrointestinal pathophysiology course using multimedia and team-based learning techniques.

In 2008, we changed the gastrointestinal pathology laboratories in a gastrointestinal pathophysiology course to a more interactive format using modified team-based learning techniques and multimedia presentations. The results were remarkably positive and can be used as a model for pathology laboratory improvement in any organ system. Over a two-year period, engaging and interactive pathology laboratories were designed.

Using medical students to enhance curricular integration of cross-cultural content.

We hypothesized that an interested medical student group would be helpful in reviewing tutorial cases and giving relevant feedback on the curricular integration of cross-cultural content using case triggers in a preclinical gastrointestinal pathophysiology course. Self-selected student leaders (n = 9) reviewed pre-existing problem-based learning tutorial cases (n = 3) with cross-cultural triggers, and provided narrative feedback to course faculty. The cases were modified and used for the entire class in the following 2 years.