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IAMSE – Call for 2019 Program Committee Volunteers

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The time has come to begin planning the 2019 Annual IAMSE Meeting! The first step in the process is to form the Program and Review Committees.

We are seeking a broad representation of professional educators, basic scientists, clinical scientists, and instructional technologists from around the world. The role of the Program Committee is to establish a theme and schedule for the program, select and invite pertinent speakers, and collaborate on various tasks as needed in order to provide the membership with an outstanding annual meeting. The Review Committee, which will work with the Program Committee, will oversee the abstract review and selection process. Your availability for a one-hour monthly phone meeting and ready accessibility by email from January 2018 through the program in June 2019 is expected, in addition to great ideas and a collegial spirit! The names of participating members will be credited in the conference program.

If you would like to be considered for a position on this Committee please send a brief statement of your interest and qualifications to brandi@iamse.org by October 15. We would like to complete selections by December 1 so we begin our meetings by phone in January 2018.

We hope that you will consider becoming involved in this important and collegial work.

For additional information or questions please contact brandi@iamse.org.

IAMSE – Publications Committee MSE Article Review

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This month the IAMSE Publications Committee is delighted to provide a short review of an article published in the archives of Medical Science Educator (MSE). The review recognizes The Impact of Integration of Self-Tests into a Pre-Clerkship Medical Curriculum, which was published in MSE Volume 27, issue 1, pp 21-27, in March, 2017 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0351-7]. In this study Baatar et al. measured the performance of first year medical students (n = 107) on both formative and summative examinations. Students were provided unrestricted access to basic science self-tests (STs) prior to each of 5 formative examinations on the subject. Participants that used STs performed better on 4 out of 5 formative exams. All students that participated in 5 STs had significantly higher mean scores on the subsequent summative evaluation examination than students that did not participate, 86% ±8 versus 76% ±14 respectively. The data suggests that the use of prior STs improves student performance overall and especially on major/summative examinations. The authors note that “A multiple regression analysis showed that the number of STs used was a significant positive predictor of the summative examination score.” In reviewing the mean of ST scores there was a significant improvement in test score means from the first attempt to the 11th attempt. The comments from students that participated in the addition of STs to course learning materials were positive. An article by Kornell et al. (J. Exp. Psychol Learn Mem. Cogn., Volume 35, issue 4, pp 989-998, in July, 2009 demonstrates that retrieval attempts enhance learning, i.e., that “taking challenging tests – instead of avoiding errors – may be one key to effective learning.” These studies and others suggest that retrieval practice in the form of STs may play a critical role in meaningful learning and long-term retention.

IAMSE Fall 2017 WAS Session 3 Highlights

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In case you missed yesterday’s Webcast Audio Seminar (WAS) Session, here are the highlights of this session:

Global healthcare overview of European model
Presenter: Jen Cleland, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, D Clin Psychol:
September 21, 12 PM EST

Medical education challenges: attracting the “Generation Y” workforce

Influences on medical careers decision making process such as:

  • Gender
  • Individual preferences/fit
  • Exposure/experience
  • Wish for work/life balance
  • Medical school

Their approach

  • Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE)
  • Health economics
  • Personal preferences
  • Quantifiable in monetary terms

Characteristics of Trainee (resident or student of DCE)

  • Familiarity with hospital
  • Geographical location
  • Opportunities for partner/spouse
  • Potential earnings
  • Clinical/academic reputation
  • Working conditions

Other items were more important than location, location, location. These are good working conditions and opportunities for partners/spouses.

In the end, working conditions were the key to trainee and final year medical student career decisions.

What is being done to improve working conditions?

The current medical students want:

  • A good team
  • To feel valued
  • Have a sense of belonging
  • Receive more positive feedback
  • CPD opportunities
  • Both full and part time work.

“A European Case Study of Rural Health System Strengthening through Rural Medical Academy Development”
Dr. Méabh Ni Bhuinneáin: MD FRCOG MRCPI MICGP MSc Public Health

What are your learning objectives for rural health system strengthening?

Are you committed? Can you provide justification? Are you able to apply, reinforce and provide clarification for your ideas?

Underlying dimensions of social disadvantage

  • Demographic decline
  • Social class deprivation
  • Labor market deprivation

Global Inequities

  • Rural poverty indicators
  • Rural health needs
  • Reproductive health indicators

WHO Health Workforce Strengthening: “To expand, strengthen and orient health professional training institutions, in terms of quantity, quality, and skill mix to be relevant to the implementation of the transformative scaling up of health professionals.”

WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personal: “An adequate and accessible health workforce is fundamental to an integrated and effective health system and for the provision of health services.”

Moving towards a Student-Centered Academy
Learning environment
Pastoral, social and self-care
Faculty sensitization and development
Organizational development
Use of improvement methods
Measurement
Governance – towards full student representation
Community engagement

Ending question: How does reciprocity/mutuality work in reality?

For more information on the next session or to register, please click here.

IAMSE Fall Web Seminar Series – “Lessons from the Design and Implementation of a Pediatric Critical Care and Emergency Medicine Train”

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Lessons from the Design and Implementation of a Pediatric Critical Care and Emergency Medicine Train
Presenter: Michelle Grunauer
October 5, 12 PM ET

For more than 60 years, the world has recognized the need for pediatric critical care (PCC). Today, most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) still lack access to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and specialists, resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality. These disparities result from several infrastructure and socioeconomic factors, chief among them is the lack of trained PCC and emergency medicine (PCCEM) frontline providers. In this seminar, we describe a continuing medical education model to increase frontline PCC capacity in Ecuador. The Laude in PCCEM is a program created by a team of Ecuadorian physicians at the University San Francisco de Quito School of Medicine. The program is aimed at providers with no formal training in PCC and who, nonetheless, care for critically ill children. The program resulted in stronger, more cohesive PICU teams with improved resuscitation times and coordination during simulation rounds. In hospitals that implemented the program, we saw decrease PICU mortality rates. Our aim is to identify the opportunities and challenges learned and to offer lessons for other countries that use similar models to cope with the lack of local resource availability.

For more information and to register for the Fall 2017 Audio Seminar Series, please click here.

IAMSE Call for Connects Announcements – Deadline October 3

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The next issue of the electronic membership newsletter of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), IAMSE Connects, will be published in October. The purpose of this newsletter is to connect the IAMSE membership with information, opportunities, resources and each other.

We are very pleased to dedicate one section of this newsletter to recognize the professional accomplishments of our members but we need your help! Have you received awards or promotions or landed a great new job in the last year? We would like to know about it and celebrate your accomplishments in our newsletter.

Please send your news to Brandi Hinkle at brandi@iamse.org or submit it online here for inclusion in the next edition. Sorry, we can only include professional accomplishments in the newsletter, but welcome you to share your personal news on the IAMSE Facebook page! Thanks for your help!

Deadline: October 3, 2017.

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IAMSE – Call for Educational Scholarship Grant Applications – Due December 15!

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The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) wishes to encourage and support scholarship in medical science education, and therefore announces the 2018 educational scholarship grant program. 

All IAMSE members are eligible to submit a grant proposal. Preference will be given to new projects, and must be relevant to the mission of IAMSE. The results of funded projects must be presented at a future IAMSE meeting. The initial funding award will be announced via email, and at the 2018 IAMSE meeting.

Applications are to be submitted on the submission page found here by December 15, 2017. You can find more information on grant proposals here.

All information regarding the IAMSE Educational Scholarship Grant, including the application process, eligibility, proposal format, and evaluation criteria can be found on the IAMSE website.

IAMSE Fall 2017 WAS Session 2 Highlights

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In case you missed yesterday’s Webcast Audio Seminar (WAS) Session, here are the highlights of this session:

The Future of Family Medicine – In China
Presenter: William J. Burke, D.O., FACOFP
September 14, 12 PM EST

Objectives:

  • Discuss the background leading to an emphasis on the development of primary care.
  • Share the International Primary Care Educational Alliance (IPCEA) journey in China
  • Discuss Healthy China 2020/2030

The purpose of IPCEA is to advance the recognition and development of primary care medicine as the foundation required to provide timely and appropriate access to quality, cost-effective, humanitarian health care for all people of the world.

Physician Training Today in China

  • Complete K -12 in High School
  • Matriculate into Medical School right after High School
  • Complete residency of 5, 7 or 8 years
    • Bachelor’s Degree after 5 years
    • Master’s Degree after 7 years
    • D. after 8 years
    • Both 7 and 8-year degree involve research
    • All degrees include a 1 year Clinical year similar to our 3rd year clerkship year

Dilemma in China

  • Access
  • Quality
  • Cost
  • Lack of Insurance Coverage
  • Rising Cost of Healthcare
  • Lack of Confidence in Community Clinics and Small Hospitals

Solutions

  • New Government Focus
    • Make people-centered health care a priority
  • Increased Tax Base
  • Increased Government Funding for Universal Basic Healthcare
  • Decision to turn to Primary Care and the Partnership with IPCEA
  • Goal to have 300,000 new and re-trained Family Medicine Doctors by 2020.
  • Increase the number of Community Health Centers and Community Health Stations.

For more information on the next session or to register, please click here.

IAMSE Fall Web Seminar Series – “Challenges and Opportunities for (New) Medical Schools in Africa”

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Challenges and Opportunities for (New) Medical Schools in Africa
Presenter: Quentin Eichbaum
September 28, 12 PM ET

Over 100 new medical schools are projected to open in Africa over the next decade. These new schools face daunting challenges but are also presented with unique opportunities. This talk will focus on these challenges and opportunities including: the development of context-specific curricula; development of equitable admissions policies; establishment of postgraduate training programs with contextualized accreditation standards; development of sustainable research programs; development inter-and transprofessional programs; and establishment of viable faculty and health worker recruitment and retention policies. The talk will discuss initiatives of consortia such as the former Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Consortium of New Sub Sahara African Medical Schools (CONSAMS) as models for promoting health professional education in Africa.

For more information and to register for the Fall 2017 Audio Seminar Series, please click here.

Featured Member: Bonny Dickinson, Board of Directors

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I became an IAMSE member in 2013 shortly after beginning a new position as one of the inaugural faculty of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. As a basic science faculty member and researcher, I had numerous contacts in the realm of basic science research. But as my career transitioned to focus on medical education, I initially felt adrift until I was welcomed by the IAMSE community. IAMSE has had an enormous impact on my career as a medical science educator. I distinctly recall my first IAMSE meeting in 2015 where, for the first-time, I presented work related to innovation in medical education. I came away from the conference feeling inspired by the other presenters and conference attendees, and I knew that I had found a home. It was also at this conference that a conversation with Amy Wilson-Delfosse, the IAMSE president at that time, sparked the formation of CAMSE, a subcommittee of the IAMSE Professional Development Committee. CAMSE’s charge is to create an IAMSE-recommended resource that provides guidance to medical schools developing or revising promotion and tenure requirements for their medical educators. To address this need, we recently surveyed the IAMSE membership to assess their perceptions and understandings of institutional promotion and tenure practices for medical science educators. We look forward to sharing the results of this survey with the members of IAMSE, and ask IAMSE members from schools outside of the U.S. to join our committee so that we are more fully representative of the international membership of IAMSE. In closing, I look forward to contributing to the mission of IAMSE as a newly elected member of the Board of Directors, and enthusiastically await what lies ahead in my journey as a member of IAMSE.

#IAMSE18 – Last Chance to Submit A Focus Session – Due September 15!

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The deadline for the 2018 Call for Focus Sessions is quickly drawing near. As a reminder, proposals are to be submitted in the format requested through the online abstract submission site found here.

Submission deadline is September 15, 2017. Session proposal acceptance notifications will be returned by November 15.

Please note that the call for poster/oral abstracts will be sent in the coming weeks. Please contact Brandi Hinkle at brandi@iamse.org for any questions about submission.

IAMSE Fall 2017 WAS Session 1 Highlights

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In case you missed yesterday’s Webcast Audio Seminar (WAS) Session, here are the highlights of this session:

The Rising Tide of Competency-Based Medical Education: A Global View
Presenter: Jason Frank
September 7, 12 PM EST

Summary:

  • Health Professions Education (HPE)
    • Several Challenges of HPE
    • Time spent does not equal ability achieved
    • Trainees are not fully trained when arriving at clinical sites
    • Assessment issues
  • Competency Based Medical Education (CMBE)
  • Principles based on
    • Focuses on outcomes; graduate ability – not knowledge
    • Ensures progression of competence
    • Time is a resource not a framework
    • Promotes learner centeredness
    • Greater transparency to utility
  • Spectrum of skills acquisition
    • Novice > Advance Beginner > Competence > Proficiency > Expertise
  • CBME definition of Competency is an observable ability of a health professional
  • Van Melle’s Core Components of CBME (Five elements of a CBME Curriculum)
    • Outcomes competency framework
    • Sequence progression of competency
    • Tailored learning experiences
    • Tailored bedside coaching and observation
    • Programmatic assessment
  • Bottom line: Is your program a competency based?
  • CBME is about a better way to train health professionals.

For more information on the next session or to register, please click here.

IAMSE Fall Web Seminar Series – “Global Healthcare Overview of European Model”

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Global Healthcare Overview of European Model
Presenters: Jen Cleland and Meabh Ni Bhuinneain
September 21, 12 PM ET

“Recruitment and retention in junior doctors: global issues, local solutions?”

Medical education and training systems in the most countries allow doctors in training considerable individual choice about which specialty they select and where they wish to train. This flexibility is desirable to the individual, but not necessarily for the country’s health service: many countries cannot recruit doctors into certain specialties and/or to particular geographical areas. Many studies have identified a number of factors which influence medical and other healthcare careers decision making. However, only relatively recently have methodologies been adopted which examine which are the most important “push-pull” factors in healthcare professional career decision making. In this talk I will give an overview of the global issues, then discuss my own work and that of others in relation to the labour-market choices of healthcare professionals. I will conclude by discussing ways in which we can best select and support the healthcare workforce in order to start to address workforce shortages.

“A European Case Study of Rural Health System Strengthening through Rural Medical Academy Development”

Facilitated Exchange on the Role of Medical Educators in Global Health System Strengthening with reference to rural health systems

  • Presentation of a Case Study on Rural Medical Academy Development in the West of Ireland
  • Dialogue on the human resource challenges in the provision of rural health professional coverage worldwide.
  • Discuss the transitioning requirements of the Medical Student moving to the rural health environment.
  • Consider the reciprocal benefits to the rural host institution and opportunities for academic advancement

For more information and to register for the Fall 2017 Audio Seminar Series, please click here.