Faculty Bibliography

Introduction:Curricular innovations are invaluable to the improvement of medical education programs, and thus, their dissemination to broader audiences is imperative. However, medical educators often struggle to translate innovative ideas into scholarly pursuits due to a lack of experience or expertise in selecting outcome measures that demonstrate impact. A recent national call for increased focus on outcome measures for medical education research highlights the need for more training in this area. Methods:We developed a 2-hour interactive workshop to improve educator ability to identify outcome measures for educational innovations. This workshop was delivered at a national pediatrics educational conference and at three local institutional faculty development sessions. Results:Participants were diverse in terms of experience, expertise, and roles within their educational programs. Participants rated the workshop positively in each setting and identified next steps in developing their own products of educational scholarship. Discussion:This workshop can provide faculty and faculty developers with a template for developing a skill set in identifying outcome measures and pairing them with educational innovations.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate a pediatric otoscopy curriculum with the use of outcome measures that included assessment of skills with real patients. METHODS:Thirty-three residents in an intervention group from 2 institutions received the curriculum. In the previous year, 21 residents in a nonintervention group did not receive the curriculum. Both groups were evaluated at the beginning and end of their internship years with the use of the same outcome assessments: 1) a written test, 2) an objective standardized clinical examination (OSCE), and 3) direct observation of skills in real patients with the use of a checklist with established validity. RESULTS:The intervention group had a significant increase in percentage reaching minimum passing levels between the beginning and end of the internship year for the written test (12% vs 97%; P < .001), OSCE (0% vs 78%; P < .001), and direct observation (0% vs 75%; P < .001); significant mean percentage gains for the written test (21%; P < .001), OSCE (28%; P < .001), and direct observation (52%; P = .008); and significantly higher (P < .001) mean percentage gains than the nonintervention group on the written test, OSCE, and direct observation. The nonintervention group did not have a significant increase (P = .99) in percentage reaching minimum passing levels, no significant mean percentage gains in the written test (2.7%; P = .30) and direct observation (6.7%; P = .61), and significant regression in OSCE (-5.2%; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS:A pediatric otoscopy curriculum with multimodal outcome assessments was successfully implemented across different specialties at multiple institutions and found to yield gains, including in skills with real patients.

Rigorous medical education research is critical to effectively develop and evaluate the training we provide our learners. Yet, many clinical medical educators lack the training and skills needed to conduct high quality medical education research. This paper offers guidance on conducting sound quantitative medical education research. Our aim is to equip readers with the key skills and strategies necessary to conduct successful research projects, highlighting new concepts and controversies in the field. We utilize Glassick's criteria for scholarship as a framework to discuss strategies to ensure that the research question of interest is worthy of further study and how to use existing literature and conceptual frameworks to strengthen a research study. Through discussions of the strengths and limitations of commonly used study designs, we expose the reader to particular nuances of these decisions in medical education research and discuss outcomes generally focused upon, as well as strategies for determining the significance of consequent findings. We conclude with information on critiquing research findings and preparing results for dissemination to a broad audience. Practical planning worksheets and comprehensive tables illustrating key concepts are provided in order to guide researchers through each step of the process. Medical education research provides wonderful opportunities to improve how we teach our learners, to satisfy our own intellectual curiosity and ultimately, to enhance the care provided to patients.