Preventing Translational Scientists From Extinction: The Long-Term Impact of a Personalized Training Program in Translational Medicine on the Careers of Translational Scientists

Far too much biomedical research is wasted and ends in the so called “Valley of Death”: the gap that exists between biomedical research and its clinical application. While the translational process requires collaboration between many disciplines, current translational medicine focuses on single disciplines. Therefore, educational pathways that integrate clinical and research skills in interdisciplinary and interprofessional contexts are needed. The Eureka institute (http://www.eurekainstitute.org/) was founded to address these issues. The institute organizes an annual 1-week international certificate course to educate professionals in the domains of translational medicine.Study design: This study set out to investigate the impact of the Eureka certificate course on the alumni, focusing on their ability to engage in translational activities and thus become more proficient translational professionals. An explanatory, mixed-methods study was executed.Data collection: A questionnaire was distributed to collect quantitative data on the number of alumni who were able to apply what they learned during the Eureka course and engage in translational activities. Questionnaire data were also used to inform the semi-structured interviews that were conducted subsequently.Results: Fifty-one percent of the alumni reported that participating in the Eureka course played a role in their decision to change to a different job or in the way they were accomplishing their everyday work. Ten conditions for change that either hampered or supported the Eureka alumni's engagement in translational research activities were identified. Further, the learning outcomes of the Eureka course that impacted the alumni's professional activities were explored using Personal Professional Theory (PPT). The insight that alumni gained in the full translational spectrum and stakeholders involved stimulated reflection on their own role within that pathway. Further, according to the alumni, the course provided them with the skills and confidence to pursue a career as translational professional. These learning outcomes, in combination with conditions that supported alumni's engagement in translational activities, such as supportive professional partners, opportunities to network or collaborate, and a translational work environment, contributed to the large number of alumni that were able to engage in translational activities

Views of institutional leaders on maintaining humanism in today’s practice

Objective To explore leadership perspectives on how to maintain high quality efficient care that is also person-centered and humanistic. Methods The authors interviewed and collected narrative transcripts from a convenience sample of 32 institutional healthcare leaders at seven U.S. medical schools. The institutional leaders were asked to identify factors that either promoted or inhibited humanistic practice. A subset of authors used the constant comparative method to perform qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts. They reached thematic saturation by consensus on the major themes and illustrative examples after six conference calls. Results Institutional healthcare leaders supported vision statements, policies, organized educational and faculty development programs, role modeling including their own, and recognition of informal acts of kindness to promote and maintain humanistic patient-care. These measures were described individually rather than as components of a coordinated plan. Few healthcare leaders mentioned plans for organizational or systems changes to promote humanistic clinician-patient relationships. Conclusions Institutional leaders assisted clinicians in dealing with stressful practices in beneficial ways but fell short of envisaging systems approaches that improve practice organization to encourage humanistic care

How Physicians Draw Satisfaction and Overcome Barriers in their Practices: “It Sustains Me”

Objective Major reorganizations of medical practice today challenge physicians’ ability to deliver compassionate care. We sought to understand how physicians who completed an intensive faculty development program in medical humanism sustain their humanistic practices. Methods Program completers from 8 U.S. medical schools wrote reflections in answer to two open-ended questions addressing their personal motivations and the barriers that impeded their humanistic practice and teaching. Reflections were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results Sixty-eight physicians (74% response rate) submitted reflections. Motivating factors included: 1) identification with humanistic values; 2) providing care that they or their family would want; 3) connecting to patients; 4) passing on values through role modelling; 5) being in the moment. Inhibiting factors included: 1) time, 2) stress, 3) culture, and 4) episodic burnout. Conclusions Determination to live by one’s values, embedded within a strong professional identity, allowed study participants to alleviate, but not resolve, the barriers. Collaborative action to address organizational impediments was endorsed but found to be lacking. Practice implications Fostering fully mature professional development among physicians will require new skills and opportunities that reinforce time-honored values while simultaneously partnering with others to nurture, sustain and improve patient care by addressing system issues

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. Participating course students' comments and teaching faculty feedback were also noted. Outcomes were a change in case content, student global evaluations of the course, and self-reported faculty comfort with teaching the cases. All three tutorial cases were reviewed by a separate group of 2–3 students. Major and minor revisions were made to each case based on the student feedback. These cases were used in 2007 and 2008 and were the major change to the course during that time. Overall course evaluation scores improved significantly from 2006 to 2008 (p = 0.000). Tutors (n = 22 in 2007; n = 23 in 2008) expressed relief during tutor meetings that students had reviewed the cases. A general framework for eliciting student feedback on problem-based cases was developed. Student feedback, consisting of self-selected students' case reviews and solicited course and tutor comments, added value to a curricular reform to improve the integration of cross-cultural content into a problem-based learning curriculum. Our study underscores the fundamental link between teachers and students as partners in curricular development

Intervenir sobre la cultura organizacional: ¿qué aspectos se pueden considerar?

La cultura organizacional (co) es un macroconstructo que involucra una gran variedad de componentes y funciones organizacionales (Warner, 2014). Reyes y Moros (2018) señalan que tiene su origen en el estudio realizado en Hawthorne por Elton Mayo y otros investigadores de la Escuela de las Relaciones Humanas de la Administración, en el que buscaban identificar la influencia de las condiciones físicas y ambientales en el desempeño individual. Para Reyes y Moros (2018), la co se siguió desarrollando en los años setenta con Pettigrew, para ser entendida como un sistema de significados que tanto pública como colectivamente es aceptado para operar en un tiempo y por un grupo determinado. Los autores la definen como “… un sistema de significados compartidos por los miembros de la organización, los cuales son el resultado de una construcción social constituida a través de símbolos y como tal deben ser interpretados”1a edició

Thinking Critically: How to Teach Translational Medicine

Translational Medicine (TM) is a comparatively new field of study that focusses on the continuum of activities from the conception of an idea, to advanced clinical testing and the development of a new medical technology or drug. In recent years, graduate education programs have been established internationally to train a new generation of professionals with specific skills necessary to navigate the translational landscape. Literature in the area highlights the importance of integrating specific competencies relevant to translational medicine as part of curriculum development. In addition to developing a working understanding of core knowledge (e.g., ethics, funding, regulation, policy, etc.), skills including effective communication, reflection, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional collaboration are critical components of a skilled TM professional. Curriculum development must focus on content, while carefully selecting the teaching strategies that are most effective to achieve the desired outcomes, which is for learners to comprehend the complex material. The following publication presents a series of vignettes that describe the experiences of an associate professor of molecular biology, who is looking to explore her role in translational medicine and develop skills for an innovative approach to problem-solving. The vignettes are focused on a variety of teaching and learning strategies that can be used to teach translational medicine. Each vignette includes a description of the experience from the perspective of the learner and the faculty as it pertains to the teaching strategy, method of delivery, and learning outcomes. TM is as complex to teach as it is to learn. The specialized skills and knowledges that are part of the TM toolbox cannot all be taught in a lecture format. Educators must consider multiple strategies and select those which are most effective for achieving the learning outcomes

Preventing translational scientists from extinction : The long-term impact of a personalized training program in translational medicine on the careers of translational scientists

Far too much biomedical research is wasted and ends in the so called "Valley of Death": the gap that exists between biomedical research and its clinical application. While the translational process requires collaboration between many disciplines, current translational medicine focuses on single disciplines. Therefore, educational pathways that integrate clinical and research skills in interdisciplinary and interprofessional contexts are needed. The Eureka institute (http://www.eurekainstitute.org/) was founded to address these issues. The institute organizes an annual 1-week international certificate course to educate professionals in the domains of translational medicine. Study design: This study set out to investigate the impact of the Eureka certificate course on the alumni, focusing on their ability to engage in translational activities and thus become more proficient translational professionals. An explanatory, mixed-methods study was executed. Data collection: A questionnaire was distributed to collect quantitative data on the number of alumni who were able to apply what they learned during the Eureka course and engage in translational activities. Questionnaire data were also used to inform the semi-structured interviews that were conducted subsequently. Results: Fifty-one percent of the alumni reported that participating in the Eureka course played a role in their decision to change to a different job or in the way they were accomplishing their everyday work. Ten conditions for change that either hampered or supported the Eureka alumni's engagement in translational research activities were identified. Further, the learning outcomes of the Eureka course that impacted the alumni's professional activities were explored using Personal Professional Theory (PPT). The insight that alumni gained in the full translational spectrum and stakeholders involved stimulated reflection on their own role within that pathway. Further, according to the alumni, the course provided them with the skills and confidence to pursue a career as translational professional. These learning outcomes, in combination with conditions that supported alumni's engagement in translational activities, such as supportive professional partners, opportunities to network or collaborate, and a translational work environment, contributed to the large number of alumni that were able to engage in translational activities