Training interprofessional faculty in humanism and professionalism: a qualitative analysis of what is most important

Introduction: The capacity of healthcare professionals to work collaboratively influences faculty and trainees’ professional identity formation, well-being, and care quality. Part of a multi-institutional project*, we created the Faculty Fellowship for Leaders in Humanistic Interprofessional Education at Boston Children’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School. We aimed to foster trusting relationships, reflective abilities, collaboration skills, and work together to promote humanistic values within learning environments. Objective: To examine the impact of the faculty fellowship from participants’ reports of “the most important thing learned”. Methods: We studied participants’ reflections after each of 16 1½ hour fellowship sessions. Curriculum content included: highly functioning teams, advanced team formation, diversity/inclusion, values, wellbeing/renewal/burnout, appreciative inquiry, narrative reflection, and others. Responses to “What was the most important thing you learned?” were analyzed qualitatively using a positivistic deductive approach. Results: Participants completed 136 reflections over 16 sessions–77% response rate (136/176). Cohort was 91% female; mean age 52.6 (range 32-65); mean years since completion of highest degree 21.4; 64% held doctorates, 36% master’s degrees. 46% were physicians, 27% nurses, 18% social workers, 9% psychologists. 27% participated previously in a learning experience focusing on interprofessional education, collaboration or practice. Most important learning included: Relational capacities/ Use of self in relationships 96/131 (73%); Attention to values 46/131 (35%); Reflection/ Self-awareness 44/131 (34%); Fostering humanistic learning environments 21/131 (16%). Discussion: Results revealed the importance of enhancing relational capacities and use of self in relationships including handling emotions; attention to values; reflection/self-awareness and recognition of assumptions; and fostering humanistic learning environments. These topics should receive more emphasis in interprofessional faculty development programs and may help identify teaching priorities. *Supported in part by a multi-institutional grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (Dr. Branch as PI; Dr. Rider as site PI)

Shifting Organizational Cultures: Developing Leaders in Humanistic Interprofessional Education

Organizational cultures significantly influence faculty and clinician well-being, trainees’ professional identity formation, and the care of patients and families. The ability of interprofessional healthcare teams to work collaboratively is important for safe, high quality, relationship-centered care. A multi-site project, Faculty Development for the Interprofessional Teaching of Humanism,* was initiated to create a national curriculum in humanism and professionalism designed to train interprofessional education (IPE) faculty leaders. Boston Children’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School (BCH/HMS) is the first pediatric site selected to design and implement this curriculum. Our objectives were to: 1) develop a national curriculum in humanism and professionalism for IPE faculty leaders; 2) adapt the curriculum for pediatrics; and 3) create and sustain a faculty fellowship for IPE leaders at BCH/HMS that promotes humanistic values in organizational culture and learning and care environments. We designed and implemented the curriculum at nine national sites. Topics focus on collaboration, communication, and relationships and include: highly functioning teams; advanced team formation; patients’ perspectives; empathy; well-being, resilience, renewal; diversity & inclusion; appreciative inquiry; values; IPE and others. To achieve sustainability at BCH/HMS, we created a unique Faculty Fellowship for Leaders in Humanistic Interprofessional Education. To increase impact, we recruited co-sponsors from departments across BCH. Fellows participate in 1½-hour, twice-monthly small-group sessions for 8 months and design and implement a group project. Twenty-one faculty applied. The first cohort included 11 faculty representing medicine, social work, nursing, and psychology. The Faculty Fellowship provides opportunities for IPE faculty leaders to enhance teaching skills, collaboration, relationships, reflective capacities, and role modeling in humanism and professionalism, and to work together to foster humanistic values within organizational culture. *Supported by a multi-institutional grant from the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (Dr. Branch as national PI; Dr. Rider as site PI) 

Why are you here? Needs analysis of an interprofessional health-education graduate degree program

Little is known about the nature of faculty development that is needed to meet calls for a focus on quality and safety with particular attention to the power of interprofessional collaborative practice. Through grounded-theory methodology, the authors describe the motivation and needs of 20 educator/clinicians in multiple disciplines who chose to enroll in an explicitly interprofessional master’s program in health profession education. The results, derived from axial coding described by Strauss and Corbin, revealed that faculty pursue such postprofessional master’s degrees out of a desire to be better prepared for their roles as educators. A hybrid-delivery model on campus and online provided access to graduate degrees while protecting the ability of participants to remain in current positions. The added benefit of a community of practice related to evidence-based and innovative models of education was valued by participants. Authentic, project-based learning and assessment supported their advancement in home institutions and systems. The experience was described by participants as a disruptive innovation that helped them attain their goal of leadership in health profession education

Listen Before You Auscultate Bedside Cardiac Assessment Trailer

Authors: James L. Meisel, MD, MHPE,1 Daniel C. R. Chen, MD, MSc,2 Gail March Cohen, PhD, MFA,3 Sheilah A. Bernard, MD,4 Hugo Carmona, MD,5 Emil R. Petrusa, PhD,6 Isaac O. Opole, MD, PhD,7 Deborah Navedo, PhD, CPNP, FNAP,8 Vladimir I. Valtchinov, PhD,9Ahmed H. Nahas, MD,10 Carly M. Eiduson, BA,11 Nick Papps, BS, MBA12 1 Associate Chief of Staff for Education, VA Bedford Healthcare System; Associate Professor of Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine 2 Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine 3 Medical Director, AMA Ed Hub 4 Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine 5 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington 6 Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Department of Surgery, Learning Lab, Massachusetts General Hospital 7 Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center 8 Director of Education, STRATUS Center for Simulation, Brigham and Women's Hospital 9 Assistant Professor of Radiology, Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School 10 Advanced Geriatric Medicine Fellow, Veterans Health Administration, New England Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Boston Health Care System; Geriatrician, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, Yakima, WA, USA 11 Fourth-year medical student, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry 12 Multimedia producer, Synchro AgencyIntroduction: Bedside cardiac assessment (BCA) is deficient across a spectrum of non-cardiology trainees. Learners not taught BCA well may become instructors who do not teach well, creating a self-perpetuating problem. We aimed to improve BCA teaching and learning by developing a high-quality, patient-centered curriculum for medicine clerkship students that could be flexibly implemented and accessible to other health professions learners. Methods: With a constructivist perspective, we aligned learning goals, activities, and assessments. The curriculum used a “listen before you auscultate” framework, capturing patient history as context for a six-step, systematic approach. In the flipped classroom, short videos and practice questions preceded two, 1-hour class activities that integrated diagnostic reasoning, pathophysiology, physical diagnosis, and reflection. Activities included case discussions, JVP evaluation, heart sound competitions, and simulated conversations with patients. 268 students at four U.S. and international medical schools participated. We incorporated feedback, performed thematic analysis, and assessed learners’ confidence and knowledge. Results: Low post-test data capture limited quantitative results. Students reported increased confidence in BCA ability. Knowledge increased in both BCA and control groups. Thematic analysis suggested instructional design strategies were effective and peer encounters, skills practice, and encounters with educators were meaningful. Discussion: The curriculum supported active learning of day-to-day clinical competencies. Explicitly incorporating notions of trust, it promoted professional identity formation alongside BCA ability. Feedback and increased confidence on the late-clerkship post-test suggested durable learning. We recommended approaches to confirm this and other elements of knowledge, skill acquisition, or behaviors, and are surveying impacts on professional identity formation-related constructs