A Voice in Your Ear: Podcasts as a Strategy to Support Successful Student Transition into Medical Education

A Voice in Your Ear: Podcasts as a Strategy to Support Successful Student Transition into Medical Education Michael LaPelusa, Valerie Terry, Ph.D., Arden Dingle, M.D. Background The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine (SOM) welcomed their first student cohort in July 2016 (Class of 2020). In July 2017, the SOM will matriculate their second cohort (Class of 2021). To organize information and advice from the Class of 2020 to the Class of 2021 in an innovative and practical manner, a series of student-created podcasts is being developed to deliver their words of wisdom. A key aim of this project is to share what the SOM\u27s inaugural first class wished they had known, to help future students adapt to medical school and navigate the intricate roadmap of undergraduate medical education. It is anticipated that this initiative will establish a connection between SOM student cohorts, empower student leaders in peer mentoring, and positively impact the 2017 incoming cohort\u27s first-year SOM experience. The project is sustainable; it has the support of administration and will likely become a legacy effort, extended to future incoming first-year cohorts, including the SOM\u27s residents. Program/Challenge Description Transitioning to medical school is intrinsically challenging; being at a new medical school adds additional complications. These podcasts will contribute to the pre-matriculation and orientation programming to facilitate the preparation for and assimilation of students into medical school. The podcasts will capture student interviews and conversations with SOM faculty, administration, and fellow students. Topics will range from adapting to the border culture of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, preparing for USMLE Step examinations, utilizing available resources, and applying to residency. Listening to these podcasts will be voluntary although highly encouraged. Program Evaluation Evaluation of the podcast initiative will involve original research, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative measures, in a combination of online surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews, for data collection as benchmark measures and periodic follow-up evaluation of outcomes. The planned study will investigate and document how messages that are communicated via podcast technology affect student attitudes, opinions and, potentially, academic performance as students transition into a newly-established undergraduate medical degree program. Other aspects of the study will also explore medical student experiences transitioning into residency. Additionally, program assessment can examine user information (e.g., ease of use) and inform future pre-matriculation and orientation approaches (e.g., content modification, scheduled activities). Baseline data regarding students’ attitudes, goals, and expectations will be collected during the Class of 2021’s orientation (July 2017) so the podcasts effectiveness can be measured at several time points throughout the academic year. Discussion Emphasis is placed on podcast content being student-created to ensure the podcasts do not have an obligatory or compulsory overtone; otherwise, the usefulness of the podcasts might be compromised. Encouraging as many students and faculty as possible to contribute to the podcast project is also considered to be imperative to provide a wide range of perspectives and input, reduce redundancy and establish a pipeline of future content creators and student consumers

Teaching Ethics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Vignette-Based Curriculum

Introduction: Ethics is an integral component of child and adolescent psychiatry. While ethics can seem abstract or philosophical, its tenets are fundamental to the practice of medicine. Understanding relevant ethical principles shapes how practitioners make decisions in all activities, including clinical, administrative, research, and scholarly. Methods: Using the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Code of Ethics as the framework, these vignettes serve as stimulus material to help teach the ethical principles relevant to child and adolescent psychiatry practice. Each vignette briefly describes a clinical situation in practice, followed by questions and possible appropriate responses. The teacher\u27s guide includes a discussion of the relevant ethical principles and perspectives on how to think about the issues involved. A supplementary overview of ethical issues in child and adolescent psychiatry and a list of resources are also provided. Results: We and other child and adolescent psychiatrists have used this curriculum at professional organizational meetings, in residency programs, and in teaching medical students with positive learner responses. Discussion: This curriculum was developed by members of the AACAP Ethics Committee with input from the entire committee in an effort to produce material that was easy to use and provided valuable content about an essential aspect of practice that is relevant to all practitioners at all levels. While designed for child and adolescent psychiatrists, the content is relevant to all physicians working with children, adolescents, and families

“A Voice In Your Ear” Podcast – The Second Year

In July of 2016, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine matriculated their first cohort (Class of 2020). In an attempt to organize the advice that the Class of 2020 planned to provide future classes, a podcast was developed by several medical students from the Class of 2020 in cooperation with faculty and administration

Development of Learning Objectives to Guide Enhancement of Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Curricula in Undergraduate Medical Education

Phenomenon: Chronic disease is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. With an increase in the demand for healthcare and rising costs related to chronic care, physicians need to be better trained to address chronic disease at various stages of illness in a collaborative and cost-effective manner. Specific and measurable learning objectives are key to the design and evaluation of effective training, but there has been no consensus on chronic disease learning objectives appropriate to medical student education. Approach: Wagner’sChronic Care Model (CCM) was selected as a theoretical framework to guide development of an enhanced chronic dis-ease prevention and management (CDPM) curriculum. Findings of a literature review of CDPM competencies, objectives, and topical statements were mapped to each of the six domains of the CCM to understand the breadth of existing learning topics within each domain. At an in-person meeting, medical educators prepared a survey for the modified Delphi approach. Attendees iden-tified 51 possible learning objectives from the literature review mapping, rephrased the CCM domains as competencies, constructed possible CDPM learning objectives for each competency with the goal of reaching multi-institutional consensus on a limited number of CDPM learning objectives that would be feasible for institutions to use to guide enhancement of medical student curricula related to CDPM. After the meeting, the group developed a survey which included 39 learning objectives. In the study phase of the modified Delphi approach, 32 physician CDPM experts and educators completed an online survey to prioritize the top 20 objectives. The next step occurred at a CDPM interest group in-person meeting with the goal of identifying the top 10 objectives. Findings: The CCM domains were reframed as the following competencies for medical student education: patient self-care management, decision support, clinical information systems, community resources, delivery systems and teams, and health system practice and improvement. Eleven CDPM learning objectives were identified within the six competencies that were most important in developing curriculum for medical students. Insights: These learning objectives cut across education on the prevention and management of individual chronic diseases and frame chronic disease care as requiring the health system science competencies identified in the CCM. They are intended to be used in combination with traditional disease-specific pathophysiology and treatment objectives. Additional efforts are needed to identify specific curricular strategies and assessment tools for each learning objective

Incorporating Developmental Principles Into Clinical Care

An 8-year-old is being treated for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with a positive response to medication and behavioral management. Although the child’s academic performance has improved, the parents are concerned that the child does not appear to fully understand the importance of doing well at school, despite their parental explanations about college and careers. School assignments are done adequately, but the child spends no extra time on academic activities and refuses to participate in educationally related recreational activities, preferring to dress up and engage in imaginary play, often related to the child’s favorite movies. The scenarios are often quite involved and take considerable planning. The child often plays alone (although there is some playtime with two peers) and is uninterested in playing a team sport. Life at home has improved, with the child being less irritable and reactive. The parents state that the child has always been moody and has difficulty adjusting to change. Over the years, this has improved. The child generally seeks out the parents when distressed and responds positively to their suggestions. The parents are wondering whether the child’s ADHD is being adequately treated. They ask the psychiatrist whether there are additional treatment interventions to improve the child’s motivation and academic performance. The psychiatrist brings this case up in peer supervision for suggestions about how to respond

Developing a Rural Psychiatry Training Program on The Texas-Mexico Border: A Chance for Innovation

Creating residencies that produce psychiatrists who are skilled and interested in working in under resourced areas, especially in community and rural settings is challenging. State and private agency collaboration can be an effective approach to enhancing such training. These resources for education have the goals of improving access and services, addressing workforce shortages and improving physician retention. They can provide flexibility to implement innovations that enhance training and address community needs. This article describes the implementation of a psychiatry residency at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Funding was obtained from state and private initiatives. This paper describes the implementation. Feedback was positive at all levels. This program illustrates some of the advantages of utilizing alternate funding in creating high quality residencies that are integral to the community, produce skilled collaborative physicians, provide necessary care that addresses specific community needs and potentially address workforce issues in underserved areas