Doctors as Educators

The University of Kansas School of Medicine Faculty Development Program organized out of the Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs (PDFA) is an established leader in faculty development for medical educators. Since 2006, when our Educator's Breakfast Series began, over 600 faculty and fellows from The University of Kansas School of Medicine as well as School of Nursing and School of Health Professionals have participated in the in our programs. The professional development of participants is supported through the use of adult learning methods and collaborative learning. Courses, programs and continuing education credits are provided for the members of the School of Medicine faculty at no charge. Registration is required and acceptance into courses is a requirement for participation.

2013

Doctors as Educators (DAE) Course: Part I

• Erica Howe, M.D., Course Director

Fourteen consecutive Mondays (with exception of Tuesday, May 21)
Feb. 18 – June 17
Noon – 1 p.m. (lunch provided)
General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096, KUMC Campus

Apply for this course here (Seating limited to 35)

Course Description

The Doctors As Educators (DAE) Program is a 14-session course with a focus on teaching doctors the theory and skills required to become excellent teachers in medical education. All current University of Kansas faculty (clinical and basic science) are invited to attend this course. The course will focus on topics related to the foundations of teaching excellence including theories of learning, teaching methods, teaching clinical reasoning, motivating the learner, the difficult learner, conflict management and negotiation, giving feedback, setting expectations, and time management.

Each session will start with a 15-minute small group discussion to answer the "Question of the Day", a question that focuses on a challenge surrounding the topic for that day's session. This is followed by a 30-40 minute lecture to educate faculty learners on that subject. At the end of each session, the learners will have the opportunity to reflect on the new knowledge that was gained in that session with another short small group discussion.

Overall Course Objectives

Identify the current guidelines in the medical literature regarding skills to excel as a clinical educator.
Describe and exemplify the use of advanced organizers in medical education.

*Note: Completion of Doctors as Educators (DAE) Course: Part I is a pre-requisite for Doctors as Educators (DAE) Course: Part II, which will be offered in the Fall 2013.

Who Should Attend

Junior faculty members in the School of Medicine

Bio for Erica Howe, M.D., Course Director

Dr. Howe graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2004 prior to completing her residency in Internal Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating from Tulane in 2007, she spent an extra year in New Orleans as a chief resident. Her first faculty position was at Johns Hopkins Bayview in Baltimore where she practiced as an academic Hospitalist for three years before coming to Kansas City. While at Johns Hopkins, she completed a number of faculty development courses focused on teaching skills, curriculum development, and leadership in medicine. From there, she developed a teaching curriculum for Internal Medicine residents interested in Hospital Medicine and developed and taught a course on lab interpretation for third-year medical students at Johns Hopkins University. Her interest in medical education continued when she moved to Kansas City in 2011 and was hired as an academic Hospitalist at the University of Kansas and as Core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. At KU, she has developed a weekly teaching session for medical students and residents on the inpatient Internal Medicine services called Munch and Master that teaches systematic approaches to symptoms and diseases commonly seen in Internal Medicine. She also directed the creation of the Jaybook, a resident handbook which now includes overviews of over 100 clinical topics. In the Spring of 2012, she introduced a faculty development series titled Doctors as Educators to the General Medicine Department at KU. This course focuses on teaching junior faculty how to improve their clinical teaching through active learning principles that include discussion of the theories of learning, teaching methods, teaching clinical reasoning, motivating the learner, addressing the difficult learner, conflict management and negotiation, giving feedback, setting expectations, and time management, among others. In 2013, this course was introduced campus-wide to all faculty at KU. Dr. Howe currently lives in Overland Park with her husband and two children.

Individual Session Details

Session 1: What Makes an Excellent Teacher?

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, Feb. 18, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon - 1 p.m.

This session will clarify the process by which a clinical educator evolves from learner to teacher to clinically excellent teacher. This session will also educate the clinical educator on the characteristics that constitute an excellent teacher, as defined by a variety of learners in the current medical literature.

Objectives:

To reflect on the qualities that comprise excellent teachers.
To learn how the medical literature defines teaching excellence in medical education.
To discuss the barriers to teaching excellence and ways to overcome them.

Strategies:

To seek to acquire knowledge of how to teach a variety of learners in a variety of settings.
To seek to improve my teaching through self-reflection and use of pre-determined "scripts" that can then be adapted to the clinical scenario.

Session 2: Time Management: Making Yours and Everyone's Around You More Efficient

Speaker: Abebe Abebe, M.D.
Date: Monday, Feb. 25, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon – 1 p.m.

Inefficient time management is one of the biggest barriers to daily teaching on the wards and in clinic. This session will aim to discuss ways in which the clinical educator can be more efficient with the limited amount of time available in their day to allow for more efficient and timely teaching sessions.

Objectives:

Discuss how to "frame" the clinical day using the concepts of the 3 "D"s, urgent vs. important patient care prioritization, and time windows to allow for more teaching.
To provide the clinical educator with models for short, timely teaching sessions in the context of a demanding clinical day.

Strategies:

Routinely use strategies like the 3 “D”s, urgent vs. important patient care prioritization, and time windows to model efficiency during the clinical day.
Routinely use dual teaching in daily patient care (a.k.a. teach the learner as you deliver patient care and assess the learner as he/she delivers care).

Session 3: Teaching Clinical Reasoning: Advanced Organizers and the Socratic Method

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, March 4, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon–1 p.m.

This session will introduce the clinical educator to the concept of clinical coaching, an approach to teaching in medicine that emphasizes use of the Socratic Method to teach new information and the use of advanced organizers to solidify new or difficult concepts for learners.

Objectives:

To define clinical coaching and its three main subsets.
To recognize the four components of being an effective clinical coach.
To be able to identify the ways in which “pimping” differs from the Socratic Method of teaching and how to apply the Socratic Method to teaching in the clinical setting.

Strategies:

Routinely use the top ten rules for creating a successful small group discussion.
Routinely use the top ten rules for preventing lecture fatigue when giving a power point presentation.

Session 4: Learning Theories and Role Modeling

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, March 18, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon–1 p.m.

This session focuses on discussion of the five main theories behind how adult learners assimilate knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This presentation will also discuss how these theories are intertwined with role modeling. Common themes associated with being an excellent role model will also be explored.

Objectives:

To reflect on personal role modeling experiences and what made them superior or inferior.
To learn the five main learning theories and how this relates to learners in medicine.
To identify the 5 "Be"s for excelling as a role model and how each relates to a learning theory.

Strategies:

Routinely use the five main themes for excelling as a role model during patient interactions: acknowledging the power of non-verbal cues and shows of respect, addressing feelings, building a personal connection, and self-reflection.
Routinely use active reflection to encourage conscious behavior changes in my learners.
Watch for a negative interaction and acknowledge when you were not your “best self” in the presence of learners.
Routinely use the five "Be"s to excel as a role model: be polite, be paranoid, be explicit, be encouraging, and be reflective.

Session 5: Teaching Methods: How to Give a Great Talk vs. Death by Lecture

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, March 25, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session will explore the benefits of the most common teaching structures for learners in the medical setting, with a focus on lecture and small group discussions. The most frequent mistakes when using each teaching structure will be identified along with ways to avoid these pitfalls.

Objectives:

To be able to discuss the pros and cons associated with the most common teaching methods in medicine.
To be able to list the top ten rules for fighting lecture fatigue and leading small group discussions, including the ‘triple tell” and “rule of six”.

Strategies:

Routinely use a combination of teaching methods in my teaching presentations to better solidify the information I am teaching for my learners.
Routinely use the “triple tell” (give objectives, teach the subject, summarize at the end) in my teaching sessions.
Prepare a number of short teaching sessions in advance that can then be taught “on the fly” to my learners when clinically appropriate.

Session 6: Setting Expectations & Goals for Your Learners

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, April 1, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Learners often express frustration at not knowing what is expected of them, especially in the modern-day setting of frequent shift changes and rotations of attendings. This session will aim to educate the clinical educator on the importance of clarifying goals and expectations with learners upfront. We will also explore the definition of a hidden curriculum and how its presence can hinder your teaching.

Objectives:

To define the clinical educator’s personal expectations of their learners and to understand the importance of verbalizing these expectations to improve the learning environment.
To define and evaluate how to remove the hidden curriculum from your teaching.

Strategies:

Routinely discuss my personal expectations for learners at the beginning of each rotation.
Routinely request that my learners clarify what their goals and expectations are of me at the beginning of each rotation.
Acknowledge the hidden curriculum in medicine and actively attempt to prevent its negative effects on my learners.

Session 7: Making Teachers Out of Learners

Speaker: Angela Mayorga, M.D.
Date: Monday, April 15, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session will focus on giving the clinical educator the tools needed to help them transition their advanced learners into the role of teacher. This class will explore the characteristics of advanced learners as they prepare for this transition, along with tips to make introducing a learner to the role of teacher effective and seamless.

Objectives:

To discuss the developmental differences as learners grow from novice to advanced and what characteristics are most consistent with a learner who is ready to teach.
To investigate specific guidelines on how the clinical educator can best aid their advanced learners as they transition to the role of teacher.

Strategies:

To practice the concepts of dualism, multiplicity, and relativism in helping the learner transition into a teacher.
Use the 7 tips for “teaching teaching” to advanced learners.

Session 8: Conflict Management and Negotiation, Part 1

Speaker: Karin Porter-Williamson, M.D.
Date: Monday, April 22, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Modern theories embrace the concept that conflict is a natural part of frequent interactions with others. This session discusses why conflicts arise and the five main negotiation styles associated with managing these conflicts while maintaining an effective relationship with the other party.

Objectives:

To explore how conflicts arise in the workplace and beyond.
To discuss the challenges of working as a team.
To define the five types of negotiation styles and pros and cons of each.

Strategies:

Routinely reflect on my preferred negotiation style and how this style can navigate conflicts successfully when interacting with other negotiation styles.
Routinely attempt to use the most effective negotiation style for the conflict at hand, even if this differs from my personal negotiation preference.

Session 9: Conflict Management and Negotiation, Part 2

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, April 29, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session of conflict management and negotiation will test the clinical educator’s knowledge of negotiating styles learned in part one of this two-part series, including identifying your co-negotiator’s style and how best to respond to it. From there, we will discuss common negotiating pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Objectives:

To be able to identify the type of negotiation you are in and how to respond accordingly.
To be able to describe the rules of successful negotiations and how to use them to meet your needs and the needs of your co-negotiator.

Strategies:

Routinely use the four rules of “Getting to Yes” in my negotiations with others.
Routinely define and practice how to strengthen my BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)prior to negotiations.

Session 10: The Difficult Learner/Controlling the Session

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, May 6, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

The difficult learner is often seen as the great nemesis of an effective teacher. This session will provide the clinical educator with tools to help them identify the types of difficult learners and methods for diagnosing and managing their behavior.

Objectives:

To be able to identify the types of difficult learner and the underlying deficit.
To learn the TIPS and SOAP methods for diagnosing the difficult learner.
To be able to discuss time-based management of the difficult learner—acute, subacute, and chronic.

Strategies:

Routinely use the characteristics described in this session to identify the type of difficult learner.
Practice the TIPS and SOAP methods for diagnosing the difficult learner and the time-based techniques for managing the difficult learner.

Session 11: Educating Different Generations of Learners

Speaker: Tracy Russo, PhD, Communication Studies, University of Kansas
Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session will explore the differences among generations of learners, from Baby Boomers to Millenials and how to educate, motivate, and provide each with effective feedback.

Objectives:

Articulate and assess the argument that the characteristics of different generations are evident in their learning and approach to education.
Apply claims about learner characteristics to your own learners’ context: experience, academic level, the nature of the course material.

Strategies:

Apply backward design to focus your efforts on learning objectives.
Plan a variety of learning experiences (texts, mediated material, quizzes and tests, performance, problem-solving).
Solicit and integrate feedback from students, including their performances and their reports about the learning experiences.

Session 12: Motivating the Learner

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D.
Date: Monday, June 3, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session will investigate Maslow’s Hierarchy as it relates to motivation and how the clinical educator can enhance learner motivation using a variety of tools and principles in the clinical setting.

Objectives:

To discuss the history of adult learning theories and how they can be applied to motivation in teaching.
To explore the 6 main principles of motivating learners from “Teaching in the Hospital.”
6 “C”s of motivation and how they can be modified for the learners of medical education.

Strategies:

Remember to address Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs prior to a teaching session to help optimize the learning environment.
Use Wiese’s 6 main principles for motivation from “Teaching in the Hospital.”
Use the modified version of Wang’s 6 “C”s for motivating learners.

Session 13: Giving Feedback

Speaker: David Naylor, M.D.
Date: Monday, June 10, 2013
Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096
Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Poor feedback can quickly discourage a novice learner and have a negative effect on future performance, whereas effective feedback can act to motivate and improve learner performance. This session will aim to teach the skills needed to overcome common challenges to effective feedback and provide strategies for improving how feedback is delivered.

Objectives:

To be able to identify and explore the RIME method of giving feedback.
To understand the barriers to providing effective feedback and how to overcome them.
To investigate how awareness of the “intrapersonal” and “interpersonal” improves delivery of feedback in the context of a relationship.

Strategies:

Routinely use the seven step approach to successful feedback (i.e. prepare the learner, ask for self-reflection, add your observations, blend observed behaviors with curricular objectives, ask for self-reflection on observations, develop a plan for next performance and subsequent feedback).
Routinely use the specific measurable objectives as defined by the questions, “Who, will do, how much, of what, by when” in my feedback sessions with learners.
Routinely attempt to avoid common feedback pitfalls discussed in this session.

Session 14: Assessing if Learning is Taking Place/Conclusions

Speaker: Erica Howe, M.D. Date: Monday, June 17, 2013 Location: General Medicine Conference Room, Delp 6096 Time: Noon-1 p.m.

This session will review and reflect on some of the previously taught concepts in this course and how the clinical-educator can apply them to the theories behind assessing learning.

Objectives:

To review and summarize the main teachings of this course.
To be able to determine if learning has taken place using by evaluating for transformative learning.

Strategies:

To reference the 4 main questions (What did you learn? How do you know you learned it? What helped? What got in the way?) that allow learners to reflect on learning.

Education Scholar Certificates

Education Scholar certificates for faculty learners can be earned by:

Attendance at 75 percent or more of the Doctors As Educators (DAE) sessions
Creation and teaching of an advanced organizer concept to faculty learners during the DAE course

Continuing Medical Education Credit

Accreditation Statement

The University of Kansas Medical Center Office of Continuing Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Kansas Medical Center Office of Continuing Medical Education designates this live activity for a maximum of 14.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Credit Designation Statement

The University of Kansas Medical Center Office of Continuing Medical Education designates this educational activity, Doctors as Educators (DAE) Course Part I, for a maximum of 14 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^{^TM}. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Policy on Speaker and Provider Disclosure

It is the policy of the University of Kansas Medical Center Office of Continuing Medical Education that the speaker and provider disclose real or apparent conflicts of interest relating to the topics of this educational activity, and also disclose discussions of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices during their presentation(s). The University of Kansas Medical Center Office of Continuing Medical Education has established policies in place that will identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to this educational activity. Detailed disclosure will be made in the activity handout materials.

Planning Committee

Erica Howe, MD, Course Director and Assistant Professor, General and Geriatric Medicine, Educational Services Director and one of the Core Faculty Advisors in Internal Medicine
Robert M. Klein, PhD, Professor of Anatomy and Associate Dean, Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs (PDFA), School of Medicine
Marty McLaughlin, Associate Director, Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs (PDFA), School of Medicine
Andrea Shaw, Director, Office of Continuing Education, KUMC

Contact Information and Questions

Erica Howe, MD, Course Director
ehowe@kumc.edu

Last modified: Feb 11, 2013

Testimonials

Praise from previous Doctors as Educators Course:

"Overall, the course was outstanding . I found it very rewarding and practical/pertinent to our daily interactions with our learners. The interactive mode of the presenters with the audience was refreshing!"
-- Abebe Abebe, M.D.

"Attending the Doctors As Educators course was well worth the time investment, as it gave me tools I could immediately put into practice in my teaching activities. The course content itself, as well as the input from the other participants, continue to prove to be valuable to my work as an educator."
-- Emily Riegel, M.D.

"Creating my own advanced organizer and presenting it to my peers gave me the opportunity to practice creating a teaching tool and to get useful feedback from my colleagues."
-- Ann Pizzi, M.D.

"This course was excellent! Both the group discussions and the more formal presentations were very useful. This is an area of education under-represented in physician training and one that is key in the development of exceptional physician educators."
-- Becky Lowry, M.D.

Events

Information for:

Academics

KU School of Medicine Faculty Development Series

Doctors as Educators

2013