Breakfast of Champions: Patricia O'Sullivan, EdD.

This post is the first in a new feature for Feed the Educator, titled "Breakfast of Champions." This feature is packed with everything you need to start your week off right, with short reflections - including advice, tips, or quotes - from educational innovators and pioneers in clinical education. These posts were written for you; the motivated, super-talented, interesting, and awesomely capable clinical teacher. Dig in!

Patricia O'Sullivan, EdD, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of Research and Development in Medical Education at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. O'Sullivan has over 30 years of experience in clinical education and - get this - she used to work at Baystate!  Dr. O'Sullivan has won awards for her contributions, and we are lucky that she offers the following to us in this month's BOC post.  

How do you see yourself as a medical educator?

I have worked in medical education for 35 years and recognize that we are fortunate to have so many clinicians who enjoy the role of teacher and being involved in the education of students, residents, fellows and peers. However, have you thought that this interest has the potential to change you? 

I have thought about how one’s clinician identity incorporates the identity of a medical educator. I ask, are they two completely separate identities? Is one more important than another? Do they work alongside each other? Are they really hand-in-glove? To make the transition to the latter, “merged identity,” that really does change you, I offer a series of tips:

• Have a consultant identity

• Recognize that we are collaborators

• Arm yourself with educational tools

• Take “their” perspective

• Go to “their” environment

• Build a network

• Clarify ideas

• Be cognitively flexible

• Find the money

• Be generous

Please read more about these in a commentary that I wrote: O'Sullivan, P. S. (2012). Reflections on the identitydevelopment of medical educators. Medical Science Educator, 22, 129-132. (Available on request through the BMC Health Sciences Library here)