Mmmmmm, Low Hanging Fruit

Various.  Clinical Teacher, Medical Education, Medical Teacher, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, JAMA, Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Academic Medicine, American Journal of Nursing, Journal of Interprofessional Care. Available online from the Baystate Health Sciences Library or from PubMed at your institution.

Introduction. Methods. Results. Discussion. 

These four words! They're so... so... strict, yes? I mean, why do these four words hold so much power? That great idea of yours - no really, it's great! - is going to propel you to stardom in health professions education, but not if it can't be published. And it can't be published if it doesn't have an Introduction. Methods. Results. Discussion. 

Right? 

Wrong. See, your great idea? It's more of a...perspective, no? Or, maybe it's more like....like....a viewpoint. No, it's really a souped-up list: twelve tips on achieving stardom in health professions education! 

Well, my friend, there are outlets for you. There are opportunities where your writing can magically transform your brilliance into low hanging fruit. Yum. Before you embark on a full-scale research study (which you absolutely should consider) (with proper mentorship, of course) (call me), check out these peer-reviewed opportunities for writing up your truly brilliant idea into a form other than I-M-R-D. 

• Insights (Clin Teach) - 800 words of "structured reflection"
• How We... (Med Teach) - 2,500 words on how you did something; "what is involved in implementing a practical idea or topic in medical education" with a reflection
• 12 Tips (Med Teach) - 3,200 words max giving practical tips or advice on something
• Perspectives (JGME) - 1,200 words of an evidence-based opinion
• On Teaching/On Learning (JGME) - 1,200 words of a personal reflection or essay of the physician experience
• Really Good Stuff (Med Educ) - semi-annual opportunity for a 500-word write-up of a new innovation or idea
• Short Report (J Interprofessional Care) - 1,000 words about an innovation or research in progress (before it becomes I-M-R-D)
• Last Page (Acad Med) - one-page visual display of a concept, trend, program, policy, or person that is timely or timeless. (Guess where you'll find it in the journal?)
• Developments (Teach Learn Med) - 2,000 words of a new innovation or, yes, a development
• Viewpoint (JAMA) - About 1,000 words, well focused and evidence-based on an important topic
• Viewpoint (Am J Nursing) - 700 words of a topic - may or may not be controversial (roll those sleeves up!)
• Reflections (Am J Nursing) - 850-words of a reflection on a personal nursing story (must be good writing - some people are so picky)

These are just a few. There are plenty more opportunities out there. Don't let the burden of a I-M-R-D article keep you from getting your word out there! Search the author guidelines of your favorite journal and find some of these other opportunities. You have a date with stardom! 

Bottom Line:

Look, if your project was meant to be published as I-M-R-D, you wouldn't still be reading this. Step back, think about what you want to say. We may not all have one good novel in us, but we all have a great idea (wink, wink - yours is awesome!) waiting to see daylight. So, free yourself of the I-M-R-D doldrum and grab that low-hanging fruit. 

From the Field: Relating Education Theory to Milestones/EPAs for Resident ‘Master Learners’

Check out this post "From the Field" by Jack R Scott, EdD, MPH, -- Assistant Dean, Winthrop University Hospital on Long Island; Stony Brook SOM Clinical Campus and a partner in educational scholarship. Use it as a springboard to think about your practice, and how much you allow - gulp! - learning theory to influence your teaching. Enjoy!

Developing the Master Learner: Applying Learning Theory to the Learner; the Teacher and the Learning Environment. Schumacher DJ, Englander R, Caraccio C. Acad Med. 2013; 88: 1635-45. Available online from the Baystate Health Sciences Library or from PubMed at your institution.

When we think of competency-based learning for medical students and residents the concept of Self-Directed Learning (SDL) naturally comes to mind. After all, this is how they become ‘master learners’. These authors pose an appealing and appropriate correlation between theory and the inherent factors of SDL, namely accuracy of self-assessment and self-efficacy that gauge one’s achievements to mastery.

OK, before you stop here and dismiss the banal aspects of education theory, please consider that well-accepted constructs in adult learning are at the cornerstone of medical education – collaborative and contextual learning, simulation practice and individualized learning plans, among others.

The article’s section on self-determination theory relates well to our specific expectation for residents’ success in Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Furthermore, reliance on self-assessment (another prime adult learning principle) must isolate reflection on action from the more critical and accurate reflection in action. So, kindly consider the practical applications inherent in education theory that create credible teacher-learner relationships, supportive learning environments and above all – reliable self-directed master learners to attain the explicit goals in our comprehensive resident training.

Bottom Line:

Read the article and share a meaningful discussion on achieving mastery in teaching and learning. Discover the meta-cognitive practice of thinking about our teaching practices as we develop each resident’s unique competencies.

Megalodon Meets Rejection

Transforming teaching into scholarship.  Turner T, Palazzi D, Ward M, Lorin M. Clin Teach 2012; 9: 363-367. Available online from the Baystate Health Sciences Library or from PubMed at your institution.

I got a paper rejected today. There are two possible reasons for this. A) The enormity of my awesomeness and unique perspective are too immense for this journal, and accepting the article would have been too overwhelming of an experience for the editors to handle, the equivalent of putting Megalodon into an aquarium. Or, B) I am a loathsome mess of failure in academic medicine (and life) whose never had an interesting thought or perspective on anything ever, and the world is collectively sighing now that someone has finally made me aware. 

Of course, it's possible there's a third option. Something in the middle: A 1/2) The feedback I got from the reviewers was good feedback and advice and that, if I take this advice, I can put together a better manuscript that has a solid chance of being published. Not at this journal, mind you, but at a lesser, lower impact journal whose editors are monkeys or people who write professional blogs. 

And this is somewhat comforting. In fact, mentors guide us to meet rejection with some kind of perseverance. But the initial get-up-and-go required for putting together and submitting your clinical teaching as scholarly work is an immense animal (Megalodon, perhaps) to be tamed even before the publication decision. And, if the rejection comes, what are some other considerations? 

This article by Turner and colleagues is a useful read; in a 5-page article (don't worry - there are at least two tables in there, only 9 references, and two photos of clinical teaching. Well, one photo of clinical teaching and one photo of a woman writing near a coffee, which must be clinical scholarship). 

The authors bring up many things that should form the backdrop for a clinical educator seeking to disseminate their good work: Boyer and Glassick and the scholarship of teaching, working collaboratively, peer review, outlets for scholarship, and the educator's portfolio. This article is brief - like being offered one bite of an entire Carnival Cruise buffet - but it still may be enough to figure out how hungry you are. And having this sense of the possibilities for educational scholarship is helpful for keeping your projects going (around A 1/2).   

Bottom Line:

Take ten minutes out of your day to read this article and make sure it's nothing new for you. This snapshot of educational scholarship could help frame your perspective so that the immense project taking up space on your To Do List won't die there.