Assessing the Outcomes of Medical Education
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Chris M. Chapman,
assistant manager of media in the Office of Medical Education,
looks on as a participant examines the exhibit, “Case-Based
Multimedia at the University of Michigan,” developed
by Chapman and Casey B. White, director of the Learning
Resource Center. Photo
by Gregory Fox
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Medical Education Day 2002 explores an increasing emphasis
on competenciesU-M Medical School faculty, staff and students
gathered in the Towsley Center for Continuing Medical Education
on February 26 for the lectures, discussions, workshops and
demonstrations that comprised Medical Education Day 2002.
David C. Leach, M.D., executive director of the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education, began the day with the
keynote address, “Competency is a Habit: Assessing the
ACGME Competencies.” Following Leach’s presentation,
James Woolliscroft, M.D. (Residency 1980), executive associate
dean and associate dean for graduate medical education said,
“The bottom line to all of this is improved patient care.
When we’re done, if it’s successful, residency education
will look much different than it does now.”
Several participants noted that the assessment process, while
helpful, involves a lot of paper work and demands a great deal
of time from their already busy schedules. Some physicians also
wondered how they can be sure they are completing assessments
in ways that best benefit students and residents.
Panelists Frank Brosius, M.D. (Residency 1983), associate professor
of internal medicine and physiology; Richard Cohan, M.D., professor
of radiology; Terry Kowalenko, M.D., clinical associate professor
of emergency medicine; Lawrence Marentette, M.D., associate
professor of neurosurgery and otolaryngology; and Sonya Miller,
M.D., clinical instructor of physical medicine and rehabilitation,
discussed their perspectives on the educational outcomes of
residency training. They spoke of the difficulties in assessing
whether residents are performing to the best of their ability
and of the pressures of serving as role models. This sparked
discussion about how to be sure medical students choose the
specialty for which they are best suited in the first place.
As the system currently exists, physicians said, there is no
formal method that helps students assess their strengths and
determine how and in what area they can best be put to use.
In the afternoon, participants attended small group workshops,
followed by a reception and poster and computer presentations.
Workshops included “A Model for Resident and Medical Student
Wellness Programs,” in which professional caregivers learned
skills that can help them cope with the challenges of providing
compassionate care to patients as well as to themselves. Computer
demonstrations explored the latest in technological learning
and teaching resources available to medical faculty and staff.
—MF
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