PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

H Jason

Publications and source records attributed to H Jason.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Fostering learners' reflection and self-assessment.

In most medical schools and residency programs, little or no attention is given to fostering learners' reflection or self-assessment. Yet learners who do not value or who are not effective at these skills are unlikely to extract the maximum benefit from their education. They are at risk of becoming unsafe physicians. To be optimally helpful, teachers need access to the diagnostic information about learners that is provided by their reflections and self-assessments. There are major barriers to learners being reflective and self-assessing. Medicine is dominated by unreflective doing. In the fiercely competitive environment of many teaching programs, many learners correctly perceive that it is unsafe to reveal their fears and deficiencies. Learners often retain this cautious posture even after moving to programs where it is unnecessary. Many learners and teachers have grown accustomed to authoritarian educational approaches in which teachers decide what the learners need and unilaterally evaluate their performance. In this review of the available literature, we summarize the compelling reasons for fostering reflection and self-assessment and for helping learners become their own coaches. Specific strategies and tools for creating programs that foster these values and activities are presented.

Clinical Competence

Clinical teaching in physician's assistant training programs.

This is a report on the clinical component of physician's assistant (PA) training programs. Given the significant role physicians played in establishing the new profession, it is not surprising many PA programs are built on the traditional model of medical education, with clinical training occurring after didactic and laboratory-based courses in the basic sciences. It is also not unexpected that programs rely heavily on physicians as clinical instructors. This situation, however, is changing. An increasing number of PA graduates are serving as role models and as instructors in patient care settings. These graduates are also assuming positions of leadership in PA programs. Like their counterparts in medical schools, the PA faculty members surveyed in this project are not adequately prepared for their work as teachers, but they do demonstrate an eagerness to enhance their skills and to continue to upgrade the quality of teaching in their programs. Two areas in which PA faculty would particularly like help are evaluation and faculty development.

Faculty

The teaching of interpersonal skills in U.S. medical schools.

In response to the increasing recognition of the importance of interpersonal skills (IPS) to the physician, there has recently been a rapid growth in the number and variety of medical school teaching programs in IPS. This is a report of a national survey which was part of a study designed to determine the extent and characteristics of IPS-teaching. Most medical schools have specific IPS programs, 80 percent of which are less than five years old. Most teachers in the programs are psychiatrists and psychologists. Most programs teach process (for example, listening, responding), information-gathering, and psychological intervention (for example, demonstrating empathy) skills. Less than one-third teach any specific information-giving/counseling skills. IPS programs are taught mostly in the preclinical years, with a notable lack of formal follow-through into the clinical years. Ninety percent of the programs use videotechnology in teaching or assessing IPS. Only about one-third use any kind of outcome index for evaluation.

Curriculum

Teaching interpersonal skills in family practice: results of a national survey.

The increasing recognition of the importance of a well-developed set of interpersonal skills to the competent family physician has resulted in a rapid growth in the formal teaching of interpersonal skills within family practice residencies. Of the 168 programs responding to a national survey of family practice residencies, 88 percent indicated that they have formal programs in interpersonal skills. It is estimated that there are well over 500 family practice faculty members who have special responsibilities in teaching interpersonal skills. While most programs address the component skills of the interpersonal process (eg, demonstrating empathy, information gathering, information giving, and psychological intervention), it is of concern that only about half offer explicit training in patient education (53 percent), specific types of counseling (eg, family counseling, 55 percent), or some of the specific interpersonal skills important in team practice and practice management (eg, supervisory skills). One of the most striking findings was that 88 percent of the reporting programs use videotechnology, with 77 percent of these planning to increase their use. Although most programs evaluate their interpersonal skills training using both indirect and direct assessment methods, only 25 percent attempt to use patient outcome as a measure of teaching effectiveness.

Educational Measurement