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Biomedical subjects

Patricia B Mullan

Publications and source records attributed to Patricia B Mullan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Educational fellowship programs: common themes and overarching issues.

The trend toward intensive faculty development programs has been driven by a variety of factors, including institutional needs for educational expertise and leadership, as well as individual faculty members' motivation to augment their educational expertise, teaching skills, and leadership skills. The nine programs described in this issue possess several common features that can be ascribed to shared perceptions of pervasive needs coupled with feasible educational resources and strategies to meet these needs. All programs identify a clear set of goals and objectives for their respective curricula. Curriculum domains include not only teaching skills but also educational research, curriculum development, and educational leadership. In spite of many similarities, each program reflects the unique character of its home institution, the faculty, educational resources, and the specific goals of the program. Each program has documented gains in such key outcomes as participant promotions, new leadership positions both locally and nationally, and scholarly productivity in the form of peer-reviewed papers and presentations. Evidence of institutional benefits includes the production of innovative curricula and a pool of educational leaders. The programs have also developed a community of knowledgeable scholars who interact with each other and serve as a catalyst for continuing change and educational improvement. Although each program was developed largely independently of the others, the common elements in their design provide opportunities to evaluate collaboratively the successful aspects of such programs and to share ideas and resources for program curricula between existing programs and with institutions considering implementing new programs.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Teaching medical education principles and methods to faculty using an active learning approach: the University of Michigan Medical Education Scholars Program.

The Medical Education Scholars Program (MESP) at the University of Michigan Medical School was established in 1998 to develop educational leadership, improve teaching skills, and promote educational scholarship among medical school faculty. The Department of Medical Education designed and implemented the program. Eighty-one scholars have completed the MESP, with 15 more currently enrolled. While most scholars have been clinical faculty, some have been basic science faculty or from other allied health fields. The selection process emphasizes potential for contributing to the educational mission of the medical school. Each cohort is limited to two participants per department. The curriculum of the MESP is designed to provide an overview of a wide range of topics in education. It is divided into five broad domains: principles and theories of education, teaching methods, educational research methods, assessment and evaluation, and educational leadership. During the sessions, active learning of content is expected and encouraged. For instance, scholars share responsibility with the session presenters for planning and evaluating individual program sessions. To graduate, scholars are expected to attend the sessions regularly, and to make a final presentation of their project, which demonstrates near-completion or substantial progress toward that goal. Over its eight years, the MESP has evolved in response to environmental changes and ongoing evaluation of the program. Overall, the Medical Education Scholars Program has proven effective in developing faculty skills and educational leadership locally at the University of Michigan Medical School and nationally.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Residents from five training programs report improvements in knowledge, attitudes and skills after a rotation with a hospice program.

BACKGROUND: The faculty of the Center for Palliative Studies teach residents from 5 different primary care residency training programs who rotate at San Diego Hospice: 3 in Internal Medicine, 2 in Family Medicine. Residents participate in the care of patients in the inpatient care setting and make joint home visits with physicians and other team members. A series of 4 lectures on end-of-life care is given on Tuesday mornings: management of pain, other symptoms, interdisciplinary roles of chaplains, social workers, nurses, and grief/bereavement are discussed. In addition, there is a Tuesday noon conference that follows a journal club format. Because of scheduling, residents from some programs are not able to attend all lectures and conferences. METHODS: A 27-item self-assessment evaluation tool was developed for administration to residents before and after their experience. A total of 65 evaluations for residents rotating in academic year 1997-98 and 1998-1999 were collated and analyzed. RESULTS: When evaluated as a whole, residents noted significant improvements in their ability to assess and treat symptoms, to tell patient/family about the dying process and to care for dying patients at home (range in improvement from 26% to 67%, p < 0.05 using paired t-test). About half of the residents perceived that the content was not available elsewhere in their training. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a single hospice rotation can effectively contribute to resident education in multiple programs.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

End-of-life care education in internal medicine residency programs: an interinstitutional study.

BACKGROUND: Integrating end-of-life care (EOL) education into medical residency programs requires knowledge of what programs currently teach and what residents learn. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate EOL teaching content and practices in internal medicine residency programs and the EOL knowledge of their faculty and residents. DESIGN: An interinstitutional pilot study. We examined patterns of EOL education, discerned from program directors' responses to structured surveys of institutional teaching and evaluation practices, and EOL knowledge, derived from the performance of faculty and residents on a 36-item knowledge examination. SUBJECTS: Program directors, faculty, and residents at 32 accredited U.S. internal medicine residency programs. RESULTS: Although all programs cited inclusion of some EOL education, expected EOL domains were not systematically taught or assessed. Pain assessment and treatment training was required in only 60% of programs. Even fewer programs required instruction on nonpain symptoms (<30%) or hospice and nonhospital care settings (22%). EOL assessment depends primarily on faculty's general ratings of residents' global competency; few programs use knowledge examinations or structured skill assessments. Directors identified barriers and support for improving education. On the knowledge examination, the mean score of residents increased across training levels (F = 21.7, p < .001), and the mean score of faculty was higher than residents' (57.6%: 48.9%, t = 51.6, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Existing internal medicine residency education lacks training in critical EOL care domains. Residency programs need additional training for residents and teaching faculty in EOL content and skills, with assessment practices that demonstrate competencies have been acquired. Program directors perceive institutional support for making these changes.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2002

End-of-life curriculum reform: outcomes and impact in a follow-up study of internal medicine residency programs.

BACKGROUND: In 1998 we initiated a pilot project to evaluate the feasibility of recruiting and training internal medicine residency programs in methods designed to enhance and integrate end-of-life (EOL) instruction and assessment into their curriculum. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate participants' assessment of the training program and the 12-month impact of the training on the 32 residency programs' EOL teaching. DESIGN: Prospective multi-institutional study. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS: After participating in training, all participants agreed/strongly agreed that the skills-related objectives of the training were met. Mean ratings of intention to continue with the program were consistent across trainees representing different academic ranks (F = 2.8, p = 0.07), levels of experience in EOL education (F = 1.3, p = 0.28), and involvement in other national EOL training programs (F = 1.5, p = 0.23). Twelve months after training, most programs (78%) continued with the project and had initiated EOL curriculum reform in seven key EOL domains.). CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that focused training in EOL teaching methods and institutional change strategies can facilitate EOL curriculum reform.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2002

Patterns of psychotropic medication use in very young children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Psychotropic medications are increasingly used for very young children. Patterns of use in a well-described group of children 3 years and younger with a diagnostic label of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reveal both reasons to use such medications and concerns about how these medications are used. Of 223 children with ADHD, more than half (n = 127) received psychotropic medications in an idiosyncratic manner, both in the specific medication and in use over time. Almost half of the children who were medicated did not have opportunities for monitoring as often as every 3 months, despite the fact that more than half received psychotropic medications for 6 months or longer. Children with comorbid mental health conditions and chronic health conditions were at greater risk for receiving psychotropic medications. These patterns of use demonstrate a compelling need for guidance in psychopharmacological treatment of very young children.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗