• Jason Barker, MD
• Department of Internal Medicine
• Recorded/web-based pharmacology “primers” that connect foundational pharmacology to how those drugs are used in practice ($12,902)

This project will study the efficacy of asynchronous, just-in-time therapeutics instruction to address deficiencies and opportunities in pharmacology teaching at the Carver College of Medicine. Web-based pharmacology “primers” will connect foundational pharmacology education to how those drugs are used in practice (pharmacotherapeutics). The effect of these primers will also be assessed to ensure gaps in pharmacology instruction have been addressed.

 

• Carrie Bernat, MA, MSW
• Division Office of Student Affairs and Curriculum
• Embedding a Trauma Informed Care Curriculum across the UME-GME Spectrum ($60,000)

While understanding sources of trauma has evolved over time to recognize stigmatization and marginalization (for reasons of body size, disability, or identity) as additional sources of trauma beyond physical or psychological violence, medical education has not kept pace with this aspect of patient need. This project will conduct a comprehensive review of the Carver College of Medicine’s Clinical & Professional Skills and Medicine & Society strands to identify curricular successes and gaps related to trauma-informed care. This information will then be used to redesign the curriculum within an overarching pedagogical framework that aims to teach the principles of trauma-informed care and equip learners with the flexibility to adapt their approach to patient needs.

 

• Colleen Campbell, PhD, MS, LGC
• Department of Internal Medicine
• Development of a Genetic Counseling Specific Mentorship Program for Prospective Graduate Students ($19,984)

This project will develop an online continuing education course to increase the knowledge and comfort of genetic counselors to mentor prospective genetic counseling students, particularly those from backgrounds underrepresented in the genetic counseling profession, to ultimately diversify the genetic counseling workforce. First a national needs assessment of targeted genetic counselor learners will be conducted, then goals and learning objectives identified, followed by creating and evaluating the educational activities and resources. 

 

• Eric Epping, MD, PhD
• Department of Psychiatry
• Medical Students’ First Male Urogenital Examination: Investigating the Effects of Instruction and Gender on Anxiety ($14,385)

While the Obstetrics and Gynecology clerkship provides thorough training and experience with the female pelvic exam, comparable training in the male urogenital exam does not currently exist. Students historically have increased anxiety with preforming intimate exams, especially with the male exam due to limited training opportunities. This project will study the effect of a standardized small group instructional encounter of the male urogenital exam on students’ confidence level and anxiety. Potential benefits of this training will be evaluated by comparing students’ comfort with the exam between a cohort of students who have not had this training versus the class who will be trained in January 2023. The project will also evaluate levels of anxiety pre and post training using a validated tool.

 

• Carol Gorney, MPAS
• Department of Physician Assistant Studies and Services
• Effect of an obstetric maternity simulator on third trimester prenatal abdominal exam skills ($34,758)

The purpose of this grant is to gain access to an obstetric maternity simulator (OMS) to improve prenatal care training for a wide variety of healthcare providers in a rural state. Six high fidelity OMS and necessary supplies will provide multiple training and skills assessment sessions per year. The initial development and evaluation of curriculum designed to use the OMS will consider outcomes for the UI-CCOM Physician Assistant program and ObGyn core clerkship over one academic year. 

 

• John Keech, MD, FACS
• Director of the Center for Procedural Skills and Simulation
• Development of a Realistic Aortic Cannulation Simulator for Cardiothoracic Trainees ($19,398)

This project will study the efficacy of asynchronous, just-in-time therapeutics instruction to address deficiencies and opportunities in pharmacology teaching at the Carver College of Medicine. Web-based pharmacology “primers” will connect foundational pharmacology education to how those drugs are used in practice (pharmacotherapeutics). The effect of these primers will also be assessed to ensure gaps in pharmacology instruction have been addressed. 

 

• Mark Pizzimenti, PhD, MA, BEd
• Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
• Interactive Online Module for an iPOCUS Elective ($10,760)

This project will create a 2-week elective designed around newly acquired ultrasound probes and online learning. The elective will require students to complete nine online modular lessons to gain didactic information that provides the foundation for skill development. Most importantly, this project addresses three key trends in health professions education that would benefit the CCOM spiral curriculum. Introduction to point-of-care ultrasound will prepare learners for the clinical application of bedside ultrasound while revisiting the underlying anatomical, physiological, and physics principles associated with this imaging modality.

 

• Philip Polgreen, MD, MPH
• Department of Internal Medicine
• A data-driven machine-learning approach to inform the generation of illness scripts for learners in UME and GME ($40,000)

To address limitations associated with illness scripts generated for pedagogical purposes, this project will develop a data-driven machine-learning approach to automatically generate a list of signs and symptoms that commonly precede a large collection of different illnesses. The project will first generate a relative ranking of different signs and symptoms preceding each target illness. A second list will show the signs and symptoms for patients with a delayed diagnosis, and a third list will provide the same information specific to vulnerable populations (e.g., racial minorities, the elderly, rural and low-income populations).

 

• Justin Sipla, MD, MPH
• Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
• Beyond Phase 1: Evaluating and improving retention of foundational science concepts in phase 2 for CQI ($40,000)

This project will use a novel cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) of NBME shelf exam data to correlate student performance on specific basic science domains (such as cardiovascular system) and their performance on specific clinical domains (such as diagnosis). This analysis will allow evaluation of multiple areas: student mastery of specific clinical skills across different basic science domains; specific basic science domains across different clinical skills; and performance on clinical and basic science skills across different clinical disciplines. This will provide a quantitative evaluation of the preclinical (Phase 1) and early clinical (Phase 2) phases of the basic science curriculum, where additional integrative programs are needed, while simultaneously informing the best ways to implement such targeted curricular innovations for continuous quality improvement (CQI).

 

• Matthew Traxler, MD
• Department of Family Medicine
• Enhancing procedural education in the Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine residencies utilizing 3-d printed models ($17,194)

The goal of this project is to use 3-D printing to develop educational simulations for the emergency medicine and family medicine departments to enhance procedural knowledge and confidence in learners. The project will focus on lumbar puncture and cricothyrotomy as the pilot procedures due to the availability of peer reviewed, published models, and rarity with which these critical skills are encountered in the clinical environment. Learners’ confidence and knowledge will be assessed using pre-post surveys, and the fidelity and benefit of the models will be assessed by both learners and instructors after the workshops.

 

• John Wilde, DO
• Department of Internal Medicine
• How Touching ($11,180)

Expressive touch (ET) is defined as warm, friendly physical contact with patients that is not solely for performing a task. This two-part study will evaluate patient and medical trainee preferences and comfort related to ET, especially in light of the pandemic, and then develop and validate a curriculum based on those findings. Investigators will create a curriculum to guide medical trainees on the proper use of ET using the TedEd media platform. Then, using standard vs intervention-based protocols with medical students, blinded simulated patients will evaluate both groups to determine if there is a difference in the ability of students to perform ET. Qualitative data through pre-post testing will also be gathered from students who complete a TedEd course about their improved confidence and knowledge of appropriate touch and the likelihood of its use in the future.

 

• Brandon Wubben, MD
• Department of Emergency Medicine
• Improving the clinical performance of aorta and biliary point-of-care ultrasound performed by EM residents using case-based ultrasound simulation ($17,000)

To address limitations associated with illness scripts generated for pedagogical purposes, this project will develop a data-driven machine-learning approach to automatically generate a list of signs and symptoms that commonly precede a large collection of different illnesses. The project will first generate a relative ranking of different signs and symptoms preceding each target illness. A second list will show the signs and symptoms for patients with a delayed diagnosis, and a third list will provide the same information specific to vulnerable populations (e.g., racial minorities, the elderly, rural and low-income populations).

 

• Carrie Bernat, MA, MSW & Amy Dowden, MD
• Division Office of Student Affairs and Curriculum; Department of Internal Medicine
• Taking Action: An Action Research Study to Evaluate and Address Gaps in our Current Social Determinants of Health Curriculum ($19,000)

The importance of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) issues cannot be overstated in terms of their effects on patients’ health, yet these topics are underrepresented in medical school curricula. This project will review our medical student curriculum through a rigorous action research study utilizing a mixed methods approach. Data collection will include student and educator perspectives using course evaluation data, interviews, focus groups, and participant observation to identify themes, areas of success, and gaps in both our preclinical and clinical curricula. Using the information learned, we will develop and implement a robust longitudinal and active learning DEI/SDOH curricular framework that better prepares our medical students to effectively care for patients experiencing health disparities in their practice.

• Cathleen Dicharry, MFA
•  
• Carver College of Medicine Writing Program
•  
• Mitigating Dehumanization in Medicine with Counter Narratives ($20,000)

Health equity and justice topics related to race, ethnicity, income level, gender, sexuality, rurality, and other marginalized identities are an important part of medical student education. This project seeks to empower learners to identify and interrogate their biases, since awareness of implicit bias is an important step toward equity. To achieve this, we will create and assess a library of curricular modules centered on counter-stories posed in contrast to stock stories (which often stem from internalized stereotypes and are shaped by personal and cultural beliefs). Learners will interact with the counter-stories and contrast them with their stock stories, thus identifying their biases and trying to understand/interpret them. We aim to demonstrate to the learner that situations presented in patient narratives can be interpreted in different ways and provide the learner with the counter-narrative technique as a tool to interrogate their personal interpretation of patient narratives.

• Katharine Robb, MD, MME
• Department of Pediatrics
• Breaking Bad News Simulations for Pediatric Critical Care Fellows ($1,155)

Breaking bad news is an essential skill with consequences for patient satisfaction and outcomes, but most physicians receive no formal training in the task. Discussions involving children present unique challenges, and pediatricians have indicated a need for dedicated instruction. Pediatric critical care fellows will participate in two-hour sessions twice per year as part of their regular educational curriculum. Each fellow will complete two specialty-specific simulations and receive feedback from trained simulated parent actors, after which a small group session will incorporate debriefing, a didactic presentation, and a re-rehearsal exercise. Performance will be evaluated after each simulation by the fellows and the actors using the global Breaking Bad News Assessment Scale. Fellows’ comfort and confidence with bad news conversations will also be evaluated after each session. Individual fellows’ scores will be followed over time to assess improvement.

• Katherine Schultz, MD, MEd
• Department of Pediatrics
• Little Patients, Not so Little Problem: Evaluating the Feasibility and Applicability of a Modified Pilot POCUS Curriculum in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ($19,998)

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) rely on X-rays for bedside procedures and imaging, but X-rays expose neonatal infants to unnecessary failed procedure attempts and radiation. This results in undue cost to the neonates, including repeat procedure attempts, and increased risk for developing childhood cancer. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an efficient imaging tool that offers increased accuracy in procedure attempts and lacks radiation. This project will determine the feasibility and acceptability of incorporating a POCUS curriculum in a neonatology fellowship program. It will utilize an embedded mixed methods approach to assess the implementation of the curriculum. Expected outcomes include a positive change in knowledge and skills acquisition, as well as insights into facilitation and barriers that impact clinical behavior change as it relates to the use of POCUS.

• Manish Suneja, MD
• Department of Internal Medicine
• Development of a Mobile Application (qUIkcoach) to Improve Just-in-Time Formative Feedback ($15,965)

Shortcomings in current evaluation methods used for workplace assessment of clinical skills led to identifying a need to develop a mobile-based application (qUIkcoach) for workplace-based formative feedback. Key elements of this application will include task specific assessments along with voice enabled function for ease of completion and minimal data entry. In addition to providing feedback for residents, this application will allow residents to assess the quality of feedback they are receiving from faculty. Our hypothesis is that this application will improve the timeliness and quality of feedback provided to learners from faculty supervisors.

• Milena Gebska, MD, PhD, MME
• Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
• Experiential Module on Informed Consent Communication Skills for Senior Medical Students (Sub-Interns) at Carver College of Medicine ($1,792)

Even though the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends proficiency in conducting informed consent conversations at the beginning of residency, most medical students do not receive any formal training in informed consent. This proof-of-concept, needs-based project will implement and evaluate an experiential educational module on informed consent communication skills to better prepare advanced learners for postgraduate training.

• Jaclyn Haugsdal, MD
• Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
• Mobile Microsurgical Kit and Virtual Surgical Instruction for Corneal Suturing ($19,590)

This project aims to encourage surgical skill development through independent practice and one-on-one surgical instruction through virtual meetings. Residents will use a simple, mobile, ophthalmic suturing kit with an optimized digital curriculum to enable independent simulation in their homes. Baseline data will be collected and skill assessments conducted in order to monitor learner progress and satisfaction with this instructional strategy.

• Richard Shields, PT, PhD, FAPTA
• Department of Physical Therapy and Rehab Science
• National Benchmarking of Tolerance for Ambiguity to Understand the Medical and Physical Therapist Students Educational Experience ($40,000)

Quality improvement in healthcare education requires benchmarking of program outcomes. This project will use large data sets from academic programs in both physical therapy and medicine to assess and contrast learners' tolerance for ambiguity (TfA). This project will explore novel relationships between TfA and other traits like exhaustion, disengagement, psychological well-being, and career regret. The "optimal" amount of TfA for clinicians is a matter of ongoing theoretical development, and this project will contribute to ongoing research.