Dec. 06, 2023
"There are two objects of medical education: To heal the sick, and to advance the science."
Many educators and researchers within Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, are leading groundbreaking educational initiatives aimed to enhance medical education and the clinical practice.
Clinician educators
In 2023, Mayo Clinic fellows Amarilys D. Alarcon Calderon, M.D., Irene T. Riestra Guiance, M.D., Naina K. Sawal, M.D., and Yamin Soe-Htwe, M.B.B.S., attended Mayo Clinic's internal Master Class: Teaching Skills Workshop series. The workshop shares the principles and the latest research findings on effective methods with Mayo Clinic teaching staff. The goal of the workshop is to provide a forum for exchanging ideas with the opportunity for role-playing, personal goal setting and practical references.
Diana J. Kelm, M.D., a pulmonologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, started a new Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education clinician educator pathway for trainees across all specialties. Three Mayo Clinic fellows are part of the pilot cohort: Nayla Ahmed, M.B.B.S, Samuel I. Garcia, M.D., and Kavya Kommaraju, M.D. Trainees are given one day a month to take part in virtual didactics and small groups on various education topics such as education theory, curriculum development, small group teaching, feedback, and so on. Trainees also are participating in a capstone project in which they will facilitate an educational workshop at the Mayo Clinic Faculty Development 2024: Empowering Medical Educators in Monterey, California, in June 2024.
Education scientists
Mayo Clinic's education research teams are delving into various critical aspects of medical education. These latest strides are groundbreaking initiatives aimed to enhance understanding and practice in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Ongoing projects include:
Exploring team dynamics during intubations
Dr. Garcia, a second-year Critical Care Internal Medicine fellow, and Dr. Kelm recently completed a study focused on the dynamics of healthcare teams during real-time intubations using video reflexive ethnography, a qualitative methodology, in the intensive care unit and emergency department. Understanding the interaction, communication and coordination among team members in high-stress situations like intubations is crucial for optimizing patient care. Dr. Garica presented the study results as an oral presentation at CHEST 2023 in Hawaii.
"These findings may inform the development of standardized operating procedures for emergent endotracheal intubations to include specific elements of a pre-brief such as the use of a multidisciplinary intubation checklist, establishing a culture of safety and ensuring debrief as part of the procedure itself," says Dr. Kelm.
"Based on those results, we are now working on a new tri-site qualitative study to create a multidisciplinary airway checklist," says Dr. Kelm.
Delphi survey for lung transplant curriculum for fellows
Dr. Kommaraju, a second-year Pulmonary Care Critical Medicine (PCCM) fellow, is leading the effort in understanding what core lung transplant topics a PCCM fellow needs to know, given the increasing number of transplants across the United States. In collaboration with experts across the country, Mayo Clinic conducted a Delphi survey to understand the "must know" topics, which are being used to guide the development of a comprehensive curriculum for lung transplant education. Dr. Kommaraju is creating that curriculum and will be testing the differences between novel adaptive learning strategies, and more information will be available soon regarding the next phase.
Leveraging virtual reality for teaching mechanical ventilation
Dr. Sawal, a third-year PCCM fellow, has led this initiative with the support of Jonathan M. Morris, M.D., a radiologist and executive medical director for immersive and experiential learning at Mayo Clinic. Advancements in technology have opened doors to a new era of medical education. The exploration of virtual reality in teaching mechanical ventilation is an exciting venture within Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. This immersive approach aims to enhance understanding and practical skills in managing mechanical ventilation, providing a dynamic and interactive learning environment for trainees.
A few other projects to highlight include:
- Grit and Resilience Among Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Physicians: A Multi-Institutional Study (Alan W. Hu, M.D., third-year Internal Medicine resident).
- Procedural Reasoning for Central Line Placement Method (Dr. Ahmed, second-year PCCM fellow).
- Assessing Teachers of Invasive Bedside Procedures: Validation of a Novel (Rick D. Koubek, M.D., prior PCCM fellow, now faculty at Spectrum Health).
- Unlocking Knowledge: A Comparative Study of Escape Boxes and Lectures for Teaching Pulmonary Nodules (Dr. Hu).
- Sleep Continuity Clinic Experience (Logan J. Hostetter, M.D., second-year PCCM fellow).
- The Resident Learning Journey in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (Tyler L. Herzog, M.D.,third-year PCCM fellow).
For more information
Refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.