Moderated by Courtney Cross
Session Coordinator: Jenny Fortun

Presentation 1 - Building a Culture of Excellence in Teaching: Tools of the Trade    
Ebun Ebunlomo    
Houston Methodist Hospital

Purpose
Academic medical centers (AMCs) have three missions: provide patient care, teach and conduct research. To promote teaching excellence and comply with accreditation standards, healthcare providers at AMCs are tasked with developing and facilitating curricula. However, they often have limited formal training in effective teaching. Coupled with the limited formal training are additional challenges such as lack of time to learn effective teaching skills. To this end, this abstract will discuss how the Office of Curriculum and Educational Development (OCED) at Houston Methodist is building a culture of excellence in teaching.

Methods
We will describe how OCED has bridged the gap among key stakeholder groups - GME (Graduate Medical Education) teaching faculty, allied health providers across diverse professions (nursing, PT/OT, music therapy, spiritual care, pharmacy) and trainees in knowledge and skills for effective teaching through the following programs: Clinician Educator Pathway (CEP) and Effective Teaching Skills Series.

Results
In 2021, OCED reached 1,515 learners through 49 offerings. To date, OCED has reached 1,372 learners across 11 departments such as Internal Medicine, Neurology, PT/OT, Pharmacy, Spiritual Care, Nursing, Vascular Surgery and Orthopedics. Its Clinical Educator Pathway - a 2-year program - has reached 20 learners.

Conclusions
It is crucial to address this gap in teaching effectiveness as we aim for excellence in teaching in AMCs. This is particularly important given that accreditation bodies are now requiring teaching faculty, Program Directors, and trainees to reach teaching-related milestones. Furthermore, there is greater emphasis on recognizing the diversity of learner populations in order to optimize the learning climate and foster transfer of knowledge and skills into practice. In addition, the recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of exploring other educational strategies beyond the traditional lecture. OCED has begun engaging diverse professionals and empowering them with the tools to enhance their teaching effectiveness.

Presentation 2 - Elective Creation as Faculty Development    
Sol Roberts-Lieb    
Carle Illinois College of Medicine    

Purpose
Faculty come to a medical school with different experiences levels in pedagogy and teaching. Finding ways to provide training for faculty can be challenging due to time or interest constraints. We have initiated an innovative strategy of providing needed faculty development by combing faculty (and student) desire to offer elective courses.


Methods
The program has run for four years. Faculty and students interested in creating an elective send their idea or contact information electronically to an electives mailbox. The Senior Director of Faculty Development (SDFD) or Assistant Dean for Curriculum (ADC) then schedule an initial meeting. At that meeting, faculty are introduced to the college's mission, vision, curriculum, and elective program requirements. Faculty then share their elective idea while the SDFD or ADC inquire about goals, objectives, and assessments. After the initial meeting, additional meetings are scheduled as needed and the elective proposal is workshopped between the faculty and the SDFD or ADC. During this process, the faculty are provided resources and help in creating S.M.A.R.T objectives and valid assessments. Following this phase, the proposal is sent to the Curriculum Oversight Committee on Electives for review and approval. Throughout the process, the SDFD or ADC is in contact with the faculty to provide support, answer questions, and assist in the elective approval process.

Results
Over 80 electives have gone through this process. Faculty have reported a better connection to the mission and vision of the college, expressing gratitude for the support and assistance in understanding the nuances of the program and in creating a medical school elective. Many have returned to create additional electives or recommend this to their colleagues.

Conclusion
While this effort is focused on creating electives, we've demonstrated that core pedagogical skills (i.e., objective, goals, and assessment creation) can be provided when most needed and of greatest value to faculty.

Presentation 3 - Development of a Foundational Thinking and Application Framework to Bridge the Gap Between Foundational Sciences and Clinical Reasoning    
Munder Zagaar    
Baylor College of Medicine

Purpose
Health professions students often learn foundational sciences without clear connections made to clinical reasoning. To support sound clinical decisions, there is a need for a developmental framework to guide novice health professions students on how to apply foundational knowledge as a basis for clinical action. The purpose of this study was to describe the development and perceptions of a framework designed to guide foundational thinking and clinical reasoning in second-year pharmacy students.

Methods
Using script theory as a conceptual model, a Foundational Thinking Application Framework (FTAF) was designed around a 4 -credit Pharmacotherapy course at the beginning of the second year. The framework was implemented in the course using two structured learning guides, (1) a unit plan to support initial script formation and (2) a Pharmacologically Based Therapeutic Evaluation to guide application of scripts to clinical cases using foundational thinking. A total of 71 students in the course were asked to complete a 15-question online survey assessing perceptions toward specific components of the FTAF.

Results
Of 39 survey respondents, most students agreed or strongly agreed that the FTAF-based course structure helped develop critical skills that apply to different clinical scenarios (n=37, 95%), that frequent assessments helped them to identify weak points and further apply knowledge in other courses (n=34, 92%), and that the unit plan was a useful organizer for the course (n=37, 95%). Text comments highlighted that the Pharmacological based Therapeutic Evaluation provided good practice for clinical experiences and helped to organize critical thinking.

Conclusion
Our study found that second-year pharmacy students had positive perceptions of a foundational thinking application framework implemented within a pharmacotherapy course. Students perceived the FTAF learning guides to be helpful in organizing and retrieving knowledge during the activities and assessments. Pharmacy education can benefit by adapting script-based strategies that have been successful in other health professions. during the activities and assessments. Pharmacy education can benefit by adapting script-based strategies that have been successful in other health professions.

Presentation 4 - Short-Term, Mentored Training With Basic Science Research Literature Advances Pre-Clerkship Medical Students' Skills in Master Adaptive Learning    
Steve Maxwell    
Texas A&M School of Medicine

Purpose
Research and the scientific method drive medical advances. Physicians increasingly need to utilize the master adaptive learning skills of finding and evaluating basic science research that can shape new approaches to patient care. To prepare for these responsibilities, medical students must be trained for proficiency in finding, critically assessing, synthesizing, and translating clinically relevant basic research literature.  Our course—Medical Student Grand Rounds (MSGR)—employs basic science faculty mentors to train first-year medical students to find, critically assess, and present primary basic science research literature about self-selected topics relevant to patient care.

Methods
Students found, critically assessed, and presented basic research literature about self-selected, medically relevant topics. In less than 1 semester, mentored by basic science researchers, they completed 8 milestones: 1) search research literature databases; 2) choose a clinical topic using searching skills; 3) outline the clinical topic's background; 4) outline a presentation based on the topic's mechanistic primary research literature; 5) attend translational research-oriented grand rounds by faculty; 6) learn to prepare oral presentations; 7) write an abstract; and 8) present at Grand Rounds Day, emphasizing their topic's research literature. 

Results
End-of-course evaluations by both basic science mentors and students, and qualitative analyses of student self-reflections surveys, indicated that students became proficient in interpreting research articles, preparing and delivering presentations, understanding links among basic and translational research and clinical applications, and pursuing self-directed learning. 

Conclusion
MSGR encourages life-long learning by showing students how to access and assess topic-specific basic research literature. MSGR's successful delivery in this format to more than 900 students across 6 years supports its generalizability to other suitably equipped environments. MSGR highlights the value of mentoring from basic science researchers early in students' educational experience to promote development of the master adaptive learning skills of finding, assessing, and communicating translationally relevant basic science information."