All physicians teach in some format – to medical students, residents, or patients. However, the transition from student to educator often occurs with minimal educator training, requiring development of these skills on the job. This can result in ineffective learning, dissatisfaction with the education or care provided, mistrust, and poor patient care. In addition, the demand for physician educators continues to grow as the number of medical schools and medical students expands. Programs that improve the teaching skills of physicians will lead to better future physicians, better educators, and improved patient care.

Many U.S. medical schools have medical education curriculum but take widely varied approaches. Each program faces obstacles, which may include student time, faculty engagement, and curricular content. This focus session aims to better define key components of these programs while supporting the unique constraints faced by each institution.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the need for medical education programs for medical students, residents, and clinical faculty.
2. Discuss methods for incentivizing medical education training.
3. Identify diverse methods for building foundational medical education knowledge and skills.
4. Collaborate with other participants to create an idealized medical education program.
5. Reconcile the idealized program with the constraints of individual institutions.