PURPOSE: The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
(UW SMPH) offers multiple PoDs to provide medical students with structured,
longitudinal opportunities to tailor their education, develop specialized
skills, and build a unique professional identity. The PoD MedEd prepares
students for roles as physician-educators through exposure to core principles
of teaching, a learning community, a teaching elective, and a mentored
project. Students work closely with a faculty or staff mentor, fostering a
professional relationship that guides their education scholarship project.
METHODS: The first cohort graduated in 2023. We collect self-reported data
on students’ knowledge level of multiple educational concepts as well as
their teaching philosophies before and after participation in the PoD and
about perceived utility of PoD elements. We also track the number of
graduates awarded the distinction, attendance at learning community events,
and project mentors’ departments.
RESULTS: To date, 25 students have graduated with the distinction, all of
whom report overall satisfaction with and learning growth from the PoD. We
have conducted 20 learning community events with an average of 16 students
per session, and students have completed projects with mentors from 15
different departments or divisions in the UW SMPH.
CONCLUSIONS: A PoD approach enables recognition for sustained engagement
and participation in teaching and education scholarship opportunities that
strengthen the core medical student curriculum. These opportunities must be
available for students at multiple points throughout their medical training.
By fostering self-directed learning and identity formation, PoD MedEd is an
example of how medical education can be customized to prepare graduates for
their roles as teachers in residency and as practicing clinicians.