Preparing Tomorrows Medical Educators

Brent J Thompson1,. Anna Cunningham2, Gregg C Allen3, Arthur F Dalley2, Jeanette J Norden2, Susan R Wente2, Roger Chalkley4,.

1Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, 7150 MRB III, Nashville, TN, 37232-8548, 2Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, U-3218 MRB III, Nashville, TN, 37232-8240, 3Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 351634 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235-1634, 4Senior Associate Dean, Vanderbilt University, 340

Light Hall, Nashville, TN, 37232-0301

An Impending Shortage of Qualified Instructors!

Survey of Academic Departments Related to Anatomy

Anticipated Level of Difficulty inRecruiting People to Teach

Gross Anatomy Over the Next Five Years

Great

Diff

iculty

Moder

ate

Diffic

ulty

Little

or N

o Diff

iculty

0

10

20

30

40

50

Adapted fromSurvey of Academic Departments Related to Anatomy.

American Association of Anatomistshttp://www.anatomy.org/files/public/quest_results.htm#teach

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• Launched in 2005 to fill the need for well trained scientist/ medical educators in the field of gross anatomy.

• This unique three year program aims to develop:– Basic science research skills – Pedagogical expertise in medical

education

• First-rate fundamental science research combined with hands-on training in medical education.

First year fellows

Carrie Elzie Ph.D.

Chris Ramnanan Ph.D.

Second year fellows

Gregg Allen Ph.D.,

Anna Cunningham Ph.D.

Brent Thompson, Ph.D.

The Vanderbilt Scientist-Educator Program

• Fellows recruited into this program are compensated at the level set by the National Institutes of Health.

• Paid jointly by the Dean's Office at the School of Medicine, (25%) and the fellows'

sponsoring laboratory (75%).

• Second year fellows also

receive funding from an

IRACDA grant (50%) which

reduces the lab contribution

to 50%

Three Years of Research Training(~75% of each year)

• Fellows must be offered a position by one of the sponsoring laboratories

• Potential laboratories often use vertebrate models.

• Fellows are expected to:– develop outstanding research

programs in their mentors' laboratories

– publish in respected peer reviewed journals

• This will enable fellows to be highly competitive for medical school faculty positions.

First YearStudent Year

• Acquire knowledge base by taking Gross Anatomy with the medical students• Other disciplines offered in

the future

• Form and meet with mentoring committee

• Attend Brown bag lunch discussions on pedagogy

• Join an Anatomical Society

Second Year

Laboratory Instructor Year

• Expand knowledge base and begin to develop teaching skills

– Teaching mentors are selected

– Attend lectures and lab sessions

– Serve as laboratory instructors at Meharry Medical College and theVanderbilt University School of Medicine

Second YearLaboratory Instructor Year

– Instruction at dissecting tables

– Prepare and demonstrate prosections

– Interface with the 4th year medical

students in the Senior Elective

Program in Advanced Gross Anatomy– Help prepare and grade practical

examinations

– Submit at least 1 potential exam

question for each lecture – Are in student evaluations of

the course

IRACDA(Institutional Research and Career Development Award K12)

• National Institute of General Medical Sciences

• Division of Minority Opportunities in Research Education

• Combines: – mentored postdoctoral research experience – an opportunity to develop teaching skills at a minority-serving

institution.

• Goals:– develop research and teaching careers in academia– motivate the next generation of scientists at minority-serving

institutions– promote linkages between research-intensive institutions and

minority-serving institutions

• The largest private, comprehensive historically black institution for educating health professionals in the United States

• 4 week teaching rotation

• Great Experience!!

• Students and Dr. Jackson were very welcoming and appreciative, and they really made it a pleasure to help with their class

• Opportunity to see how anatomy is taught at other schools

• Opportunity to have increased teaching responsibility

Student Evaluationsof second year fellows

• The majority of the students at both Meharry and Vanderbilt, rated the fellows performance as excellent or very good in all categories.

• The student comments indicated that our presence in the laboratory was very beneficial to their learning and they would like to increase the amount of time that we are available to help.– can tailor the content to suit the needs to meet the needs of

individual students, making the material easier to understand – very perceptive, often picked up on my frustration and tried to

help– good at providing big picture when we were feeling lost in details

in lab– very willing to entertain questions and offered clear explanations – very helpful, great asset to lab – great instructor

Training in Anatomy and Teaching:

Third Year

Full-time Instructor Year

• Expand knowledge base and further develop teaching skills

• Perform same duties as full-time faculty members

– Attend lectures and lab sessions

– Serve as laboratory instructors– Participate in pre-lab reviews &

critiques of prosections

performed by 2nd year fellows

Training in Anatomy and Teaching:

Third YearFull-time Instructor Year

– Present ~3 lectures to the class, which will be videotaped for evaluation

– Submit 1 potential test question for each lecture and 10 potential questions for each of our lectures

– Be included as faculty instructors in students’ evaluations of the course

– Participate in grading and evaluation of students

Third Year• Fellows are responsible for:

– developing lecture sets– building a portfolio– demonstrating independence– developing new leadership

skills

• Present an educational abstract at one of the anatomical society meetings.

Unique Aspects of This Program(Compared to traditional post-doctoral training)

• Training and experience in pedagogical methods as well as research methods

• Training in an area that has a documented shortage of qualified instructors

• Opportunity to teach in more than one medical school– Participation in the IRACDA

• Opportunity to study under multiple curriculums

• Multiple mentors– Research PI– Teaching mentor– Mentoring committee

Program From the Postdoc’s Point of View

• Challenging but great experience for us!

• Medical school teaching and learning is much different than graduate school

• An appreciation for how well trained we need to be and the time required to obtain this expertise

What Have We Learned Over the Last Two Years?

• At national meetings there has been a lot of interest in this program from scientists and educators.

• shortage of qualified instructors • shortage needs to be documented

• Medical students value our participation

• Teaching at Meharry Medical College, through the IRACDA program was a very rewarding and educational experience for all of the fellows involved

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

7:00Review Session

8:00 Class Class

9:00

10:00 Class

11:00 Lunch Lunch

12:00 Prosection Lunch Prosection Lunch Lunch

1:00 Class Class

2:00

3:00

4:00 Demonstration Demonstration

5:00

Evenings require review time

The teaching component of this program is an enormous time commitment.

Clear communication of this commitment to the postdoctoral fellows and their research mentors is essential.

Typical Week During Anatomy

What Have We Learned Over the Last Two Years?

• It is likely that more than three years of postdoctoral training will be required to be prepared for a career in biomedical research

• Being in a large lab may help ease the loss of time in the lab due to teaching commitments.

• Projects that are conducive to generating large amounts of data in short time frames may also be helpful.

Program Leadership• Susan R. Wente Ph.D., Professor and Chair of

the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Arthur F Dalley II, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Medical Gross Anatomy Program and Facilities, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Jeanette J. Norden Ph.D., Professor and Director of Medical Education, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Roger Chalkley D. Phil., Senior Associate Dean, Biomedical Research Education and Training, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Professor of Medical Education and Administration, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Ann Richmond Ph.D., Assistant Dean, Biomedical Research Education and Training, Professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Randy D. Blakely Ph.D.,

Allan D. Bass Professor of Pharmacology & Psychiatry. Director, Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Neuroscience. Director, Vanderbilt Brain Institute

• Alan D. Cherrington Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics Charles H. Best Professor of Diabetes Research Department Chair Professor of Medicine

• Steven K Hanks Ph.D., Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Associate Professor of Medicine

• Chris Janetopoulos Ph.D., Assistant Professor Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

• Douglas G. McMahon Ph.D.,

Professor of Biological Sciences, Director of Graduate Studies

• Arthur F Dalley II, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Medical Gross Anatomy Program and Facilities, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• John S. Halle PT, Ph.D.,ECS Professor and Chair of the School of Physical Therapy, Belmont University

• Arthur J. Jackson Ph.D., Associate Professor and Vice Chair Division of Professional Education, Department of Biomedical Sciences

• Lillian B. Nanney Ph.D., Professor of Plastic Surgery & Cell Biology

• Cathleen C. Pettepher Ph.D., Professor of Cancer Biology

Anatomy Instructors Research Mentors

Program SupportVanderbilt Biomedical Research and Education Training Office and an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award from the National institute of General Medical Sciences/NIH 5K12 GM068543-04