Education Day Showcases Scholarly Work
A UCSF student shares her findings at Education Day on April 25.
The 10th annual UCSF Education Day on April 25 drew a packed crowd of faculty and students to Millberry Union to participate in educational workshops, peer-reviewed oral presentations and posters reporting scholarly work in both undergraduate and graduate medical education.
Co-sponsored by the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators and the Office of Medical Education and enhanced by visiting scholars, Education Day provides an opportunity to see a selection of the extensive work and research that UCSF faculty and staff are engaged in throughout the year.
“So many of us work so hard to provide outstanding education at UCSF, and it’s rare to all come together to celebrate,” said Jody Steinauer, MD, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and chair of the Scholarship Working Group. “The day helps us think about education in a scholarly way and in an interprofessional environment. Education is a constantly evolving process, and UCSF is always willing to change and adapt, based on findings.”
Interprofessional education was a recurring theme among the presentations, emphasizing the importance of fostering innovation and collaboration between disciplines.
Fourth-year medical student Jennifer Staves presented her research on promoting interprofessional health education for first-year health professions students.
“When I was applying to medical school, one of the things that attracted me to UCSF was that it is dedicated to health sciences and the opportunity to study along dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy students,” she told the group. “It was a time of a major shift towards breaking down barriers between schools.”
Now Staves is implementing a four-part curriculum for all incoming students to integrate and share ideas across programs.
Other presentations addressed faculty development, longitudinal clerkships versus block clerkships, training residents in health policy writing, competency-based education for health professions in Tanzania, blended learning through mentorship and reflective learning.
“The spirit of Education Day isn’t just celebrating what we’re doing at one of the best universities in the country, but thinking about how we can do it better,” said keynote speaker Diane Wayne, MD, vice chair of education in the Department of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Wayne emphasized the importance of using medical education research to improve the quality of patient care. She cited one example from her research at Northwestern, where the clinical skills learned through simulation education reduced complications during central venous catheter insertion in a medical intensive care unit. Because infections from catheter insertion aren’t covered by Medicaid, the simulation training resulted in not only a better mastery of clinical skills, but a cost savings of more than $800,000 annually.
“It’s just one example of the immediate benefits to society through education,” she said. “Our overarching goal is to educate superior physicians.”
Photo by Elisabeth Fall/fallfoto.com