Teaching and learning in medicine
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Phenomenon: Performance during the clinical phase of medical school is associated with membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, competitiveness for highly selective residency specialties, and career advancement. Although race/ethnicity has been found to be associated with clinical grades during medical school, it remains unclear whether other factors such as performance on standardized tests account for racial/ethnic differences in clinical grades. Identifying the root causes of grading disparities during the clinical phase of medical school is important because of its long-term impacts on the career advancement of students of color. ⋯ In all analyses, after accounting for all available confounding variables, grading disparities favored White students. Insights: This single institution study is among the first to document racial/ethnic disparities in MSPE summary words and clerkship grades while accounting for clinical clerkship final written examinations. A national focus on grading disparities in medical school is needed to understand the scope of this problem and to identify causes and possible remedies.
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Problem: Although scholarship during residency training is an important requirement from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, efforts to support resident scholarship have demonstrated inconsistent effects and have not comprehensively evaluated resident experiences. Intervention: We developed the Leadership and Discovery Program (LEAD) to facilitate scholarship among all non-research-track categorical internal medicine (IM) residents. This multifaceted program set expectations for all residents to participate in a scholarly project, supported faculty to manage the program, facilitated access to faculty mentors, established a local resident research day to highlight scholarship, and developed a didactic lecture series. ⋯ Suggestions for improvement included establishing clearer programmatic expectations and providing lists of potential mentors and projects. Lessons Learned: Implementation of a multifaceted program to support scholarship during residency was associated with significant increases in academic productivity among IM residents. Residents perceived that programs to support scholarship during residency training should outline clear expectations and identify available mentors and projects for residents who are challenged by the time constraints of clinical training.