Lead Author: Heather Leggett
Submitted by: Kathy Herzberger, Loma Linda School of Medicine

As someone who is always open to new ideas that enhance my feedback skills, I found this article on providing feedback utilizing a 12-step process that encourages self-regulated learning thought-provoking. The comparisons between types of learners is particularly interesting. As the authors state, the provision of self-regulated learning (SRL) enhanced feedback on performing clinical skills and making a clinical diagnosis recognizes the importance of feedback. In contrast to the broader concept of self-directed learning, SRL has a specific focus on the individual learner’s approach to achieve a task, including their planning, self-monitoring, and future adaptations. The key SRL processes can be identified using structured microanalysis during the clinical task and feedback using the tips outlined in this article. It is essential that SRL enhanced feedback is integrated with best practices on providing feedback to ensure that its potential is achieved.

Author: Shankar Vedantam
Submitted by: Catherine Hagele, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Some people are good at putting themselves in another person's shoes. Others may struggle to relate. But psychologist Jamil Zaki argues that empathy isn't a fixed trait. On this episode of Hidden Brain, they talk about calibrating our empathy so we can interact with others more mindfully. This podcast focuses on how to exercise our empathetic muscles and cultivate one of our most precious human abilities. Empathy, at a deep level, is the understanding that someone else's world is just as real as yours. Empathy is like a muscle — it can be strengthened with exercise and it can atrophy when idle. The pros and cons of empathy in the medical profession are discussed.

By: Tim Lahey, M.D.
Submitted by: Marsha Harman, Rush University

The woman on the gurney held the scratchy emergency room blanket closer to her chin. “What’s in the syringe?” she asked. The nurse frowned. “Don’t you want the medicine your doctor ordered?” The woman took a deep breath and kept asking questions. She had more than just self-interest on the line. She was a “secret shopper,” a consultant pretending to be a patient in order to evaluate the quality and culture of care in a hospital.

Author: Irene Perini
Submitted By: Amber Snyder, M.S., University of Pittsburgh

Adolescent girls who self-injure feel that they receive more negative feedback than they actually receive, and are more sensitive to "thumbs down" responses, compared to other adolescent girls. These are the findings presented by Irene Perini, researcher at Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience (CSAN) at Linköping University, in a recently published article.

By: Jessica Santina
Submitted by: Loic Simard-Villeneuve, McGill University

A group of first-year medical students sits before a panel of invited guests. It’s part of a daylong Practice of Medicine workshop focused entirely on LGBTQIA health care. The first panelist, a transgender woman, starts things off. "How many of you," she begins, scanning the room, "have had to call at least a dozen different doctors’ offices just to see if anyone would even take someone like you as a patient?"

Lead author: Paul Chisholm
Submitted by: Mary Launder, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Ray and Tom Magliozzi, better known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers," stopped recording new episodes of NPR's Car Talk in 2012.  Tom passed away shortly thereafter, in 2014. But the spirit of the show lives on. And if you visit a doctor's office, you just might benefit from it.

By: Tannaz Motevalli
Submitted by: Kerensa Peterson 

People get involved in standardized patient work for many reasons. Some reasons are deeply personal. Many SPs have had experiences with the medical system, either as patients or care-givers and then search for ways to give back to that community of healthcare providers. Tannaz Motevalli not only talks about what drew her to this work but also how being an SP has shaped her relationships with her current doctors.

Lead author:  Hartley Jafine
Submitted by: Dyan Colpo, Cleveland Clinic, Simulation and Advanced Skills Center

I teach improvisational theatre to health scientists and trainee doctors. When I tell people this, they are often confused because theatre and medicine appear to be separate fields. Medicine, however, is a performance. And the skills actors and improvisers learn are equally important for any health-care role. For more than 10 years now, I have been facilitating theatre courses within undergraduate health science and medical education — to enhance the clinical skills of students and train better health-care professionals.

Lead author: Monakshi Sawhney
Submitted by: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Registered nurses (RNs) receive didactic training regarding caring for patients receiving epidural analgesia. Although RNs are tested on their knowledge after this training, their ability to critically think through adverse events has not been assessed at this institution. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of simulation education for RNs regarding the assessment and management of patients receiving epidural analgesia. The study included an education intervention, which consisted of a 4-hour workshop. After obtaining informed consent, RNs completed a pre-workshop evaluation of skill performance where they completed an OSCE in which they demonstrated an epidural assessment of a standardized patient. RNs then completed a demographic and knowledge questionnaire followed by a lecture. The results of this study indicate that the use of an instructional module using SPs is a feasible approach for RNs to learn the safe care of individuals receiving epidural analgesia.

Lead Author: Dr. L. Gao
Submitted by: Michael Maury, UC-San Diego 

In this research article the authors sought “to synthesize evidence on learning outcomes and curricular design elements of improvizational theater training in health professions education.” They conducted a literature search using the keywords of “improv” and “improvisational theatre” starting in January of 2016 which originally identified 95 abstracts. As it is noted in the article, “51 met criteria for abstract review. Of these, 23 publications were excluded for interventions not involving health professional learners, 15 did not employ improv techniques (no unscripted, unplanned component), and 6 did not include some measure or description of a learning outcome. As a result, a total of seven articles were selected for inclusion in our analysis.” While there is still much data to be gathered on the positive outcome of improv as an applied art, we are beginning to see the importance of this art craft within medical education.

Submitted by: Kerensa Peterson, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Christine Park began her presentation talking about the things she loves: language, literature and medicine. Although medicine would not become a passion for her until later in her life, words and language filled her childhood. Her passion for words and language were evident throughout the presentation on the Simulation Code of Ethics. She may not have realized as a child how these seemingly disparate passions for medicine and language would translate into the work she embarked upon almost two years ago. However, the group of more than 40 simulation leaders from around the world had lots of discussion around language while crafting this new code of ethics.

Submitted by: Michael Maury, UC San Diego

The 2019 poster presentation rounds took place on Sunday, June 9^th from 5-6 PM and gave ASPE conference attendees a chance to discover what innovative approaches and research members have completed and/or are currently conducting. This year, there were 37 accepted submissions of which 34 posters were presented. From the field of 34, 2 posters were awarded a prize for Best Poster; one for Innovation & another for Research. During these poster rounds 14 judges were present to evaluate 5-6 posters each. Every poster presented was assessed by at least 2 different judges. Judges were assigned all Research posters or all Innovations posters and they were restricted from assessing posters that may be in a conflict of interest. The panel of judges used criteria based on Glassick criteria for scholarship (Glassick CE et al, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997) and they strove for objectivity and fairness in their evaluations. If you are interested in becoming a judge at future ASPE Conferences please email Kevin Hobbs at [email protected].

Submitted by: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Submitted by: Dan Brown, Emory University

On Saturday of the 2019 ASPE Conference in Orlando, attendees had the pleasure of hearing a plenary by Dr. Amitai Ziv of the Sheba Medical Center in Israel. Dr. Ziv was introduced by Gail Furman as this year’s Howard Barrows Invited Presenter. He has worked across the world, including Israel, Palestine, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, and the US. In addition to his medical accolades, he is a former pilot of the Israeli Air Force.

Submitted by: Amber Snyder, M.S., University of Pittsburgh

Gina Shannon welcomed all to a very productive business meeting. Through the meeting, it was clear that ASPE is staying very busy. This brief overview will highlight key moments from the meeting.

Submitted by: Dyan Colpo, Cleveland Clinic, Simulation and Advanced Skills Center

Margaret K. Liu, Ph.D., MBA, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Receives ASPE Emerging Leader of the Year Award for 2019

Submitted by: Dyan Colpo, Cleveland Clinic, Simulation and Advanced Skills Center

Melih Elcin, MD, MSc, CHSE, Hacettepe University, Department of Medical Education & Informatics, Receives ASPE Outstanding Educator of the Year Award for 2019