2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: Medical Education Trends

Salient distracting clinical features presenting early in complex cases may also lower competency, Dr. Hoellein said based on findings published in Academic Medicine in 2014.⁶ The study found that distracting clinical features presenting near the end of cases did not adversely affect diagnostic accuracy. Residents may latch onto a certain diagnosis early and overlook the big picture. “Sometimes, premature closure happens. But we usually have time to make an accurate diagnosis,” Dr. Hoellein said.

Sleepy residents may also exhibit lower clinical competency and risk patient safety, said Dr. Hoellein. In 2011, new regulations require shorter duty shifts to improve patient safety, trainee quality of life and the overall quality of medical education, he said. A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in 2014 analyzed perceptions of these changes based on 237 surveys from internal medicine program directors.7 The authors found that shorter working hours improved resident quality of life, but increased the workload of program directors.

Medical students may view charismatic or good-looking instructors as more effective teachers, according to a study published in Medical Education.8 Researchers gave 48 first-year medical students audiotapes of teachers presenting educational material, accompanied by photographs of either attractive or unattractive individuals. Students rated each teacher’s effectiveness using a ratings scale.

“In just two minutes, a student could predict if this was a good preceptor or not,” said Dr. Hoellein. Charisma and intellect increased teaching effectiveness ratings scores, but perceived physical attractiveness also influenced higher ratings. “So if you give a talk, do really well in the first two minutes! But remember that charisma can carry you no matter what you look like.”

Susan Bernstein is a freelance medical journalist based in Atlanta.

References

1. Myhre DL, Woloschuk W, Jackson W, et al. Academic performance of longitudinal integrated clerkship versus rotation-based clerkship students: A matched cohort study. Acad Med. 2014 Feb;89(2):292–295.
2. Cook DA. How much evidence does it take? A cumulative meta-analysis of outcomes of simulation-based education. Med Educ. 2014 Aug;48(8):750–760.
3. Chin DL, Wilson MH, Bang H, et al. Comparing patient outcomes of academician-preceptors, hospitalist-preceptors, and hospitalists on internal medicine services in an academic medical center. J Gen Intern Med. 2014 Dec;29(12):1672–1678.
4. Devlin MK, Kozil NK, Kiss A, et al. Morning handover of on-call issues: Opportunities for improvement. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Sept;174(9):1479–1485.
5. Navarro-Zarza JE, Hernandez-Diaz C, Saavedra MA, et al. Preworkshop of musculoskeletal anatomy of rheumatology fellows and rheumatologists of seven North, Central and South American countries. Arthritis Care Res. 2014 Feb;66(2):270–276.
6. Mamede S, van Gog T, van den Berge K, et al. Why do doctors make mistakes? A study of the role of salient distracting clinical features. Acad Med. 2014 Jan;89(1):114–120.