Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Enhancing Clinical Judgment In Nursing Students, Mark Tanner

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background/Objectives: Nurses need to be able to think critically and to use clinical judgment in order to competently do their work required of them in the clinical environment. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) recognized this and developed the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) in order to assess and measure clinical judgment on the NCLEX exams. This model was designed to give guidance to faculty so that they can help students develop the desired skills in critical thinking and clinical judgment. The faculty in a senior-level Adult Medical-Surgical Nursing used the CJMM to redesign the clinical …

Implementation Of A Required Professional Development Course Series In The Doctor Of Pharmacy Program, Nicole E. Omecene

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose/Background: The assessment of professionalism is a challenging and evolving field. The pharmacy education literature describes approaches to assessing professionalism over time; however, an integrated professionalism course series spanning the duration of the program has not been described.1,2 Co-curricular experiences present an opportunity for students to apply content learned in the classroom to real-world experiences where professionalism is expected. These activities include leadership positions, career seminars and health outreach events. Previously described processes for tracking the co-curricular activities differ in the accuracy of data collected and the connection to a professional development course.3,4 The purpose of this educational project is …

An Interprofessional Active-Learning Laboratory On Urinary Incontinence, Krista L. Donohoe

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background/Objectives:Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common syndrome with peak prevalence in older adulthood. Involuntary loss of urine from the bladder may be due to physical abnormalities, pelvic floor dysfunction, or reversible causes, like medication or infection.1 UI is an underreported and underdiagnosed geriatric syndrome that significantly impacts quality of life, increases risk of institutionalization, and contributes to significant patient- and system-level healthcare expenditures.1 Healthcare practitioners require knowledge and skills necessary to provide quality care to older adults with UI. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute on Aging, and American Geriatrics Society recommend the healthcare …

Interprofessional Development And Evaluation Of A Virtual Reality Haptic Surgical Training System For Retropubic Midurethral Slings, Lauren Siff

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose and background: Procedures like the midurethral sling, performed without open visual or camera access rely on the surgeon’s spatial orientation of anatomical landmarks and haptic sensation. The “Blind” nature of this technique can results in serious complications^1–4. Surgeons are typically trained via an apprenticeship on live patients, static models, or, cadaver labs. These methods carry higher potential risks for patient safety, significant expense, often require travel, and are limited by distortion of anatomy after multiple uses. Adding haptics and AI to VR simulators has been shown to improve fidelity, realism, and educational value^ 5–10.We formed a transdisciplinary team to …

Virtual, Non-Clinical “Bootcamp” To Prepare For The Nbme Subject Matter (Shelf) Exam During The Pediatric Clerkship, Clifton Lee

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background: Medical education changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational sessions were offered virtually. There are published education innovations for pre-clinical curricula (1). However, providing virtual education during the clinical clerkship was a daunting challenge. In addition to the delay in patient care exposure, students’ performance in the NBME Subject Matter (Shelf) Exam scores have declined during the pandemic (2). VCU School of Medicine also needed to provide continued instructions to students whose clinical clerkships were delayed.

Description of the Innovation: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical start for the class of 2022 was delayed by 3 months. During …

The Value Of Positive Feedback: An Underutilized Tool In Ophthalmology Resident Education, Meagan Shinbashi

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose/Background/Objectives: Little research has been performed on the use of positive feedback as a teaching tool in ophthalmology postgraduate medical education settings. Additionally, there is a paucity of research assessing the effectiveness of feedback from trainees’ perspectives. To address these gaps, we explored the effects of positive feedback on resident professional identity formation, performance, and wellness through a pilot program within the ophthalmology residency program’s wellness curriculum at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Methods: This study employed quantitative data collection through surveys before and after a positive feedback exercise activity of ophthalmology residents at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. Participants were …

Research4life (R4l) Scholar Program: New Initiative To Promote Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Medicine Through A Bottom-Up Approach, Somaya Albhaisi

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose and background: According to the Pew Research Center, Hispanics are 17% of the workforce but only represent 8% of people in a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) position. African Americans are 11% of the workforce but hold 9% of STEM jobs. The Research4Life (R4L) program is designed to increase the number of minority students who pursue medical education and careers in Medicine and research. A formalized mentorship and clinical research program is one pipeline to increase representation of underrepresented groups in medicine and academic medical careers.(1)

Description of Innovative Practice: The R4L scholar program is a structured summer …

The Neoresident Curriculum: A Combined Learning Experience For Pediatric Residents, Kelly Stanley

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose and background, including relevant citations: All pediatric residents are required to rotate through the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The NICU is a unique unit that provides care for premature and ill neonates. At Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHOR VCU), pediatric residents complete 12 weeks in the NICU, 4 weeks each year. As a part of this rotation, these residents are responsible for attending high risk deliveries. At birth about 10% of neonates will require resuscitation (1). Before starting residency, each resident is required to complete the neonatal resuscitation program (NRP). This certification requires renewal every two …

Pilot Test Of A Large-Scale, First-Hand Research Opportunity For Medical Students, Brian Cassel

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose and background: While VCU is an R1 university, many students graduate without first-hand research experience. We sought to create a new learning opportunity for second year medical students (M2s) through access to real-world clinical data from a federated research network of healthcare organizations, TriNetX. TriNetX gives users access to millions of de-identified patient records for a wide variety of purposes: cohort discovery; determining possible enrollment rates for clinical trials; evaluating outcomes; and evaluating disparities. Several VCU researchers have published studies using TriNetX data [i]. Prior to our project, TriNetX access and instruction had not been pushed out to medical …

Standardized Patient Simulations: A Pilot Program In The Ophthalmology Residency Curriculum, Yusrah Hasan

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background: Patient simulations are being used to provide a safe environment for learners to practice giving bad news to patients.

Methods: This series of simulations was implemented at Virginia Commonwealth University Ophthalmology Residency program among three cohorts of residents in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Each simulation involves a case scenario in which the learner must synthesize clinical information to recognize a patient’s diagnoses and deliver bad news to the patient in a tactful manner.

Results: Post-simulation surveys were completed by the 2020 and 2021 cohort of residents. All learners felt that the experience improved their communication skills with patients. 44% …

Strength In Caring: An Interprofessional Innovation To Cultivate Organizational Wellness, Kelly Lockeman

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background. The impact of COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of individual providers and entire health care systems has had a devastating blow to already fragile networks.[1] It is imperative to identify strategies that heal, repair, and build capacity in health care providers and fix the system in which they practice. Building resilience through self-care is only a part of the solution.[2,3] Health care organizations are striving for solutions that target issues such as psychological safety, interprofessional teamwork, and wellness-centered leadership, which are more likely to reduce burnout than individualized self-care programs.[4,5] The purpose of the Strength in Caring …