Introducing a Psychiatry Clerkship Curriculum Based on Entrustable Professional Activities: an Explorative Pilot Study

Objective The authors evaluated a reformed psychiatry clerkship curriculum based on entrustable professional activities (EPAs). Methods The authors conducted an exploratory pilot study of a reformed clerkship curriculum based on EPAs. A novel workplace-based assessment format including an entrustment-supervision scale and curricular adaptations were introduced. The Kirkpatrick model was used to evaluate outcomes of the reformed clerkship curriculum on three levels (1 = acceptance, 2 = learning, 3 = change of behavior). Results The pilot student cohort (n = 10) completed a questionnaire, 180 self-assessments (18 per student) on need for supervision, and 63 workplace-based assessments (6.3 per student, in 4 weeks). Level 1: high overall satisfaction with the clerkship (five-point Likert item: average, 4.9; range: 4.0–5.0). Level 2: the overall significant decrease in self-assessed need for supervision before and after the clerkship was two supervision levels (direct to indirect supervision; p < 0.05). The most frequently documented admissions included schizophrenic disorders (n = 11; 28%), affective disorders (n = 10; 25%), substance abuse disorders (n = 5; 13%), and anxiety and stress-related disorders (n = 5; 13%). Level 3: clinical supervisors used history taking, assessing the mental status, and documentation and presentation for workplace-based assessments. According to supervisors’ ratings, there was a decreasing need for supervision from the first to last week of the clerkship. Conclusions Students reacted positively to the reformed clerkship curriculum. The workplace-based assessments with entrustment ratings appeared to support achievement of competency-based learning objectives. Better understanding of how to cover assessment of all core EPAs in the psychiatry clerkship is needed.

Education Research: A qualitative study on student perceptions of neurology and psychiatry clerkship integration

Objective:To explore student perceptions of the feasibility of neurology and psychiatry clerkship integration, including clinical education and competency evaluation, as there has been a call to improve undergraduate medical education integration of the disciplines to better develop physicians that can address nervous system disorders.Method:Via a constructivist grounded theory approach, we carried out five focus groups in 2016-2017 with 28 medical students who completed both independent clerkships. Investigator triangulation was used with iterative interpretation comparisons, and themes were identified using constant comparative analysis.Results:Three major themes arose: 1) combining the clerkships was not favorable as students need sufficient time to delve deeper in each discipline; 2) students did not observe an integrated clinical approach by faculty; 3) positive value of making links between neurology and psychiatry for effective patient care.Conclusions:Students emphasized the importance of making stronger links between the two disciplines for their learning and to improve patient care; however, they did not observe this clinical approach in the workplace. Students perceived that integration of neurology and psychiatry clerkships should occur via increased affinity of the complementary discipline by trainees and faculty in each specialty.

Open and affordable textbooks: approaches to OER pedagogy

Purpose Following is an overview of the open and affordable textbooks (OAT) program, strategies for outreach, as well as discuss approaches that faculty awardees have taken to designing their courses. This paper aims to address a couple issues such as the effectiveness of open educational resources (OER) resources, the process of creating OER resources and how faculty and instructors have updated their courses and adjusted their pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes five cases where the faculty adopted open pedagogy. They include a general chemistry course, psychiatry clerkship, microbiology lab, a medical Spanish course and a radiology elective in a medical school. Findings The use of open pedagogy promotes two things: up-to-date resources and practical experience. Since the creation of the Rutgers OAT program, faculty and instructors have been rethinking how they teach their courses. Students enjoy the content more and faculty loves the increase in engagement. As the program continues to grow, the creativity fostered by open pedagogy improves education for everyone involved. Originality/value The paper offers a general overview of an effective open and affordable program at a public research university. It demonstrated the effectiveness of the program while also offering examples of novel course materials for interested librarians and faculty. It opens the possibility from just finding resources to creating them and how they improve education.

Psychiatry and mental health in the medical community

Dr Varapravan completed medical school in Bangalore, India, then continued her medical training in Canada and finished her residency at Western University for psychiatry. Originally interested in ENT, her exposure to psychiatry in Canada caused her to change tracks and to pursue psychiatry. She is currently a part of the Assessment Unit at Parkwood Institute and Healthcare, had previously worked as UGE Psychiatry Clerkship Coordinator, and is heavily involved in exposing the students of Schulich to psychiatry. We had the opportunity to talk to Dr Varapravan about psychiatry as a field, the psychiatry clerkship program, and about burnout in the medical community.