Mock Trial as a Learning Tool in a Family Medicine Residency

Background and Objectives: Mock trials have been used to teach medical learners about malpractice litigation, ethics, legal concepts, and evidence-based practice. Although 5.2% of family physicians are sued for malpractice annually, there is no formal requirement nor curriculum for educating our residents about malpractice, and mock trial has not been reported as an education modality in a family medicine residency. We developed a mock trial experience to educate family medicine residents about malpractice litigation and evaluated the resident experience over 3 years. Methods: This is a retrospective, single-site study evaluating resident experience in our mock trials. We assessed perceived value using a 5-point Likert scale; and we assessed knowledge with free-text answers to both open and closed questions. We used descriptive statistics to describe data. Results: Residents found the mock trial effective and engaging, giving the experience an overall evaluation of 4.9/5±0.3; 86.4% identified the importance of documentation as a learning outcome; 72.7% of residents identified negligence as necessary to justify a lawsuit, but they demonstrated limited mastery of the four elements of negligence, with 45.5% correctly listing harm, 40.9% causation, 13.6% breach of duty, and 0% duty owed. Conclusions: Mock trial is an enjoyable and effective tool to engage residents and provide a general understanding of malpractice litigation. It is less effective in conveying nuanced details of negligence. It may also be effective in teaching practice management techniques.

Using a Mock Trial: An Experiential Learning Opportunity

Experiential learning opportunities are significant supplements to the traditional lecture format. Among experiential learning methods, mock trials have been proven to be effective. Experiential learning provides the students with a platform from which they can integrate and apply concepts gleaned from class. Students are challenged to write and orally communicate these concepts at a level that would be clear to those involved in the experience. Kolb’s model of experiential learning provides four stages through which students may become genuine learners. This study illustrates how the authors implemented a mock trial experience into their classes to create an experiential learning opportunity.

Lay Participation in Taiwan: Observations from Mock Trials

This article introduces the designs and the potential problems of the new lay judge system in Taiwan. This article first describes the background of the development of lay participation in Taiwan, and the 2012 Observer Jury System and the 2018 Lay Judge System drafted by the judiciary. The core of this paper is a qualitative study of four mock trials conducted by four district courts in Taiwan. Through observations and interviews with mock trial lay judges, this article addresses three main problems of the new system, including professional judges’ domination in deliberations, the comprehensibility of law, and lack of evidence rules. It also provides a discussion of the possible solutions to the problems observed. This article urges that training sessions should be provided to both lay judges and legal professionals, adjust the discovery rule, provide guidance on sentencing, and create evidentiary rules.

Eligibility of judges

Art 19 UPCA provides for a training framework which was included in the Agreement to help to improve the competence of judges and to ensure that knowledge of patent law and the UPC system is widely spread amongst the Member States of the UPC. The training framework will also be used to prepare applicants for their position as judges of the UPC as only nationals of a signatory state to the UPCA can be appointed as a judge of the Court. As noble as these goals may be, they must not fuel the possible misunderstanding that it would be sufficient to prove practical experience merely by participation in lectures, seminars, conferences, or mock trials. Such training elements are, of course, useful but can never compensate for lack of practical experience in handling patent cases.

A Decision Aid May Offer Liability Protection for a Bad Obstetrical Outcome: Results of Mock Trials

The objective of this study is to evaluate if use of a patient decision aid (PDA), when choosing between a repeat cesarean or a trial of labor after a cesarean (TOLAC), reduces medical liability exposure. The authors conclude that use of a PDA conferred liability protection when potential jurors were presented with a hypothetical malpractice claim against an obstetrician following a TOLAC.