Developing future medical educators in an Australian medical program supervisors’ reflections on the first four years of MD Professional Project implementation

摘要

Background: Increasingly, professional bodies expect doctors to not only provide patientcare but also educate students, trainees and patients. Few medical students, however, receiveformal tuition in terms of the theory and practice of medical education. A curriculumrestructure from an MBBS to a Doctor of Medicine (MD) program provided an opportunityto develop three Masters streams: Clinical research, Capstones and educational ProfessionalProjects. This submission describes how one Australian medical school is preparing somestudents for their future roles as medical educators through MD Professional Projects.Design: Framed by the 12 roles of the medical ‘teacher’, most students undertaking theseprojects take on Resource Developer (including simulation) and Assessor roles. For thosechoosing resource development (excluding simulation) or assessment, the Association forMedical Education (AMEE) Student Essential Skills in Medical Education (ESME) Course iscompulsory. For those choosing educational research, the ESME Course is optional.Outcomes: By December 2020, four MD cohorts will have graduated with 69 students havingundertaken educational MD Professional Projects, with fifty-one completing the ESME Course.MD students have created a range of resources for the curriculum, their colleagues and thelocal healthcare community. In addition to the expected learning we identified additionalvalue-added outcomes for learners (e.g. skill development), the curriculum (e.g. areas ofdifficulty), academic supervisors’ roles (e.g. role-modelling) and for the health care community(e.g. as expert reviewers).Conclusions: Engaging in scholarly activities such the ESME Course and developing learningresources not only provided MD students with a more in-depth theoretical knowledge ina range of clinical areas, but also developed skills that would prepare them for their futureroles as medical educators. As supervisors, we identified the value these projects add to thebroader health community as well as personal and professional benefits for ourselves.