Preparing Tomorrows Medical Educators

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Preparing Tomorrows Medical Educators

• Brent J Thompson1,. Anna Cunningham2, Gregg C
  Allen3, Arthur F Dalley2, Jeanette J Norden2,
  Susan R Wente2, Roger Chalkley4,.
• 1Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, 7150 MRB
  III, Nashville, TN, 37232-8548, 2Cell and
  Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University,
  U-3218 MRB III, Nashville, TN, 37232-8240,
  3Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box
  351634 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235-1634,
  4Senior Associate Dean, Vanderbilt University,
  340 Light Hall, Nashville, TN, 37232-0301

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An Impending Shortage of Qualified Instructors!
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Survey of Academic Departments Related to Anatomy
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• Launched in 2005 to fill the need for well
  trained scientist/ medical educators in the field
  of gross anatomy.
• This unique three year program aims to develop
• Basic science research skills
• Pedagogical expertise in medical education
• First-rate fundamental science research combined
  with hands-on training in medical education.

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• First year fellows
• Carrie Elzie Ph.D.
• Chris Ramnanan Ph.D.
• Second year fellows
• Gregg Allen Ph.D.,
• Anna Cunningham Ph.D.
• Brent Thompson, Ph.D.

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The Vanderbilt Scientist-Educator Program

• Fellows recruited into this program are
  compensated at the level set by the National
  Institutes of Health.
• Paid jointly by the Dean's Office at the School
  of Medicine, (25) and the fellows'
• sponsoring laboratory (75).
• Second year fellows also
• receive funding from an
• IRACDA grant (50) which
• reduces the lab contribution
• to 50

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Three Years of Research Training(75 of each
year)

• Fellows must be offered a position by one of the
  sponsoring laboratories
• Potential laboratories often use vertebrate
  models.
• Fellows are expected to
• develop outstanding research programs in their
  mentors' laboratories
• publish in respected peer reviewed journals
• This will enable fellows to be highly competitive
  for medical school faculty positions.

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First Year

• Student Year
• Acquire knowledge base by taking Gross Anatomy
  with the medical students
• Other disciplines offered in the future
• Form and meet with mentoring committee
• Attend Brown bag lunch discussions on pedagogy
• Join an Anatomical Society

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Second Year

• Laboratory Instructor Year
• Expand knowledge base and begin to develop
  teaching skills
• Teaching mentors are selected
• Attend lectures and
• lab sessions
• Serve as laboratory
• instructors at Meharry
• Medical College and the
• Vanderbilt University
• School of Medicine

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Second Year

• Laboratory Instructor Year
• Instruction at dissecting tables
• Prepare and demonstrate prosections
• Interface with the 4th year medical
• students in the Senior Elective
• Program in Advanced Gross Anatomy
• Help prepare and grade practical
• examinations
• Submit at least 1 potential exam
• question for each lecture
• Are in student evaluations of
• the course

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IRACDA(Institutional Research and Career
Development Award K12)

• National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• Division of Minority Opportunities in Research
  Education
• Combines
• mentored postdoctoral research experience
• an opportunity to develop teaching skills at a
  minority-serving institution.
• Goals
• develop research and teaching careers in academia
• motivate the next generation of scientists at
  minority-serving institutions
• promote linkages between research-intensive
  institutions and minority-serving institutions

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• The largest private, comprehensive historically
  black institution for educating health
  professionals in the United States
• 4 week teaching rotation
• Great Experience!!
• Students and Dr. Jackson were very welcoming and
  appreciative, and they really made it a pleasure
  to help with their class
• Opportunity to see how anatomy is taught at other
  schools
• Opportunity to have increased teaching
  responsibility

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Student Evaluationsof second year fellows

• The majority of the students at both Meharry and
  Vanderbilt, rated the fellows performance as
  excellent or very good in all categories.
• The student comments indicated that our presence
  in the laboratory was very beneficial to their
  learning and they would like to increase the
  amount of time that we are available to help.
• can tailor the content to suit the needs to meet
  the needs of individual students, making the
  material easier to understand
• very perceptive, often picked up on my
  frustration and tried to help
• good at providing big picture when we were
  feeling lost in details in lab
• very willing to entertain questions and offered
  clear explanations
• very helpful, great asset to lab
• great instructor

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Training in Anatomy and Teaching Third Year

• Full-time Instructor Year
• Expand knowledge base and further develop
  teaching skills
• Perform same duties as full-time faculty members
• Attend lectures and lab sessions
• Serve as laboratory instructors
• Participate in pre-lab reviews
• critiques of prosections
• performed by 2nd year fellows

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Training in Anatomy and Teaching Third Year

• Full-time Instructor Year
• Present 3 lectures to the class,
• which will be videotaped for evaluation
• Submit 1 potential test question for
• each lecture and 10 potential
• questions for each of our lectures
• Be included as faculty instructors in
• students evaluations of the course
• Participate in grading and evaluation
• of students

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Third Year

• Fellows are responsible for
• developing lecture sets
• building a portfolio
• demonstrating independence
• developing new leadership skills
• Present an educational abstract at one of the
  anatomical society meetings.

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Unique Aspects of This Program(Compared to
traditional post-doctoral training)

• Training and experience in pedagogical methods as
  well as research methods
• Training in an area that has a documented
  shortage of qualified instructors
• Opportunity to teach in more than one medical
  school
• Participation in the IRACDA
• Opportunity to study under multiple curriculums
• Multiple mentors
• Research PI
• Teaching mentor
• Mentoring committee

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Program From the Postdocs Point of View

• Challenging but great experience for us!
• Medical school teaching and learning is much
  different than graduate school
• An appreciation for how well trained we need to
  be and the time required to obtain this expertise
  

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What Have We Learned Over the Last Two Years?

• At national meetings there has been a lot of
  interest in this program from scientists and
  educators.
• shortage of qualified instructors
• shortage needs to be documented
• Medical students value our participation
• Teaching at Meharry Medical College, through the
  IRACDA program was a very rewarding and
  educational experience for all of the fellows
  involved

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Typical Week During Anatomy
The teaching component of this program is an
enormous time commitment. Clear communication
of this commitment to the postdoctoral fellows
and their research mentors is essential.
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What Have We Learned Over the Last Two Years?

• It is likely that more than three years of
  postdoctoral training will be required to be
  prepared for a career in biomedical research
• Being in a large lab may help ease the loss of
  time in the lab due to teaching commitments.
• Projects that are conducive to generating large
  amounts of data in short time frames may also be
  helpful.

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Program Leadership

• Susan R. Wente Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the
  Department of Cell and Developmental Biology,
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• Arthur F Dalley II, Ph.D., Professor and Director
  of Medical Gross Anatomy Program and Facilities,
  Department of Cell and Developmental Biology,
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• Jeanette J. Norden Ph.D., Professor and Director
  of Medical Education, Department of Cell and
  Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University
  School of Medicine
• Roger Chalkley D. Phil., Senior Associate Dean,
  Biomedical Research Education and Training,
  Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics,
  Professor of Medical Education and
  Administration, Vanderbilt University School of
  Medicine
• Ann Richmond Ph.D., Assistant Dean, Biomedical
  Research Education and Training, Professor and
  Vice-Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology,
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

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Anatomy Instructors
Research Mentors

• Randy D. Blakely Ph.D.,
• Allan D. Bass Professor of Pharmacology
  Psychiatry. Director, Vanderbilt Center for
  Molecular Neuroscience. Director, Vanderbilt
  Brain Institute
• Alan D. Cherrington Ph.D., Professor of Molecular
  Physiology Biophysics Charles H. Best Professor
  of Diabetes Research Department Chair Professor
  of Medicine
• Steven K Hanks Ph.D., Professor of Cell and
  Developmental Biology Associate Professor of
  Medicine
• Chris Janetopoulos Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
• Douglas G. McMahon Ph.D.,
• Professor of Biological Sciences, Director of
  Graduate Studies

• Arthur F Dalley II, Ph.D., Professor and Director
  of Medical Gross Anatomy Program and Facilities,
  Department of Cell and Developmental Biology,
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• John S. Halle PT, Ph.D.,ECS
• Professor and Chair of the School of Physical
  Therapy, Belmont University
• Arthur J. Jackson Ph.D.,
• Associate Professor and Vice Chair Division of
  Professional Education, Department of Biomedical
  Sciences
• Lillian B. Nanney Ph.D.,
• Professor of Plastic Surgery Cell Biology
• Cathleen C. Pettepher Ph.D.,
• Professor of Cancer Biology

Program Support
Vanderbilt Biomedical Research and Education
Training Office and an Institutional Research and
Academic Career Development Award from the
National institute of General Medical
Sciences/NIH 5K12 GM068543-04