Didactics and board preparation

Resident education is our top priority. We not only provide a wide array of didactic activities, but also protect residents’ time such that they are not being pulled for patient care duties while attending educational sessions. Our program director, Dr. Sall, has a master’s degree in education and integrating adult learning theory principles into our curriculum has been a key focus. Below is a snapshot of some of the educational activities we offer:
 

Board preparation

All residents are given the funds to purchase MKSAP, the ACP board review curriculum. We focus not only on the topic at hand, but also test-taking strategies. We have an internal board review curriculum for senior residents with longitudinal subject-specific examinations, followed by review sessions that focus not only on the topic, but also key test-taking strategies. Residents are also given funds to attend a reputable board review course leading up to their exam. Our board pass rate is 100%.
 

Inpatient morning report

Residents on the inpatient teams get to work with 2-3 faculty members each day to do a variety of activities including dissecting an interesting case, reviewing board-style questions related to topics discussed during the block, learning ultrasound and practicing rapids/codes via simulation.
 

Academic half-day

Academic half-day (AHD), is a weekly 3-hour session that covers core IM topics. Residents are excused from clinical duties during this time. AHD starts with lectures/cases from subspecialty faculty and follows with a rotating base of activities such as journal club, small group problem-based learning cases, great debates, resident-led presentations, quality improvement instruction, board review, simulation, wellness activities, clinical reasoning exercises, and gaming/competitions.
 

Morbidity, mortality and improvement (M, M and I) conference

In an effort to continuously improve, we dissect cases as a group where a suboptimal outcome occurred. We do this in a judgement-free way that allows identification of knowledge gaps or systems issues that led to the outcome. Often issues are identified that drive resident QI projects to help improve future care.
 

Journal club

With faculty, residents review relevant journal articles and discuss the methods and impact of the study as a group. This both exposes residents to key evidence from which to base their medical decisions and teaches how to critically appraise the literature.
 

Ambulatory curriculum

The ambulatory curriculum is comprised of several components, including quality improvement projects, learning modules (John’s Hopkins PEAC modules), JAMA Evidence-Based rational clinical exam didactics and musculoskeletal complaints series, that take place during weekly ambulatory morning report.
 

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)

We have handheld Butterfly Ultrasound probes for use in the inpatient and outpatient setting. We teach POCUS during AHD with access to a high-fidelity POCUS task-trainer that contains both normal and pathologic images.
 

Simulation

We hold weekly simulations to review rapid response and code scenarios as part of morning report. We also conduct standardized patient simulations periodically to review communication skills and engage with the military partnership simulation center at our Osborn location for additional high-fidelity simulations.
 

Medical grand rounds

The monthly Grand Round lectures bring local and national faculty to HonorHealth to provide education to a multidisciplinary audience on topics relevant to the IM boards and patient care.
 

Medical escape room

Faculty and chief residents design elaborate events where teams of residents solve puzzles using their medical knowledge to “escape the room”.