It’s our annual infamous Holiday Episode, where we find the quirkiest papers in health professions education! These are the papers that we couldn’t resist talking about, even if they’re not the most rigorous or relevant to our practice. These are the papers that will make you say “Wow, I can’t believe this got into the literature!” We like to have some fun and celebrate the diversity and creativity of our field. And who knows, maybe you’ll learn something new or get inspired by some of these...

Welcome to the special episode of our podcast, where we showcase the work of early career scholars in health professions education from around the world. This is part two of a two-part series, where we will hear from three different researchers who have been nominated by colleagues to share their projects and insights with us In this episode, we will learn about the diverse topics and methods that these scholars are using to advance the field of health professions education. We hope that...

In response to a listener request, Lara describes the differences between conceptual frameworks, theory, and theoretical frameworks. Host: Lara Varpio Episode page is especially helpful this week since all the figures are in there. Episode article for reference: Varpio, L., Paradis, E., Uijtdehaage, S., & Young, M. (2020). The Distinctions Between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 95(7),...

Is perfectionism a tacit prerequisite to excel in health professions training? What does perfectionism do to learners? And how can educators address the maladaptive behaviours of perfectionists? Interested? Then check out this episode. Episode Host: Jonathan Sherbino Episode Article: McKay, J., Williams, K., & Stewart, J. (2023). You just want a break from the hatred of failure: The lived experience of being a student physiotherapist perfectionist and considerations for educators....

Meded and health professions education suffer from the lack of common agreement on terms. These authors set out to do something about it. This glossary, created by a panel of experts from the UK and Ireland, can it be a starting point for discourse and debate in the HPE community? Hear how the hosts debate and give example of terms and words with double or ambiguous meaning. This weeks host: Jason Frank Article: Finn, G. M., Charmer, B., Burton, O. E., Asif, A., Byrne, M. H. V., Brennan,...

Welcome to the special episode of our podcast, where we showcase the work of early career scholars in health professions education from around the world. This is part one of a two-part series, where we will hear from three different researchers who have been nominated by colleagues to share their projects and insights with us. In this episode, we will learn about the diverse topics and methods that these scholars are using to advance the field of health professions education. From every...

In this episode, the hosts talk about a very short, but very important statement that should be in all our publications: the ethics statement. What do you put in that statement? What should you put in it? This discussion will make sure you know (hint: download Appendix 3)! Episode host: Lara Varpio Find link to Appendix 3 and epsiode notes on the episode webpage Episode article: Schutte, T., Fasel, M. E., Fokkens, J. T., & Wouters, A. (2023). The reporting of ethical review and ethical...

Wouldn’t it be great to win that Nobel prize in educational rocketsurgery by publishing that great multi-institutional medical education study?! We review a paper on research collaborations looking for tips on how to do it right. Host: Jason Frank Episode Article Sbaity, E., Zahwe, M., Helou, V., Bahsoun, R., Hassan, Z., Abi Khalil, P., & Akl, E. A. (2023). Health Research Collaborations by Academic Entities: A Systematic Review. Academic Medicine, 98(10), 1220....

The article discusses the utility of ChatGPT for academic writing. The author recommends using ChatGPT to support laborious writing tasks and refining its output with one's unique voice and style for creative writing. Episode Host: Jonathan Sherbino Episode Article Lingard, L. (n.d.). Writing with ChatGPT: An Illustration of its Capacity, Limitations & Implications for Academic Writers. Perspectives on Medical Education, 12(1), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.5334/pme.1072 Episode...

In this episode, the hosts examine the experience of medical students who either matriculate as parents, or who become parents during their undergraduate medical training. Have we supported those learners, or have we left them to fend for themselves? Episode host: Lara Varpio Episode Article: Mulholland, M. R., & Gulliver, L. S. M. (2023). Support of parenting in undergraduate medical training in New Zealand. Medical Teacher, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2023.2249210 Episode...

Been to any good HPE conferences lately? Ever think about why so many of us attend? Or stay home? This study tries to shed some light on medical conference attendee motivation. Artricle: Ram, S. S., Stricker, D., Pannetier, C., Tabin, N., Costello, R. W., Stolz, D., Eva, K. W., & Huwendiek, S. (2023). Cliques within the crowd: Identifying medical conference attendee subgroups by their motivations for participation. Advances in Health Sciences Education. Episode host Jason Frank Episode...

Students say they don’t get enough, or enough ‘good’ feedback … teachers say they deliver lots and do it well. Could some of this tension be because the role of the learner in the feedback process is underemphasized? Students must have ‘feedback literacy’ and use behaviors that facilitate effective feedback … but what does this actually involve? Is it an issue with ‘triadic reciprocal interplay’? Episode Host Linda Snell Episode article McGinness, H. T., Caldwell, P. H. Y., Gunasekera, H.,...

Selection for residency can be really hard and tricky. In this episode we discuss this paper that has done a scoping review to find out what perspectives there are for PGME selection. Episode host: Jonathan Sherbino For references and episode notes look at our webpage Episode article: Caretta-Weyer, H. A., Eva, K. W., Schumacher, D. J., Yarris, L. M., & Teunissen, P. W. (n.d.). Postgraduate Selection in Medical Education: A Scoping Review of Current Priorities and Values. Academic...

In this episode, we look at different ways leaders ascribe value (beyond monetary value) to the growth and work of health professions educators. It is important as it suggests how we as educators can use these perspectives to advocate for support of educators and their work. Episode Host Linda Snell Episode article Poncelet, A., Collins, S., Fiore, D., Rosenbluth, G., Loeser, H., Sawaya, G. F., Teherani, A., & Chang, A. (2023). Identifying Value Factors in Institutional Leaders’...

In this episode, the hosts review a research paper that takes on the challenge of generating a theory of identity safety in the clinical learning environment. This work pushes beyond current notions of psychological safety and so looks not only at how educators can help protect the full breadth of identities that learners bring to medical education, but also the agency that the learners can harness. If you want to foster learning environments where each and every learner is free to be their...

Methods Consult – Thematic Analysis is an inaugural episode where Lara Varpio dig a bit deeper into the some of the science methods and theory in health professions education. When you need a little help, or a second opinion, or just some advice from an expert colleague, you might call for a consult. These methods consults are precisely that: a little insight from a colleague who has medical education research experience and (some) expertise In this episode, we review thematic analysis as...

Context is Everything: The Challenges of PBL Around the World This episode explores the challenges of transplanting PBL outside of a Western culture. The authors use meta-ethnography to synthesize the literature. Episode host: Jonathan Sherbino Episode Article: Chan, S. C. C., Gondhalekar, A. R., Choa, G., & Rashid, M. A. (2022). Adoption of Problem-Based Learning in Medical Schools in Non-Western Countries: A Systematic Review. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 0(0), 1–12....

Can you improve faculty development by advancing faculty developers’ role and expertise as educators? We discuss it in this week's paper. We also discuss a new (to the podcast) research methodology: participatory action research. Host Linda Snell Episode article: Liao, K.-C., & Peng, C.-H. (2023). Evolving from Didactic to Dialogic: How to Improve Faculty Development and Support Faculty Developers by Using Action Research. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 1–11....

In this episode, Jason introduces a paper that uses case study methodology to look at complex educational interventions, and why so often fail Episode host: Jason Frank Article: Humphrey-Murto, S., Makus, D., Moore, S., Watanabe Duffy, K., Maniate, J., Scowcroft, K., Buba, M., & Rangel, J. C. (2023). Training physicians and residents for the use of Electronic Health Records—A comparative case study between two hospitals. Medical Education, 57(4), 337–348....

In this episode, the hosts take on a question that has long been debated in health professions education: What is scholarship? If you will ever be going up for promotion and/or tenure, this is an episode not to be missed. Host: Lara Varpio Episode article: Milner, R. J., Flotte, T. R., & Thorndyke, L. E. (2022). Defining Scholarship for Today and Tomorrow. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, Publish Ahead of Print....

Cooking your way through medical school: a hand-on approach to food as an evidence-based intervention. Teaching health professionals to discuss practical aspects of nutrition with patients is important. This paper describes innovative culinary medicine programs, including their benefits, success factors, gaps, and challenges. The related podcast provides a different perspective … or does it? Episode host Linda Snell Article: Newman, C., Yan, J., Messiah, S. E., & Albin, J. (2023)....

Workplace-based assessments (WBAs): what’s not to love? A lot apparently. It seems there is a tidal wave of pushback to contemporary efforts to implement new WBA and direct observation. In this episode we unpack what this is all about. Episode Host: Jason R. Frank Episode article Phinney, L. B., Fluet, A., O’Brien, B. C., Seligman, L., & Hauer, K. E. (2022). Beyond Checking Boxes: Exploring Tensions With Use of a Workplace-Based Assessment Tool for Formative Assessment in Clerkships....

In this episode, Lara brings a book chapter to the discussion which asks if we need to think differently about professional identity formation (PIF). The hosts discuss the strengths and weaknesses of current ways of thinking about PIF and they review the concept of subjectification and how this concept might help the field move to new, and exciting new ways of thinking about being a clinician. Episode host: Lara Varpio Book chapter: Verwer, S., & van Braak, M. (2022). Subjectification...

Chatbots use natural language processing (NLP) to converse and answer questions posed by a human user. Large language models (think billions of language parameters/nodes connected via networks to produce non-linear correlations between nodes) have accelerated the usability of chatbots. Original composition, answering complex questions etc. are some of the features In this episode we examine the feasibility of a hugely popular chatbot to answer a national medical licensing exam and discuss...

Continuing professional development (CPD) is often considered neglected and needing improvement. So who are the CPD leaders who will deliver on this needed change? Episode Host: Jason R. Frank Episode article Paton, M., Rowland, P., Tavares, W., Schneeweiss, S., & Ginsburg, S. (2022). The Ontological Choreography of Continuing Professional Development: A Mixed-Methods Study of Continuing Professional Development Leaders and Program Directors. Journal of Continuing Education in the...