Canadian Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery clerkship curricula: Evolving toward tomorrow's learners

Abstract

BackgroundIncreasing focus is being placed on Clerkship curriculum design and implementation in light of new undergraduate medical education research and accreditation standards. Canadian Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OTOHNS) Clerkship programs are continually but independently evolving towards a common goal of improving Clerkship curriculum.MethodsAn electronic survey was sent to undergraduate OTOHNS directors at all Canadian medical schools (n = 17) examining their Clerkship curricula. Themes included Clerkship format, teaching methods, faculty support and development, program strengths, and barriers.ResultsSurvey response rate was 76%. All responding schools had OTOHNS Clerkship programs ranging in type (mandatory, selective or elective) and length (<1 to 4 weeks). Learning modalities varied. Electronic learning tools were identified as increasingly important to curriculum delivery. Common strengths included wide clinical exposure and one-on-one mentoring. Multiple challenges were identified in curriculum implementation and evaluation. All schools expressed interest in developing national standards, objectives and e-learning resources.ConclusionsSignificant variation exists in OTOHNS Clerkship experiences between Canadian medical schools. Many schools perceive barriers of insufficient time, space and curriculum standardization. Interested Canadian OTOHNS educators are eager to collaborate to improve the collective OTOHNS Clerkship experience.

Surgical exploration and discovery program: Inaugural involvement of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery

“…The source of this interest among surgically inclined students could be a result of the relatively strong presence of OTOHNS in the University of Ottawa UME pre-clerkship curriculum. In the pre-clerkship curriculum there are 50 hours of OTOHNS instruction, which is the highest amount of OTOHNS pre-clerkship instruction offered at any Canadian medical school [ 9 ].…”

Otolaryngology–head and neck surgery in undergraduate medical education: Advances and innovations

“…Coupled very closely to how we teach is what we teach. Development of novel teaching tools must take place in parallel with establishment of learning objectives . I facilitated the creation of a national working group in 2008, composed of undergraduate OtoHNS leaders across Canada, which is one of the first known UME working groups ever created in a surgical specialty.…”

“…This is concerning, because clerkship rotations are clinical rotations that consolidate knowledge with clinical experience. I carried out a follow‐up study in 2012, surveying the same medical schools concerning the clinical clerkship—rotation format, teaching methods, faculty support and development, program strengths, and perceived barriers to rotation implementation . Mandatory OtoHNS rotations remained unchanged at 38%, and most medical schools offered selective rotations (46%) or elective rotations (15%).…”

“…Barriers to the implementation of mandatory clinical OtoHNS rotations included: 1) limited available time within clerkship, 2) technology lacking teaching elements (i.e., scopes without videos), 3) learner: teacher ratio too high, 4) lack of recognition of teachers, 5) limited infrastructure, 6) lack of innovative teaching tools, and 7) limited faculty involvement. Consequently, significant variation was identified in clerkship structure, content, and teaching methods (see Supporting Information, Table AII, in the online version of this article) …”

Undergraduate Plastic Surgery Education: A National Survey of Clerkship Directors

“…Canada is a world leader in medical education and often sees its teaching platforms adopted by other nations. 1 Nevertheless, the field of medical education has evolved relatively slowly over the last 100 years, which contrasts the growth seen by other disciplines. 1 The Carnegie Foundation for Knowledge Advancement, which released its seminal report on the state of medical education in 2010, called for 4 areas of reform: (1) standardizing learning outcomes and individualizing the learning process, 2 promoting multiple forms of integration, incorporating habits of inquiry and improvement, and focusing on the progressive formation of the physician's professional identity.…”