Residencies & Fellowships
Residents and Fellows as Educators
From Trainees to Teachers
Program Overview
In partnership with the Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education and the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, the Office of Graduate Medical Education makes available a number of training and recognition opportunities in the area of education.
The Residents as Educators initiative consists of several programs designed to help residents and fellows grow as educators.
Different Programs for Different Goals
Core sessions: Quarterly, virtual large-group sessions on basic clinical teaching skills
Teaching retreats: Quarterly, virtual/in-person small-group workshops to practice teaching skills
Medical Education for GME elective: Two-week immersion with didactics, peer teaching and simulation
Clinician-educator track: Longitudinal, flexible track with individualized curriculum, direct observation and mentorship
Timeline
Core sessions: September, November, January, March
Retreats: October, December, February, April
Elective: January
Clinician-educator track: Longitudinal
Program Details
The core sessions are quarterly, virtual large-group sessions on basic clinical teaching skills. These sessions are suitable for all clinicians.
Teaching retreats are half-day programs for residents designed to build teaching skills and facilitate personal goals related to teaching. Each retreat covers adult learning theory and instructional techniques with the opportunity to apply these skills in real time and obtain feedback.
The Medical Education for GME elective is a two-week rotation for residents designed to enhance the teaching knowledge and skills of residents and to promote understanding of introductory concepts in medical education scholarship. By the end of the elective, residents should be able to:
Describe and apply medical education teaching tools.
Discuss the evidence for use of identified tools in medical education.
Explore concepts in adult learning theory and apply those concepts to their teaching.
Demonstrate effective bedside, small-group and large-group teaching.
Develop a medical education teaching session (two weeks) or scholarship project (four weeks).
Recognize the value of medical education scholarship in career advancement.
The Clinical Educator Track is a longitudinal, flexible track with individualized curriculum, direct observation and mentorship. It is geared mainly toward those who intend to pursue a future as clinician-educators.
Awards
Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award.
The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience.
Each year, medical students who are completing their clerkships show their appreciation for their GME colleagues by nominating them for the annual Residents and Fellows as Educators Award. These awards acknowledge GME trainees’ outstanding work happening every day on the College of Medicine’s teaching services.