Medical Education Intern




Description of Internship Project:  In these internships, PhD trainees will work with M.D. mentors (e.g. clerkship directors or other clinical educators) to learn the relevance and application of their area of scientific expertise in the clinical setting. They will also work with master educators to learn the appropriate language and perspective to convey the information to a clinical audience.  Interns will shadow physicians and work with educators with the goal of developing curricula to teach foundational science content to a clinical audience (medical students, residents, etc.). The interns will participate in the program in the fall and spring semesters.

Responsibilities of the intern: 

Formal curriculum – Interns will be required to complete assigned online modules through a combination of the various resources listed below:

  • BU’s MOOC on evidence-based strategies to improve STEM teaching: http://stemteachingcourse.org
  • Online sessions on medical education provided by BUSM’s Office of Medical Education:  http://www.bumc.bu.edu/fd/
  • In-person teaching about best practices in STEM teaching – with the educator mentor, who will act as the core “teaching mentor” for the program, and with other master teachers in this institution

Mentored curriculum – Interns will be paired with a clinical faculty member to develop integrated curricular materials as a final deliverable.

  • Pairings will be based around the development of an explicit curricular goal (e.g. develop new integrated curricular materials; build FS into existing curriculum, etc.). See list of potential projects below.
  • Intern will shadow the clinician to learn how their FS topic is applied, discussed, and taught in the clinical setting
  • Intern will work with the clinician and their teaching mentor to develop new curricular materials

Timeline (proposed)*

The schedule will be highly variable depending on the project and the timeline in which the mentor needs curricula developed. One sample timeline is:

  • June -December 2016: Interns complete assigned online modules about evidence-based strategies to improve teaching, such as (http://stemteachingcourse.org/course-content-2/), and receive mentorship on teaching strategies by Dr. Zumwalt.
  • August 2016: Match interns with mentors. Intern-mentor pairs will begin to discuss potential projects.
  • Sept – December 2016: Interns work with clinical mentors on an ad hoc basis to learn about clinical relevance of their topic (e.g. shadowing, attending Grand Rounds, attending didactic sessions in the relevant clinical department, etc.).
  • Sept – December 2016: Interns develop new curricular materials as agreed upon with clinical mentor (video, powerpoint slides, Pocket Talks, other curricular resources).
  • Jan 2017- May 2017: Interns will teach the material to chosen audience (medical students or residents) on a monthly basis, and fine-tune it as needed.
  • Trainees present posters about their projects at the 2017 John McCahan Medical Education Day, and are encouraged to submit to other relevant education conferences

Description of Deliverable at Completion of Internship:

Innovative curricular materials (video, powerpoint slides, Pocket Talks, etc.)

Posters: at the 2017 John McCahan Medical Education Day, and other relevant education conferences

Potential MedEd Portal submission or web-based platforms

Evaluation of the deliverable: Ongoing formative feedback of trainee’s progress by education mentors

Continuous evaluation of curricular materials by clinical mentor – specific criteria will vary by project

Mentor / Reporting for the intern:

Monthly check-in meetings in person or by phone with PIs of project (Dominguez and/or Zumwalt)

Professional Development Objectives/ Benefits to the intern:

Training in educational theory and in best practices in STEM teaching.

Training in development of appropriate curricular material for clinical audience (medical students and residents).

Opportunity to enhance their understanding of the clinical application and relevance of their topics and the culture of the clinical setting

Enhancing their education portfolio

Requested Qualifications of Intern:

Actively interested in pursuing teaching as a future career, especially in medical education

Some teaching experience is preferred

Internship Start and Duration:

Desired Start date:  Sometime in the summer for the formal curriculum

Duration:  Fall and spring semesters

Desired Time Commitment:

Part-time:  part time 2-5 hours week.

Compensation:  Yes, $1,500 over the 2 semesters

Can work be performed remotely?  Only the preparation of materials for class can be done remotely.