Thread by @YihanYangMD

1/ Today’s @MedEdMethodsMonday is the 1st of 3 #Medtweetorial threads on #CurriculumDevelopment!

Have an idea for a #meded innovation/new method to teach old concepts?

#FacDev #MedEdPearls

2/ Have you ever, like me, created a new intervention/curriculum and realized after the fact that you should have designed X or measured Y or assessed Z differently?

A systematic approach to curric dev can elevate your work & help it count 2x (presentations/pubs).

3/ While there are several frameworks out there for curric dev, the Kern’s 6-Steps to Curriculum Development in MedEd is a commonly-cited method in the literature for innovation development, and is a MUST read/learn.

As in the title, there are 6 steps (fig from @aafp):

4/ Today, we cover Steps 1 & 2: Problem Identification & Needs Assessment.

While going through this thread, think a/b an intervention that you are interested in creating to apply the concepts.

2 worksheets to help:
tiny.cc/Kerns1
tiny.cc/Kerns2

5/ Step 1: Problem Identification - Definition

1st do your homework & describe the healthcare or MedEd problem. Exs:

- There is a treatment bottleneck for pts with chronic HCV infection, and gen practitioners feel unprepared to treat these pts upon residency completion

6/ Step 1: Problem Identification - Downstream

To further clarify the problem, ask yourself:

- Whom & what does the problem affect? (Ex: Residents, pts, GI/ID specialists, society)

- What is the IMPACT of these effects? (Ex: care delays, preventable complications of HCV, etc)

7/ Step 1: Problem Identification - 3 Problem Factors

Identify the 3 factors below that could contribute to your problem:
1. Predisposing
2. Enabling
3. Reinforcing

8/ Step 1: Problem Identification - Approach

Compare & Contrast CURRENT vs IDEAL Approach. The difference = your general needs assessment

Ex: What are pts, healthcare, educators, society CURRENTLY doing about HCV? What should they IDEALLY do, presuming infinite resources?

9/ Step 1: Problem Identification - General Needs Assessment

For this step, decide if you can use current literature or expert consensus for your general needs assessment of the gap between the current and ideal approach, or if you need to collect new information.

10/ Step 2: Targeted Needs Assessment - Learners

Who are the learners for your intervention? Describe your targeted learners & their environment:
1. Level of training
2. Attitudes
3. Learning style
4. What other curricula exist/being planned for them
5. Who are the stakeholders

11/ Step 2: Targeted Needs Assessment - Stakeholders

Who are the stakeholders & how are they impacted by the problem? Ex:
- Course directors
- Hospital leadership
- Hepatologists/ID experts currently treating HCV
- Pharmacy

12/ Step 2: Targeted Needs Assessment - Stakeholder Investment

What additional info do you need from learners & stakeholders?

To answer this ?, further break down for learners & each stakeholder:
- Method for gathering info
- Resources required (time, personnel ,supplies, etc)

13/ Step 2: Targeted Needs Assessment - Methods

The Kerns textbook very nicely summarizes some of the pros and cons of various types of needs assessment methods, from surveys, to interviews to focus groups, direct observations, tests, etc.

14/ Step 2: Targeted Needs Assessment - Data Collection
-Pilot your needs assessment
-After completion, ask whether the information you collected was useful and what you learned
-How does the needs assessment focus the problem and prepare you for the next steps?

15/ Take Aways:

Keep in mind that a rigorously performed needs assessment counts as scholarship in and of itself!

Those worksheets here again to summarize:

16/ That’s a wrap for Steps 1 & 2 of Kerns 6-Steps to Curriculum Development

Will you do anything different when planning for your next med ed intervention in terms of identifying the problem & conducting a needs assessment?

#MedEdMethodsMonday #MedTwitter

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