Jennifer Spicer, MD, MPH Profile picture
Sep 7, 2021 15 tweets 8 min read Read on X
1/ It's another #TweetorialTuesday from the @MedEdTwagTeam for our #MedTwitter & #MedEd friends.

This week, I will give you a glimpse into how I structure my day on the inpatient service to balance teaching & completing my own tasks as an attending!
2/ As a reminder, we are discussing the foundational skills for inpatient teaching - i.e., how to "fit it in"

@GStetsonMD provided his perspective last week.

This week, I will compare/contrast how I approach this when I'm on a primary vs consulting team.
3/ I've used the literature to consider how I want to teach and conduct rounds.

Therefore, I consider:
1⃣ how my actions impact the learning climate
2⃣ what content my learners need to know for their future practice
3⃣how to incorporate focused, relevant teaching into rounds
4/ Last week @GStetsonMD highlighted some literature describing these 4 purposes of rounds.

When I round, I tend to prioritize developing a patient care plan & team education.

Myself & the team typically communicate with patients before/after rounds.
5/ I serve as an attending on 2 different teams: an inpatient HIV wards team (where we serve as the primary team) & a general ID consult team.

Differences in learners, patient type, and patient volume on these two teams influence my teaching & daily schedule.
6/ So here is the schedule for a typical day on the HIV inpatient service.

Key things to note:
1⃣ I see f/u patients early since residents may not recognize "sick" in this immunocompromised population.
2⃣ Longer teaching time in PM b/c each resident has fewer patients.
7/ Because this is a subspecialty service, residents require more help making medical decisions than on a Gen Med service. Additionally, they are on this service to learn, so it's important to have specialized didactics to help them feel competent & promote progressive autonomy.
8/ In contrast, here is my schedule on our consult service.

The day is longer & less predictable since we never know how many new consults we will get.
(shameless 🔌 to call consults early!)

Therefore, teaching happens first so rounds can be shortened if the day explodes 🤯🧨
9/ I see many f/u patients before rounds b/c:

1⃣I finish my day at a reasonable time (I like to arrive early, leave early)
2⃣Rounds are spent discussing plans > presenting data.

I tell learners WHY I do this & encourage short presentations to make room for teaching on rounds.
10/ When discussing patients, I ask the fellow to prioritize our discussion based on:

1. Urgent consults➡️cases that require emergent intervention
2. Diagnostic/management dilemmas➡️cases that require in-depth thinking
3. Simpler cases➡️cases with routine decision-making
11/ For new patients, I encourage trainees to keep their presentations focused with pertinent positives/negatives to allow time for teaching.

But, I have to admit, ID docs like the story b/c it often gives us the diagnosis. Right, @DGlaucomflecken? 🤣

12/ And to keep things moving on rounds, I continue discussing patients & teaching the residents/students while the fellow answers pages.

I am explicit about this with the fellow on Day 1 so they feel comfortable doing their work. I update them if they miss something important.
13/ And if rounds last too long, I discuss/see patients with just the fellow.

However, I typically like for the entire team to see any new patients that we will be following for an extended period of time so that they can put a face with the name for our discussions on rounds.
14/ Here’s an overview of how I fit teaching into my days (highlighted).

As for my administrative work, it's hard to get much done outside of patient care while on the consult service, so I avoid scheduling ANYTHING (even routine meetings), if possible.
15/ How do others handle their schedule on consult services? And what do trainees prefer? Please share!

Next week, stay tuned for @YihanYangMD who will provide her perspective on this same topic.

In the meantime, follow @MedEdTwagTeam to ensure you don't miss anything!

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More from @JenniferSpicer4

Mar 17, 2023
Kicking off BST Mode ⁦@emoryimchiefs⁩ Grady campus on #MatchDay2023

@gradydoctorImage
Do you want a 4-step process for questions to ask when you get a page next year when you’re alone on nightfloat or ICU call?

Check out this framework! Image
And now, do you wanna remember who the heck to order DEXA scans for in clinic?

Thankfully Miko De Bruyn comes to the rescue. Image
Read 16 tweets
Mar 7, 2023
1/ You're seeing a new consult with your team, and you want to teach the primary team too.

But WHEN is the best time to teach them?

On the phone?
At the bedside?
In their team room?

And in the morning?
Or maybe the afternoon?

This week: Image
2/ Last week @VarunPhadke2 described all of the individuals whom we can teach during the day.



But when should we teach them?

Often we default to teaching on the phone when receiving the consult or giving recommendations, but there are other options too.
3/ This week we will discuss the pros & cons of those options.

With one caveat.

Often the best time to teach is the one most convenient to your team & the primary team, which depends on your local institution's workflow.

But let's explore some general principles to consider.
Read 15 tweets
Feb 21, 2023
1/ You're finishing your last consult of the day.

It's late.
And it's been a long day.

You intended to find the primary team to teach them, but you have a million other things on your "to do" list.

Here are 8 reasons why you should still find time to teach the primary team. Image
2/ Reason #1: They want to learn

The primary team called with a question.
They are invested in the answer.

It's all about finding out what they want to know and targeting your teaching accordingly.
3/ Reason #2: It empowers them

Often the primary team has an idea of what to do but wants reinforcement that their plan is correct.

Teach them general rules that they can re-use. Image
Read 12 tweets
Jan 31, 2023
1/ Your team just saw a patient with syphilis, and you're ready to teach, but:

Resident #1: on week 2 of their rotation
👉 Has already seen 2 patients w/ syphilis

Resident #2: started today
👉 Hasn't seen a single patient with syphilis

What should you do now? Image
2/ Unfortunately, learners on our team may miss teaching that occurs during the rotation for multiple reasons. Image
3/ As @VarunPhadke2 previously pointed out, all learners on the team are usually not present all day, every day for the entire time we are on clinical services.

Image
Read 16 tweets
Jan 24, 2023
1/ A member of your consult team presents a patient w/ suspected neurosyphilis.

Your team:
⭐️ 3rd year medical student
⭐️ IM intern
⭐️ 2nd year IM resident
⭐️ 1st year ID fellow

How can you possibly provide valuable teaching to all of them?

This week: Multi-level teaching Image
2/ Teaching multi-level learners is hard.

Their range in baseline knowledge means a single teaching point is often not effective for everyone.

So how can you support everyone's learning without taking too long and/or boring others?
3/ A prior thread discussed the importance of clarifying learners' needs & interests at the beginning of the rotation.

This is one 🗝️ for effective multi-level teaching.

Know what materials is RELEVANT and INTERESTING for each learner level.

Read 14 tweets
Jan 10, 2023
1/ *Re-consult 📞*

You: What did the last consult note say?

Them: I don't know how to interpret it...

*reading the ✍️ yourself*
#Sepsis
- send tick serologies
- start broad-spectrum antibiotics
- we will follow up OSH data

You: 🤦 I feel you... We'll see the patient again. Image
2/ You wonder...

💭 What tick serologies were we referring to?
💭 What antibiotics were we wanting to start?
💭 And which OSH has prior records?

And you're not the only one wondering...

How can we ✍️ more effective notes?
3/ Clinical notes are used for many purposes, as previously highlighted by @YihanYangMD

Read 15 tweets

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