Thread by @mmadsonjr

You don’t need to be an English teacher: Transforming writing instruction in health professions programs

Michael Madson, Arizona State University

#MCGConf2021CP #MedEd

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https://twitter.com/AUG_EII/status/1450877039167291393

Writing is an important part of health professions training, and there are numerous resources on writing available for students. There are far fewer resources available for faculty, who may often find themselves teaching or assessing writing. 2/

This thread suggests a few change processes, informed by the McKinsey 7-S model, that can help faculty “level up” their writing instruction. 3/

Ask yourself: What are your strengths and weaknesses in teaching writing? Who in your orgs is strong where you are weak? Then, based on your assessment, seek knowledge and find local collaborators. 4/

Where can you seek additional knowledge? In medicine and nursing, there are already streams of literature on the teaching of writing. This topic regularly appears in the journal Teaching and Learning and Medicine, among others. 5/
tandfonline.com/action/doSearc…

In databases, you can also search key terms like these: “writing in the disciplines,” “composition pedagogy,” “writing to learn,” “response to writing,” and “online writing instruction.” 6/

Professional orgs focused on the teaching of writing include the Consortium on Graduate Communication, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and (for OWI), the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators. 7/

Where can you find local collaborators? Departments of English, rhetoric, or communication, as well as writing centers.

You don’t need to be affiliated with a college or uni yourself, though. You can collaborate across institutions. 8/

E.g., the Milwaukee Fire Department is currently collaborating with a technical communication professor @LizAngeli. They are developing a specialized curriculum for fire cadets/EMTs, who need to document effectively on the job. 9/

Other effective collaborators may be health professions faculty. Recently, a doc in Michigan wanted to see how her instruction was impacting @medstudents clinical notes. She had fellow physicians evaluate a sample of notes, before and after instruction. 10/

Based on the results, she found that much was working well. But she could also identify areas of improvement.

@umassfamilymedicine has a longstanding writing group. The participants share drafts, meet together, and provide feedback to each other. 11/

All this is just part of the 7-S model. To drive significant, lasting changes in writing instruction, faculty and admins will need to embed it in the Style (culture), Structure, and Shared values of their orgs. It can be done! 12/

Further reading
Teaching writing in the health professions: routledge.com/Teaching-Writi…

Writing across the curriculum: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.111…

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Narrative medicine: A model for empathy, reflection, profession, and trust: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

Improving student writing through effective feedback: jtw.iupui.edu/index.php/teac…

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