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Virtual World Simulation for Healthcare Education

The third of our interactive series Educators Across the Health Care Spectrum occurred on 25-26 May 2014 at WCMC-Q. The theme for the event was Virtual World Simulations for Health Care Education with guest speakers Dr. Rachel Umoren (Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Section, Indiana University School of Medicine) and Dr. Carolyn Lowe (Associate Professor, School of Education, Northern Michigan University). The interactive series included lectures and workshops which were open to all faculty, residents, students and health professionals in the community.

Presented by:

Rachel Umoren, MBBCh, MSCR Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Department of Pediatrics-Neonatology Indiana University School of Medicine

Dr. Umoren is a physician educator and researcher in medical education and global health partnerships with a focus on the best practices and outcomes of educating health professional students. Her research assesses the effectiveness of 3D virtual environments as a tool for interprofessional training in communication and teamwork to meet the need for improved communication and collaboration in local and international healthcare settings.

Carolyn Lowe, PhD Associate Professor School of Education, Leadership and Public Service Northern Michigan University

Dr. Lowe is a science educator at Northern Michigan University where she teaches biology courses for the general university population as well as special biology courses for pre-service teachers. She also teaches undergraduate graduate courses in integrated science content and science education. Her research interests are in the use of technology in teaching science and in the teaching of science process skills. She maintains a server and operates two virtual worlds, Biome and Biome4Kids, and is a collaborator with VIBE (Virtual Islands for Better Education). Dr. Lowe is originally from the US state of Oklahoma where she taught science in the K-12 schools before obtaining her PhD in Biological Education. Currently she lives in a rural, wooded area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with her husband and several pets. She has five grown children and eight grandchildren.

Improving Patient Care Through Improved Teaching

Dr. Scott Richardson is an academic general internist at the GHSU/UGA Medical Partnership Campus, in Athens, Georgia, where he is Professor of Medicine and Campus Associate Dean for Curriculum. His principal scholarly interests are in clinical epidemiology, evidence-based health care and medical education. He is a co-author of the Straus et al book, Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach It 4/e. He is a member of the international Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group that authored the Users Guides to the Medical Literature series in JAMA, now published in book form. Dr. Richardson continues to work on the challenges of integrating evidence into clinical decisions, particularly in evidence-based clinical diagnosis. He is also working to incorporate evidence into the new curriculum at his institution and in medical education at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, and continuing).

References:

• Richardson WS (2005) Teaching evidence-based practice on foot. ACP J Club. Sept-Oct; 143(2):A10-2
• Richardson WS (2007) We should overcome the barriers to evidence-based clinical
  diagnosis! J Clin Epidemiol. 60: 217-227.

Assessment of Professionalism

The theme of the first event, "Assessment of Professionalism" was delivered by Dr. Peter Katsufrakis, Vice President for Assessment Programs, National Board of Medical Examiners. On January 23, 2012, he gave a presentation on "Assessment of Professionalism: the Role for Multisource Feedback" at WCM-Q, which was also broadcast live to Hajar auditorium at HMC. On January 24, 2012, he ran two workshops on "Changing Behavior via Direct Observation and Skillful Feedback".