Student-Led Design of a Medical Education Track and Distinction: Providing an Opportunity for Medical Students to Transform into Knowledgeable Clinician Educators

BACKGROUND: Throughout their careers, physicians at all stages of training and practice are charged with the responsibility of educating the next generation of physicians, peers and colleagues, as well as patients and their families. Despite the fact that a significant role of being a physician is being an educator, there is limited formal training for developing physicians as strong Clinician Educators. OBJECTIVE: Through the development and implementation of a Medical Education Track and Distinction, we aim to provide a platform for interested medical students to grow in their knowledge related to medical education, their teaching skillsets, and their ability to conduct sound medical education research. METHODS: The Medical Education Track and Distinction encompasses three Medical Education courses, scholarly activity in medical education, and an optional Distinction in Medical Education. The track's overall success, has been measured by student and faculty involvement. The Medical Education courses are evaluated by student surveys that utilize a five-point Likert scale and solicit student comments about the courses. RESULTS: There have been over forty student and twenty faculty participants to date. The majority of survey responses have been positive with most students strongly agreeing or agreeing that the courses have increased their knowledge about key topics in medical education and improved their teaching skills. Approximately 4.6% of the first class to complete the scholarly activity has expressed interest in the medical education track, and in the first year student are eligible to graduate with an M.D. with Distinction in Medical Education, three students have met the requirements. CONCLUSION: The development and implementation of the Medical Education Track and Distinction at UT Southwestern aims to fill a current gap in medical education that exists in teaching future physicians how to be effective educators. The positive interests and results from this curriculum demonstrate that medical students are interested in learning how to teach and that medical school provides a feasible platform for beginning the development of future physicians as strong clinician educators.