Medical Education

Literature Review: Coping Through Narrative Medicine
Literature Review: Coping Through Narrative Medicine 1024 555 Natalie Wilson

Engaging with others’ stories helps prevent burnout among pediatric residents. A recent publication in Annals of Medicine shows pediatric residents practicing narrative medicine reported sustained improvements in their perceived levels of stress, self-compassion, empathy, mindfulness, burnout and resilience. This marks the first study to demonstrate the value of a narrative medicine intervention in promoting lasting…

Kidney Support for Babies: Building a Comprehensive and Integrated Neonatal Kidney Support Therapy Program
Kidney Support for Babies: Building a Comprehensive and Integrated Neonatal Kidney Support Therapy Program 1024 575 Lauren Dembeck
Nurse caring for infant in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Kidney support therapy (KST), commonly referred to as dialysis, is a life-saving procedure used to manage complications associated with acute kidney injury and kidney failure, such as fluid overload and electrolyte imbalances, or to remove toxins, such as those in patients with inborn errors of metabolism. Most KST or dialysis machines are designed for adults…

Nephrology Education Ripe With Opportunities to Improve Health Equity
Nephrology Education Ripe With Opportunities to Improve Health Equity 1024 575 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

The Health Care Justice Committee of the American Society of Nephrology has released recommendations for incorporating anti-racism and social justice concepts into education and mentoring with the goal of improving health equity.   In 2020, leaders in the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) reached out to Ray Bignall II, MD, pediatric nephrologist and assistant chief…

Unique Approach Helps Child Neurology Residents Improve Communication Skills
Unique Approach Helps Child Neurology Residents Improve Communication Skills 150 150 Natalie Wilson

More than 75% of residents said the opportunity to receive direct feedback from standardized patients, faculty and peers during simulated patient encounters was a valuable addition to their medical education. Teaching residents how to be sensitive, supportive, clear and thorough as they communicate complex information to patients and families is an essential part of medical…

Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Training Improves Empathy Among Health Care Providers
Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Training Improves Empathy Among Health Care Providers 414 224 Lauren Dembeck

A novel VR-based training program helps providers develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes to understand how social determinants of health affect patients and how to mitigate their effects. Researchers recently reported their novel virtual reality (VR)-based empathy training program, Making Professionals Able THrough Immersion (MPATHI), improved knowledge, skills, and attitudes of health care providers for care…

From Lab Work to “Home Work:” Tips on the Transition to Work From Home
From Lab Work to “Home Work:” Tips on the Transition to Work From Home 1024 683 Adrianna Matos-Nieves

PhD candidate Adrianna Matos-Nieves shares tips for research employees who are suddenly finding themselves transitioning from the wet lab to their home office. PhD students have a significant advantage when enduring coronavirus-imposed social distancing. We decided to do it voluntarily many years prior. But in all seriousness, the transition to working from home can be…

Bouncing Back: Overcoming Physician Burnout With Resilience
Bouncing Back: Overcoming Physician Burnout With Resilience 1024 575 Suzanne Reed, MD and John Mahan, MD

Physician burnout is becoming increasingly recognized as an extensive and debilitating reality. Present in specialties across the spectrum of medicine, most disciplines report burnout rates of 50 to 60 percent or more, and these rates have been increasing over the last several years. Pediatrics alone demonstrated a more than 16 percent increase in burnout, up…

Creating the Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood
Creating the Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood 1024 575 Tiasha Letostak, PhD

How do we create a more integrated healthcare delivery system to improve outcomes in our community? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conceptualizes the medical neighborhood as a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and the network of other clinicians providing health care services to patients within it, along with community and social service organizations, as well…