AAMC in Austin TX: Keeping Medical Education Weird!

Jonathan D. Santoro, MD

Fellow: Pediatric MS and Neuroimmunology

Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital

PGY6

AAMC in Austin TX: Keeping Medical Education Weird!

"Dr. Duckworth speaking on the concept of "grit" and its application to medical education"

Although a first time attendee at the AAMC meeting, the conference provided a very broad exposure to the multiple types of medical education programming. As medical education is not as published on as other, more scientific, endeavors, this conference provided fantastic insight in to the variety of programs operating at multiple programs. Although I came to Austin to present a pilot program on disability education I walked away with many more ideas on how to successfully reach students and trainees, alternatives to PowerPoint and didactic lecturing, and most importantly how to conduct a better study design.

One of the more interesting takeaways from the conference that did not relate to my project was the amount of simulation-based learning that is currently being undertaken across the spectrum. I was previously under the impression that only procedures were beneficial to have simulation-based learning but attending this conference opened my eyes to the amount of programming that exists in behavioral interventions. I think this could be very influential in training on behavioral interventions, counseling, and mental health encounters.

Attending this conference will impact my current program in that I have multiple additional thoughts on how to better construct and sustain a disability education program. I would advocate that future attendees attend as a group as there is a lot to see even though this a medium-sized conference.