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Many factors have led to changes in the approach to graduate medical education, including ongoing development of new technology, the dynamics of information transfer, and generational preferences for active learning and novel teaching strategies. In response, the VCU Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship program decided to pursue curriculum reform, using active learning strategies and employing technology to achieve improvements in the learning and retention of material for learners to be successful in treating patients and families now and in the future. A fundamental aspect of these changes included a partnership with VCU SOM instructional technologist to create an online platform using WordPress/RAMPAGES through which to deliver a curriculum that achieves these goals.
The purpose of the development of the VCU Child and Adolescent Mental Health Online Curriculum was to create a platform through which active learning strategies and adult learning theory could be maximized to improve educational outcomes in our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship program.
1. Increase the use of flipped classroom, active learning strategies as the primary method of didactic education.
2. Improve learning efficiency, retention, and improve performance on in-service examinations.
3. Increase the facilitation of cross-disciplinary education including psychiatry and psychology trainees.
4. Create a repository of key information and resources with continuous access available to all trainees.
5. Increase collaborative teaching across faculty and learners through use of social media such as posts, blogs, etc.
6. Increase faculty development in teaching through innovative strategies and the creation of model curricula.
1. Sterling, M, Leung, P, Wright, D, and Bishop, TF. (2017). The use of social media in graduate medical education: a systematic review. Academic Medicine, E-published ahead of print. doi.10.1097/ACM.0000000000001617.
2. Lebensohn, P, et al. (2012). Integrative medicine in residency education: developing competency through online curriculum training. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 4 (1). 76-82.
3. Cheston, CC, Flickinger, TE, Chisolm, MS. (2013). Social media use in medical education: a systematic review. Academic Medicine, 88 (6). 893-901.
4. Khadpe, J and Nikita, J. (2016). How to utilize blogs for residency education. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 8 (4). 605-606.
5. Cabrera, D and Cooney, R. (2016). Wikis: using collaborative platforms in graduate medical education. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 8 (1). 99-100.
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