Previous Conferences
“Educating Generalists for Adaptive Expertise”
June 21-23, 2024.
Ithaca, NY.
The upcoming conference will explore factors within veterinary education that contribute to students’ development of adaptive expertise and inspire lifelong learning. Together, we will consider questions related to the development and dimensions of expertise, what approaches to organizing knowledge lead to greater flexibility in problem solving, and attributes of instructional programs that support learners’ ability to apply their knowledge to solve novel problems. Keynote speakers will address topics such as the development of expertise, students’ perceptions of their role in developing innovative practice, and the role of competency-based programs in supporting the development of adaptive expertise.
Highlighted speakers for the upcoming conference:
Dr. Naomi Steenhoff
“Designing for failure: An instructional approach for future success”
Dr. Naomi Steenhof is an Assistant Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and her PhD in Health Professions Education Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Steenhof’s area of clinical expertise is in chronic pain and geriatrics. She practices with an interdisciplinary team in the Comprehensive Integrated Pain Program (CIPP) at the University Health Network. Naomi is actively engaged in interprofessional education, curriculum development, as well as teaching at the undergraduate, resident and post-graduate levels. Her research focuses on exploring the crucial role of struggle in learning and understanding how it assists novices in acquiring the conceptual knowledge they need to learn in the future.
Dr. Maria Mylopoulos
“Renewing veterinary education: The imperative for adaptive expertise”
Dr. Maria Mylopoulos holds her PhD in human development and education. She is currently Senior Scientist and Associate Director of the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, Program Director and Professor in the Health Professions Education Research PhD concentration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Curriculum Scientist in MD Education at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Over the last 15 years she has successfully led a program of research aimed at understanding the development and performance of adaptive expertise in medicine, with a particular focus on identifying the ways in which expert clinicians move beyond application of their past knowledge when appropriate to address the needs of patients as well as the limits and opportunities of their own contexts. In her work, Maria uses a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks from cognitive psychology, clinical reasoning, and the learning sciences to evolve understanding of the knowledge, capabilities and learning experiences that underpin adaptive expertise. The ultimate goal of her research is to translate this understanding to educational design that promotes the development of expert clinicians who are able to handle the complexities and challenges of the healthcare workplace.
Dr. William B. Cutrer
“Transforming Lifelong Learning from Cliché to Reality: Developing Master Adaptive Learners”
Dr. Cutrer is actively involved in medical student education, overseeing curriculum development, student assessment, and program evaluation in his role as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education. He is very interested in understanding how students learn in the workplace and how to help them more effectively, including the role of assessment driving learning. He co-leads the AMA's Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative Master Adaptive Learner Working Group and is the leader of the Vanderbilt core team participating in the AAMC pilot project Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (Core EPAs). Dr. Cutrer is also a co-PI on the joint VUMC-UMMC GOLLD project selected for the AMA's Reimagining Residency initiative.
“(Re)Assessing Assessment: Considerations for Clinical Competence and Curriculum”
January 12-14, 2024
Sarasota, Florida
The conference focused on assessment, particularly within the context of a competency-based curriculum. Assessing clinical reasoning, communication and professionalism present challenges that differ from those focused on assessing technical skills. Together, we considered questions such as: What approaches are most successful for teaching “invisible” skills such as professionalism and clinical reasoning? When students’ performance does not meet expectations, what sorts of remediation are most effective? How much is enough, and are the results reliable? What biases underlie assessment of these more complex skills? Are some formats better than others? Are there (or what are) the tensions between global ratings, checklists, and formative or summative feedback? Keynote speakers will address these and related topics to stimulate our thinking and frame continued discussion.
Keynotes:
Yoon Soo Park, PhD - University of Illinois College of Medicine
“Measuring Competence through Systems of Assessments: Best Practices and Guidelines for Clinical Assessments”
Calvin Chou, MD, PhD and John C. Penner, MD - University of California, San Franscisco
“Remediation for Learners in Health Professions: A Mid-course Correction”
Workshops:
John C. Penner, MD -
“Assessing and Remediating Clinical Reasoning in the Wild: Strategies for Frontline Clinician Educators”
Calvin Chou, MD, PhD -
“Remediation of Professionalism in Health Professions”
“Promoting Student Reflection and Self-Regulated Learning in Classrooms and Clinics”
June 23-25, 2023
Ithaca, NY
The conference focused on teaching approaches that encourage and support veterinary students’ reflection on their learning experiences and the development of lifelong learning skills through self-regulated learning. These were examined in the context of both classroom settings and the clinical learning environment, and the implications for students’ academic achievement, the development of clinical skills, and wellbeing were considered. Keynote speakers addressed topics such as narrative medicine, principles of self-regulated learning, metacognition, feedback, and evaluation.
Keynotes
“Self-Regulated Learning – From Theory to Practice”
Amy Greenberg
Michigan State University
“Narrative Medicine: Bearing Witness to Ourselves and Each Other”
Carmelina Price
Columbia University
“Read, Write, Reflect: Workshopping Narrative Veterinary Practice”
Sheila Quinn
University of Pennsylvania
“Improving Teaching and Learning in the Clinical Environment”
January 13-15, 2023
Sarasota, FL
This conference focused on the educational experience of students in the clinical context: what they are learning, creative approaches to teaching that allow faculty to take advantage of the clinical environment to promote learning and skills development, and students’ transition from formal educational settings to practice. Presenters addressed topics such as student-run clinics, teaching innovations in case-based learning and simulation, the concept of “practice readiness,” and feedback and evaluation in the clinical domain.
Keynotes:
“Maximizing student learning in the clinical environment”
James Nixon,
University of Minnesota Medical School
“Principles of assessing student learning: Focus on clinical skills”
Sarah Baillie, emeritus professor
Bristol Veterinary School
“Professions, Professionals and Professional Identity Development”
August 10-12, 2022
Held remotely
This conference focused on the process of “becoming a veterinarian.” Presenters explored the barriers or enabling factors that support the process of professional identity formation among veterinary students, particularly those from minoritized populations, as they negotiate personal values, beliefs and identity with the tacit knowledge and socialization of the veterinary profession, through formal instruction, experiences, and informal sources.
Keynotes:
“The ‘Right Way’ to be a Veterinarian: Professional Identity Formation in Veterinary Medicine”
Rebecca Volpe
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
“Professional Identity Formation of Minoritized Students and Faculty”
Candace J. Chow
University of Utah School of Medicine
“Uncertainty Tolerance in Medical and Veterinary Professionals”
Jason Hancock
University of Exeter
“Helping Animals by Helping People”
Jonathan Wood
College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
“Understanding the Relationship Between Feedback, Affect, and Clinical Reasoning Skills”
Alejandra Ruiz-Segura
McGill University