Bridging the Gap Between the Didactic and Clinical Curriculum Session #: T124
Jamie McQueen, M.S., PA-C Lindsay Gietzen M.S., PA-C
J A M I E M C Q U E E N , M . S . , P A - C L I N D S A Y G I E T Z E N M . S . , P A - C
W A Y N E S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y D E T R O I T , M I C H I G A N
Bridging the Gap Between the Didactic and Clinical
Curriculum
Educational Objectives and Goals
� Identify the gaps between the didactic and clinical curriculum
� Recognize the student, preceptor, and faculty implications of gaps in the didactic and clinical curriculum
� Discuss the ways in which programs work to mediate the gap between the didactic and clinical curriculum
� Create a plan for improving student outcomes and faculty involvement throughout programs by reducing the gap between didactic and clinical curriculum
Initial Considerations
� Didactic: ¡ How do I know that the concepts I taught during the didactic
year are being re-enforced in the clinical year? Are the students gaining the knowledge needed after the didactic year to be competent practitioners…
� Clinical: ¡ How do I place students with preceptors that will compliment
their individual strengths and challenge their weaknesses? When I have never worked with these students before….
Didactic Perspective
� Mastery of the curriculum with the ability to translate to clinical practice
� Early student clinical involvement � Revisitation of didactic concepts during the clinical year � “The growth of new PA programs mandates a need for
continuing faculty development, as increasing numbers of educators hail primarily from clinical practice and come equipped with minimal teaching experience. PA faculty development addresses these new recruits' needs to develop model curricula, implement new courses, and enhance instruction-all with the goal of improving both access to and quality of health care.” Glicken 2008
Clinical Perspective
� “The curriculum must be flexible, allowing for variation in experience and clinical acumen” (Essary et al 2003)
� Academic to Clinical Transition � Evidence Based Medicine Applications in the Clinical
Setting � Student Success � Student Perceptions of Clinical Faculty
Faculty Implications
� “…satisfied faculty members were more engaged and productive in higher education and were less likely to leave their academic positions” Reed 2006
� “Clinical coordinators were les satisfied with their jobs and had higher attrition rates than their didactic colleagues” Snyder et al 2010
Student Outcomes
� Preparation for Clinical Rotations � Application of Didactic Curriculum � Adjustment to Clinical Faculty and Expectations � Preceptor Perceptions of Student Preparedness
Curriculum mapping to connect the didactic and clinical education
Involvement of Clinical Educators in Didactic Curriculum
Didactic Educators in Clinical Curriculum
Student Exposure to Clinical Experiences During the Didactic Year
Student Exposure to Didactic Experiences During the Clinical Year
Faculty Integration into Student Advising
Student Preparedness for Rotations
Wayne State University
� Faculty advising of students � Faculty teaching in both didactic and clinical courses � Student clinical site visits during the didactic year � Regularly scheduled faculty meeting to discuss
student progress and development from both a didactic and clinical perspective
� We all need to work together to ensure student success from the start of the didactic year to the last day of the clinical year
References
� Essary AC, Berry-Lloyd C, Morgan C. A Student-Centered Approach to Physician Assistant Clinical Rotations. Perspective on Physician Assistant Education.2003;14:78-83. Available at: http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=action/GetDocumentAction/i/25506. Accessed June 2, 2014
� Glicken AD. Excellence in physician assistant training through faculty development. Acad Med. 2008 Nov;83(11):1107-10. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18971668. Accessed June 2, 2014.
� Jones PE. Physician assistant education in the United States. Acad Med. 2007 Sep;82(9):882-7. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17726400. Accessed June 2, 2014.
� Reed LE. Determinants of Faculty Job Satisfaction And Potential Implications for Physician Assistant Program Personnel. Journal of Physician Assistant Education 2006;17:30-35. Available at http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=action/GetDocumentAction/i/25215. Accessed June 2, 2014.
� Snyder JA1, Lucich JA, Zorn JS, Enking PJ, Barnett JS, Fahringer D. Clinical coordination and the experiential year in physician assistant education. J Physician Assist Educ. 2010;21(4):23-9. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21366112. Accessed June 2, 2014.