Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program at ELC
When:
Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018
Time: 8am-5pm
Location: Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville, FL, which is the hotel hosting the Education Leadership Conference (ELC)
How to Register for a MERC at ELC: The MERC is occurring during the Educational Leadership Conference (ELC) in Jacksonville, FL. You have two options to register:
Purpose: The Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) program is intended to provide the knowledge necessary to understand the purposes and processes of medical education research, to become informed consumers of the medical education research literature, and to be effective collaborators in medical education research. Alone, MERC is not intended to produce independent medical education researchers.
The program is open to all who are interested in improving their educational research skills and is targeted for those with a background in medical education but relatively less experience in conducting educational research. The courses are targeted for clinicians and other educators who desire to learn research skills that will enable collaborative participation in medical education research projects.
Curriculum: Each three hour workshop focuses on a key skill or area in educational research, emphasizes opportunities for hands-on activities and active participation, so as to maximize the applicability of the workshop principles.
Workshops are limited to 25 registrants each. We will have 2 rooms, each with both offerings of the workshops above.
ACAPT, APTA, and the Academy of Physical Therapy Education have partnered together to present two of the workshops on the Wednesday before ELC (the Educational Leadership Conference) at the same hotel as the conference. The two workshops available on October 11, 2018 are:
- Data Management and Preparing for Statistical Consultation: This workshop helps participants prepare their data for analysis and be able to answer questions about their data that a statistician will likely ask when providing consultation. At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to:
- Collect data;
- Set up data files;
- Enter data into data files;
- Check and clean data prior to analysis;
- Compare my sample to my population;
- Address statistical issues discussed during consultation with a statistician (e.g., Type I & II errors, power, effect sizes).
- Introduction to Qualitative Data Collection Methods: This workshop is intended for physicians and generalists in medical education, as well as faculty and staff involved in student affairs, who wish to develop perspectives and skills for collecting qualitative data, such as data from focus group discussions, interviews, observation field notes, and responses to open-ended questions—used in admissions processes, program development, curriculum evaluation, needs assessments, performance evaluation, and various scholarship and research applications.
After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:
- Demonstrate applied knowledge of the appropriate selection, use, and standards for rigor of some common methods for collection of qualitative data;
- Generate research questions appropriate for qualitative studies and choose appropriate data collection methods;
- Demonstrate applied knowledge of approaches to achieve rigor in the design of qualitative studies and collection of qualitative data;
- Demonstrate essential skills required for conducting focus groups
Speakers
Sheila Chauvin, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Medical Education Development and Research
Louisiana State University School of Medicine - New Orleans
Stephen Loftus, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medical Education
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Those interested in receiving a MERC Certificate must complete six (6) workshops. In order to receive a MERC Certificate you must first complete six (6) workshops. Upon completion you then have to register for the MERC Certificate Program and pay an additional fee of $100. See all MERC workshop descriptions by clicking here.
Background The MERC program was recognized by the leadership of the Education Leadership Partnership (ELP) as an essential first step toward making educational research a priority, as identified in the Excellence in Physical Therapist Education Task Force report, the Best Practices in Physical Therapist Clinical Education Task Force report, and recommended by the APTA Board of Directors. Additional initiatives are in development to further this priority and we invite you to continue to watch the websites of APTA, ACAPT, and the Education Section for more details.
The Education Leadership Partnership (ELP) is a collaborative of members of APTA, the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy, and the Education Section, committed to the common objective of reducing unwarranted variation in physical therapist practice through use of best practices in education.