Developing future medical educators in an Australian medical program: supervisors’ reflections on the first four years of MD Professional Project implementation

Figures & data

Table 1. Educational contributions and activities of four cohorts of MD students undertaking different types of MD Professional Projects (2017–2020).

Professional Project (Author; Supervisor)	Product, process or professional development completed: Three cohorts (2017–2019)	2020 Cohort: Work in progress
General education – Students’ choice of topic (MM) 50% ESME; 50% Resource development	Eighteen (18) students developed resources that are available for students on the learning management platform or the formative assessment bank or the curriculum team (PBL cases): PBL cases: Year 1 – Melanoma; Year 2 – Inflammatory bowel disease; Hashimoto’s thyroiditis Common dermatological presentations (three resources) Investigations: Liver function, kidney function, full blood count, pulmonary function Interpreting the normal and abnormal chest X-rays (VOPPs) Abdominal imaging: Rationale, interpretation including abnormalities Case studies: Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism Interpreting ECGs including the underlying physiology (annotated booklet) Antibiotic selection on the wards, using case studies (VOPP) 10 x ECG MCQs ESME Course (compulsory): 18 completed	Six (6) students completed the 2020 ESME Course in April. Resources being developed include: Contraception, abortion + MCQs (legal aspects) Interactive Anatomy workbooks Interpreting head CTs Getting to grips with heart murmurs Neonatal screening tests Planetary health offered. A student is developing learning resources involving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Health communication 50% ESME; 50% Resource development	Two (2) 2019 students produced videos: Breaking bad news Motivational interviewing ESME Course (compulsory): 2 completed	No students.
Simulation-based education (VB)	Sixteen (16) students (pairs or threes) Completed a seven-week simulation rotation Wrote Bond Virtual Hospital cases, e.g. extremity trauma, miscarriage, limb ischemia, confusion and cognitive decline, perineal tear and breast lump Prepared a moulaged mannequin, e.g. lacerated radial artery, necrotising fasciitis, venous leg ulcer, skin grafts. ESME Course (optional): 7 completed	Two (of four) students completed the 2020 ESME Course in April.
Assessment (CT) 50% ESME; 50% Resource development	Eleven (11) students completed most of the following activities: Attended workshops to learn the principles and practices of assessment Blueprinted a Year 4 formative exam to medical rotation disciplines Generated 120 MCQs Conducted an online formative examination for Year 4 peers which was run through ExamSoft®, a cloud-based digital assessment platform. Students use personal devices (Bring Your Own Device, BYOD) to complete the unsupervised, open book but time-limited examination. Review involved providing questions, identifying correct and incorrect responses, accompanied by rationales, plus a personalised report allowing students to identify strengths and weaknesses In addition, two 2019 students conducted focus groups to garner near-peer perceptions of the value of peer-generated formative examinations. ESME Course (compulsory): 11 completed	Five (5) students completed the 2020 ESME Course.
Research: Pathology (NM; GW)	Four (4) students undertook the following research project comparing student perceptions of digitized vs. actual museum specimens: Study design for the Digital Pathology museum, plus ethics application Scholarship application (Royal College of Pathologists) Digital museum resource development for 24 organ and tissue museum specimens Generated a formative assessment to compare real museum specimens vs. digitized images Conducted of a pilot study, including statistical analysis	Journal article in preparation.
Research: Mixed reality (CM)	Three (3) students completed a literature review of medical databases to determine the current uses of virtual and augmented reality in Anatomy education. They also created three Anatomy learning modules that are available in the Anatomy laboratory as supplementary learning resources: Head and neck anatomy Head and neck lymphatics Breast (with surrounding tissue) lymphatics	Systematic literature review has been submitted (currently under review). 2021: Project to investigate the effectiveness of the holographic device (Microsoft HoloLens), compared with traditional lecture or tablet-based sessions.

Data availability statement

Datasets used within each of the studies are available by emailing the corresponding author with a reasonable request.