Bringing continuing medical education to the bedside: The university of California, San Francisco Hospitalist Mini‐College

As a relatively new generalist specialty, hospitalists must acquire new competencies that may not have been taught during their training years. Continuing medical education (CME) has traditionally been a mechanism to meet training needs but often fails to apply adult learning principles and fulfill current demands. METHODS We developed an innovative 3‐day course called the University of California, San Francisco Hospitalist Mini‐College (UHMC) that brings adult learners to the bedside for small‐group learning focused on content areas relevant to today's hospitalists. The program was built on a structure of 4 clinical domains and 2 clinical skills labs. Sessions about patient safety and immersion into traditional academic learning vehicles, such as morning report and a morbidity and mortality conference, were also included. Participants completed a precourse survey and a postcourse evaluation. RESULTS Over 5 years, 152 participants enrolled and completed the program; 91% completed the pre‐UHMC survey and 89% completed the postcourse evaluation. Overall, participants rated the quality of the UHMC course highly (4.65; 1–5 scale). Ninety‐eight percent of UHMC participants (n = 57) in 2011 to 2012 reported a “high” or “definite” likelihood to change practice, higher than the 78% reported by the 11,447 participants in other UCSF CME courses during the same time period. DISCUSSION The UHMC successfully brought participants to an academic health center for a participatory, hands‐on, and small‐group learning experience that was highly rated. A shift of CME from a hotel conference room to the bedside is feasible, valued by participants, and offers a new paradigm for how to maintain and improve hospitalist competencies. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014;9:129–134. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine.