Open AccessUtilization of evidence-based tools and medical education literature by Canadian postgraduate program directors in the teaching and assessment of the CanMEDS roles
Author(s) -
Asif Doja,
Kaylee Eady,
Andrew E. Warren,
Lorne Wiesenfeld,
Hilary Writer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canadian medical education journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1923-1202
DOI - 10.36834/cmej.70183
Subject(s) - accreditation , medicine , medical education , graduate medical education , knowledge translation , horticulture , biology
Background: Researchers have shown that clinical educators feel insufficiently informed about how to teach and assess the CanMEDS roles. Thus, our objective was to examine the extent to which program directors utilize evidence-based tools and the medical education literature in teaching and assessing the CanMEDS roles.
Methods: In 2016, the authors utilized an online questionnaire to survey 747 Canadian residency program directors (PD’s) of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) accredited programs.
Results: Overall, 186 PD’s participated (24.9%). 36.6% did not know whether the teaching strategies they used were evidence-based and another third (31.9%) believed they were “not at all” or “to a small extent” evidence-based. Similarly, 31.8% did not know whether the assessment tools they used were evidence-based and another third (39.7%) believed they were “not at all” or “to a small extent” evidence-based. PD’s were aware of research on teaching strategies (62.4%) and assessment tools (51.9%), but felt they did not have sufficient time to review relevant literature (72.1% for teaching and 64.1% for assessment).
Conclusions: Canadian PD’s reported low awareness of evidence-based tools for teaching and assessment, implying a potential knowledge translation gap in medical education research.