Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OD2-1-2
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Other
Presenter Other
Faculty member (PhD)
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Dual but dueling purposes: The use of reflective writing to remediate professionalism
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Underperformance in the professional role has high stakes for learners and educators. Problems with professionalism, unless appropriately and effectively remediated, may portend problems in practice. Yet, remediation is challenging. Increasingly, educators turn to reflective writing (RW) as a remediation strategy in residency, yet little is known about what educators expect RW to accomplish, how they choose tasks, why they use RW, or how they assess it. In this study, we aimed to understand how and why postgraduate medical educators use RW as an educational intervention to remediate professionalism.
Methods
We interviewed 13 medical education professionals with experience using RW to remediate professionalism across five Canadian medical schools. Data was analyzed iteratively for themes using constructivist grounded theory.
Results
Educators are using RW for dual purposes--as a learning tool to develop insight and as an assessment tool to unearth evidence of insight. The goal of learning may compete with the goal of assessment, creating tension that leads to uncertainty about the sincerity, quality and effectiveness of RW and concerns about learner safety. Educators are uncertain about whether learners write to perform or to reflect and about how to judge RW's effectiveness as a learning tool. Educators are concerned about creating a safe environment for learners--one that enables the genuine reflection required for insight development--while meeting requirements of the remediation process.
Conclusion
Educators often express ambivalence about using RW in remediation around professionalism in residency. Understanding the potential and pitfalls of RW may inform more tailored and effective approaches to professionalism remediation.
Keyword 1
professionalism
Keyword 2
remediation
Keyword 3
reflective writing
Level of Training
Post Graduate
Abstract Themes
Professionalism
Additional Theme (First choice)
Professionalism
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Postgraduate
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Tracy Moniz
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
