Teaching Opportunities
Please find below information regarding our Hospital Medicine teaching opportunities:
Hospital Medicine
Medical Student/Pre-graduate Teaching Opportunities
Practice of Clinical Medicine is a 20-month course that teaches M1 and M2 students how to interview patients, perform physical exams, and formulate differential diagnoses. The curriculum involves case-based learning by organ system. As a small group leader, your role would be to facilitate class, reinforce interview and exam skills, and grade notes. Each class is assigned a M4 co-leader to aid in teaching. Facilitating a class would require one afternoon of your time (1-4PM) approximately every 2-3 weeks during the academic year.
Contact: Kim Pedram (kimberly.pedram@vcuhealth.org) or Alice Wong (alice.wong@vcuhealth.org)
Students in the M2 year are assigned to preceptors in the fall semester to gain clinical experience prior to starting their M3 clerkships. Medical students work with their preceptors for a total of 4-6 sessions from August through December, totaling 24 hours. (For hospitalists, minimum of 1 session per month.) The preceptor's role is to instruct the student on refining their interview, physical exam, and presentation skills. The student will write focused encounter notes on patients; one of which will be reviewed by the preceptor during the semester. The students also complete a passport during preceptorship which the preceptor signs once the student demonstrates completion of a skill. At the end of the semester, preceptors complete a short student evaluation based on a simple scale. Students can complete preceptorship on weekdays or weekends and on day, evening, and GME night shifts.
Contact: Denny Henson (dennis.henson@vcuhealth.org) or Geovany Chavarria (geovany.chavarria@vcuhealth.org)
Diagnostic Reasoning (DR) is an 18-month longitudinal course that’s purpose is to help medical students prepare for clerkships and beyond by developing their critical thinking and diagnostic skills by building their differential diagnosis capabilities, ordering, and interpreting diagnostic tests, and developing clinical questions.
As of March 2022, “We are looking for an additional faculty to help assess the students’ performance on the diagnostic cases. This is a completely online course. Grading is done intermittently through the year.”
Contacts: Please send your CV and a short paragraph describing your interest in the position to Diane Biskobing at diane.biskobing@vcuhealth.org.
Afternoon reports (morning report style case discussion) or small teaching sessions (30-45 minutes) on high-yield practical material.
Contact: Adam Garber (adam.garber@vcuhealth.org) or David Jessee (david.jessee@vcuhealth.org)
Graduating M4 review/prep week. Medicine sessions are in the afternoon (1-4:30pm) of the one-week Capstone course. School-wide sessions run in the morning and afternoons are for specialty sessions. This typically occurs in the last week of March or first week of April. While this is in flux, the recurrent sessions that we typically need help with are the following:
- Case simulation (pairs of students have a cross-cover scenario, one student leads (intern) and the other assists as the AI; the students must recognize the patient is decompensating, try to figure out what is causing the decline, attempt stabilizing patients and escalate/call consult as needed. Each pair of students does two scenarios, so each student gets a chance to lead.
- Occurs on 2 afternoons, 1:00pm-4:30pm during capstone week (faculty observe the students in the sim center control lab, answer the phone as the consultant, and then provide feedback to the students during the debrief based on an observation checklist).
- Faculty can sign up for 2-hour blocks (half-afternoon) or full afternoon.
- Didactic and small-group case scenarios - 2nd year residents have helped give this during capstone in past years. Sessions run 1-3pm for 2 afternoons (2 different groups of students (~25 students per group).
- Topics included high-yield scenarios they may face as interns - AMS, chest pain, acute dyspnea, high blood pressure, etc.
- Students work in small groups to decide on management for the respective case scenarios
- Faculty volunteers would need to be available for the entire session but can choose only 1 session (instead of both days) if desired..
Contact: Adam Garber (adam.garber@vcuhealth.org) or David Jessee (david.jessee@vcuhealth.org)
Internal Medicine Clerkship Orientation: Help potentially needed with facilitation of physical exam and ultrasound training curriculum on orientation days. The sessions last about 45 minutes each and begin with an overview by the Faculty/Instructor on what the case would present and then a walkthrough of how one would use ultrasound to check the patient. After this initial walkthrough, the students then practice the same techniques and placement for the specific US PE case. Only minimal background experience with ultrasound is needed to participate.
Contacts: Nate Warner (nathaniel.warner@vcuhealth.org) and Patrick Fadden (patrick.fadden@vcuhealth.org)
Internal Medicine Clerkship Medical Student Reports: Help facilitate M3 IM clerkship student reports on Friday afternoons 3-4p in West 6 OEA conference room. These reports are structured similarly to resident morning report: the goal is diagnostic and clinical reasoning.
Contacts: Nate Warner (nathaniel.warner@vcuhealth.org) and Patrick Fadden (patrick.fadden@vcuhealth.org)
VCU School of Medicine has a longitudinal ultrasound course for medical students. During their first two years, students have monthly small group encounters with expert point of care ultrasound faculty to practice their ultrasound skills in a hands-on fashion. Positions for teaching may become available for providers with point of care ultrasound training if current instructors are unable to continue their role or if the course is expanded. The commitment required is the ability to teach a small group session with the medical students one to two times per month to help them practice hands on scanning in the area they are currently learning about. Experience with ultrasound needed.
Contacts: Sammy Pedram (sammy.pedram@vcuhealth.org), Michael Joyce (michael.joyce@vcuhealth.org).
Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care courses. Listed summaries are the ones most applicable to hospitalists:
IPEC 502: Interprofessional Quality and Safety – a one-credit course for M1s, P2s, and BSN 3s in the spring semester of each year. This is a 1-credit course for medical, pharmacy and nursing students. Overall, it incorporates ~500 students in an interprofessional course centered around quality improvement and patient safety. This course aims to teach QI/PS in an interactive format with the benefit of having students collaborate across disciplines. The course is run over appx 12 weeks, each week involves didactic, case-presentations and teamwork over 1hr and 15 min of in-class sessions. Each floor has about 130 students and is led by clinicians in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. Lecture content weekly is delivered to floor leaders in the way of power point presentations. Time commitment per week averages about 2-3 hours per week, consisting of reviewing lecture material as well as grading assignments. Experience in quality improvement helps but not required.
IPEC 561: Virtual Interprofessional Geriatrics Case – a two-credit course for M4s, P4s, and BSN4s that is offered in both the fall and spring of each year. All work is done online.
Interprofessional Critical Care Simulations – a four-session, six-hour course for M4s and BSN4s during which they learn critical care and teamwork skills in a simulation-based format.
IPEC 591: Care of Complex Patients – A community-based program during which student teams work with 2-3 complex patients to improve health and decrease barriers to care.
Contact: Alan Dow (alan.dow@vcuhealth.org)
Website link: http://ipe.vcu.edu
These are programs through the school of medicine that provides guidance and mentorship for medical students as they progress through all four years of medical school.
Project HEART (Healing with Empathy, Acceptance, Respect and inTegrity) is a longitudinal advising program at VCU School of Medicine designed to provide medical students with guidance, assistance and support as they navigate the medical education curriculum. Incoming medical students are assigned to small groups (8-10 students) that meet periodically during the first three years of medical school as a safe place to explore their educational experience. Faculty members supervise the discussion, which includes topics such as professional identity development, stress management, and development of resiliency to help students maintain a sense of wellness in their lives. Time commitment over 4 years of 32 hours, with average of 5-6 meetings per year.
EPA (Entrustable Professional Activity) Coaching provides one on one academic and competency advising for medical students by academic faculty. Coaching is offered for medical students for all four years of their medical education and is based on the VCU School of Medicine being one of 10 pilot sites for the Association of American Medical Colleges Core Entrustable Professional Activities project. Coaches meet once a semester with 20 medical students in total, providing feedback on students’ strengths, areas for improvement, and individual learning needs.
Contacts: Nicole Deiorio (nicole.deiorio@vcuhealth.org), Chris Woleben (christopher.woleben@vcuhealth.org).
VCU pre-medical undergraduate students are required to shadow physicians 120 hours each year with a variety of preceptors. Additionally, college students interested in medical school, NP school, or PA school seek time shadowing to explore the medical career. Physicians are assigned various students as their clinical schedule allows throughout the year. Students are scheduled for observation during rounder/housestaff/consult shifts from 8-11 AM, all days of the week according to student/ attending availability. If you’d like additional opportunities with shadowing students, please reach out to contacts.
Contacts: Anna Lupejkis (anna.lupejkis@vcuhealth.org) or Kim Pedram (kimberly.pedram@vcuhealth.org)
The VCU School of Medicine Admissions Team recruits volunteers from the faculty, staff, alumni, retired faculty and staff and community friends to serve as interviewers for medical school applicants. VCU School of Medicine interviews take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8:30 – 10:30 AM during the months of August through March. Interviewers serve at least two sessions per month. A 1-hour training session is required, usually occurring in June.
Interviews are in the Multi Mini Interview format where each applicant has seven interviews with 7 different questions. Interviews are currently planned to be in-person but may change to zoom pending pandemic. Evaluations are due once the interview session is complete, same day.
Contact: Michelle Whitehurst-Cook: michelle.whitehurst-cook@vcuhealth.org
Hospital Medicine
Resident Teaching Opportunities
This rotation is specifically designed to prepare third year residents for hospitalist practice prior to graduation. Residents work with advanced practice providers, interact with outside hospital physicians through the transfer center, and negotiate patient throughput. Additionally, residents learn about inpatient/observation criteria, billing, and coding. Residents are paired with senior hospitalist faculty for this rotation.
Contacts: Mike Bradley (michael.bradley@vcuhealth.org) and Laura Paletta-Hobbs (laura.paletta-hobbs@vcuhealth.org)
Mentors are paired with residents in the Hospitalist Pathway to provide career advice as needed. Pairings are made according to common interests whenever possible. Time commitment is variable depending on the number of meetings each year.
Contact: Laura Paletta-Hobbs (laura.paletta-hobbs@vcuhealth.org)
Third-year Hospitalist Pathway residents are given the opportunity to present in Hospital Medicine Grand Rounds. This presentation can be a journal club, a case presentation, or an update on a Hospital Medicine Topic. Lecture Advisors meet with the resident to review presentation and provide feedback, ensuring presentation is of the caliber expected of HM Grand Rounds. Advisors would also provide feedback on the presentation to the resident after the conference.
Time commitment is variable, but usually about 2-3 hours per resident (meeting before, attending grand rounds, and meeting afterward)
Contacts: Mike Bradley (michael.bradley@vcuhealth.org) and Laura Paletta-Hobbs (laura.paletta-hobbs@vcuhealth.org
Careers and Practice Conference
Recurring every 4th Tuesday (dates vary), from 5-6pm
Usually, 5-15 residents from primarily the Hospitalist and Primary Care pathways
The Careers & Practice series is one of the options that residents have for the final hour of conference once a month. It is organized by the Ambulatory and Hospitalist Pathway Directors and focuses on a topic that would help people going into general internal medicine or hospitalist careers. Previous talks this year have included contract negotiations, CV writing, a hospitalist/ambulist panel highlighting differing types of careers, Telehealth/Telehospitalist work, and tips and tricks for performing the MSK exam. Your talk could be in the form of a lecture, or if you are feeling fancy, could be in a mini-workshop format. Interactive sessions seem to be better received than straight PowerPoint. We do a few clinical updates, but they get a lot of these didactics in specialty interests and do a fair amount of inpatient medicine, so other topics that they aren't receiving elsewhere are important. Time commitment: 3-4 hours of content preparation, 1 hour to present
Contact: Laura Paletta-Hobbs (laura.paletta-hobbs@vcuhealth.org)
Recurring meetings every 6-8 weeks (dates vary), 1-1.5-hour meeting times, usually Monday from 5-6pm. Some background in quality improvement needed to be effective.
20-30 residents
Mentoring in QI Projects: these are resident-led projects that require little supervision, usually just direction and connection to resources within the hospitals.
Opportunity for both VCU Health and McGuire VAMC mentorship.
Time commitment depends on where the project is in development. May be more intensive at the beginning followed by the residents being more self-directed.
Contacts: Carol Marcelo (carolyn.marcello@vcuhealth.org), Eric Schafer (eric.schafer@vcuhealth.org)
Faculty members help support residents in planning activities for the program in wellness. This group is very much a resident led committee – with faculty just assisting in activity planning and maybe offering to take the lead in one or two sessions themselves throughout the year.
Contact: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org)
A 45-minute session on the first Tuesday of each block. Interns are led through discussions and exercises to foster resilience. Faculty members could lead/co-lead a session if there is a particular area of interest or expertise or serve as a small-group facilitator to help foster engagement and discussion among interns.
Contact: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org)
During Block 12 each year, there are 8 general medicine lectures for interns (Tuesday afternoons, noon-2pm) and 8 general medicine lectures for senior residents (Tuesday afternoons, 3-5pm). Some of these topics are inpatient oriented, making a hospitalist the best person to run the conferences. These are encouraged to be interactive and case-based, and the program offers support in developing these talks (especially if someone wants to put
together a TBL, POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning), Jeopardy, use audience response, etc.
Contact: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org)
Reviews program outcomes and data, identifies priority areas for improvement.
Contact: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org)
Reviews and gives feedback to rotations, longitudinal curricula, etc.
Contact: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org)
Hospital Medicine
Peer Teaching Opportunities
Weekly, year-round lecture series held on Mondays from noon – 1pm in the conference room attached to the physicians’ lounge (Main 1-220). Many presentations are given by HMS hospitalists regarding topics relevant to hospital medicine or active VCU inpatient quality improvement projects. Each third-year resident in the hospital medicine track participates in the division grand rounds series by formally presenting the review of a journal article pertinent to inpatient clinical care, quality improvement, or patient safety, and leading an associated group discussion. Other presentations are given by invited guest lecturers from other specialties or disciplines, such as pharmacy. Subjects for presentations are selected by the presenting physicians, and all faculty are encouraged and expected to participate.
Contact: Manish Pradhan (manish.pradhan@vcuhealth.org)
Residents can get assistance in initiating or joining projects with the help of the Office of Educational Affairs. There are opportunities for faculty to get the involvement of medical students or residents with projects, or to start projects with help from other faculty.
Contacts: Becky Forrest (rebecca.miller@vcuhealth.org), Georgia McIntosh (Georgia.mcintosh@vcuhealth.org)
Hospital Medicine
Miscellaneous Teaching Opportunities
- Instructor for three nonprofit or educational groups: Appalachian center for wilderness medicine, blue ridge adventure medicine, and wilderness medicine society student elective.
o Lecture and practical instructor for basic curriculum for wilderness medicine based on WMS and AWLS curricula.
- Faculty advisor for VCU SOM wild med interest group.
o Mentor student leadership and assist them in planning group activities. Lecturer for lunchtime group meetings.
Contact: Ben Chopski (benjamin.chopski@vcuhealth.org)