University of Tennessee Health and Science Center Memphis Tennessee and Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics
Memphis, TN
Program Director: Dennis C. Stokes, MD, MPH
Associate Program Director: Jane B. Taylor, MD, MsC
Type of Program: Division of Pediatric Pulmonology: Multicenter Monthly Educational Webinar Series
Abstract Authors: Jane B. Taylor MD MsC and Dennis C. Stokes, MD MPH
EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY
The goal of The Mississippi River Valley Pediatric Pulmonary Case Conference (MRVPC) is to provide young faculty and pediatric pulmonology fellows an exposure to oral presentations and aspects of peer-review critiques through discussions after their presentations. It is an internet-based case conference that occurs on the second Wednesday of each month from 12 to 1pm CST. The conference uses the WebEx software platform with telephone audio conferencing capability. 10 mid-western pediatric academic centers participate and present on an alternating schedule. Two cases are presented each month with subsequent group discussion from all participating centers after each case. The majority of the presenters are pediatric pulmonology fellows and residents about to enter fellowship programs. The cases are recorded and archived on a website indexed by presenter and can be listed on the presenter’s curriculum vitae. The conference discussion helps provide an aspect of peer-review for the presentation and exposure to oral presentation skills and formal academic discussion afterwards. CME credit is provided for physicians who participate.
INNOVATION
Pediatric pulmonology is a relatively new, and thus small, subspecialty. The residents and fellows in each training program do not have exposure to a large variety of subspecialty providers; thus, limiting their exposure to different teaching styles and experiences. There is also a geographic limitation on exposure to different patient populations. To overcome these limitations, the pediatric pulmonology community has had to expand past traditional teaching methods and expand its reach thru technology to allow their trainees to have a more exhaustive educational experience.
IMPACT AND OUTCOMES
5 residents who presented in the MRVPC went on to pediatric pulmonology fellowships. Many others went into closely related fields like pediatric intensive care or neonatology. Many fellows use the MRVPC to practice their upcoming case presentations for national conferences like the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference or the American Thoracic Society Conference and gain feedback from a diverse group of pediatric pulmonology faculty.
