Medical Education Track | Department of Internal Medicine | UC Davis Health

The future of academic medicine relies on strong teachers and leaders. There are few places where a resident can learn about and practice effective teaching and feedback techniques, presentation expertise, and leadership skills. The Internal Medicine Residency program offers a one-year Medical Education Track geared toward mastering these skills as you gain valuable experience as teachers. This track also pairs participating residents with a medical education mentor and helps foster development of scholarly works in medical education. Quarterly seminars in medical education, direct observation of residents teaching as well as feedback about that teaching are also key components of this track.

Residents in the Medical Education Track will meet with top clinician-educators to learn key teaching skills. Those who have completed the track and gone on to jobs or fellowships have uniformly reported that their new employers highly regarded this experience.

The Medical Education Track curriculum takes place during the 2nd or 3rd year of residency, and residents can apply in the second half of either their 1st or 2nd year.

Residents in this track receive specialized training on how to become an expert clinical-educator based on the four pillars of the track:

1. Didactics/workshops around techniques for being a great educator
2. Practice: Observed teaching activities with direct feedback as well as observing a favorite educator in action teaching in the clinical setting or giving a talk
3. Mentorship
4. Scholarly works in medical education (optional but strongly recommended)

There are also multiple opportunities to practice teaching and lead in various educational settings. Depending upon the resident's preference, examples of some of these activities include:

• Assessing and developing teaching cases and curriculum
• Delivering a lecture or leading Morning Report, where the resident is observed and provided with direct feedback
• Teaching at the bedside where the resident is observed and provided with direct feedback
• The resident is observed giving feedback to one or more of their learners and then is provided feedback about that feedback encounter
• Collaborating with and mentoring fourth-year medical students in the School of Medicine Medical Education Track as they complete capstone projects
• Receiving top priority for taking the Master Clinician Educator Elective (an elective that focuses on improving physical examination techniques as well as journal clubs centered on the evidence-based physical exam) - for a decade, this elective has been the top-rated elective in the residency program

Licensed residents may also choose to practice their skills by serving as teaching attendings for students in the UC Davis School of Medicine Student-Run Clinics.