Dr. Chris Candler: AAMC MedEdPORTAL editor. Dr. Candler was our first Journal Club speaker of the year. The Medical Education Research and Evaluation Group, meets every Thursday from 10:15 to 11:45. However, they set the last Thursday of the month aside from 12-1 for guest speakers.




Dr. Clarence Braddock, Associate Dean of Medical Education, welcomed our guest and set the tone for the presentation.

Dr. David Fetterman introduced the Dr. Candler mentioning that he was Associate Dean at the University of Oklahoma before moving to the AAMC. He was also co-director of HEAL. (Dr. Candler's presentation was recorded for those unable to attend.)



Dr. Candler spoke about role of education scholarship and how it should be evaluated. His work builds on the Carnegie Foundation's commitment to the scholarship of teaching.

Dr. Candler provided the group with both an historical context for the scholarship of teaching and some of the latest thinking on the topic. In addition, he demonstrated how MedEdPORTAL is a powerful conduit for publishing in this area, particularly given it is a refereed online journal.

Dr. Candler's presentation stimulated a lively discussion.



There was even speculation about documenting (and in this case analyzing "chunked and coded" video recordings of) teaching as a form of scholarship.

The discussion after the session was also extremely productive. New publication ideas were generated, which were particularly meaningful and relevant given that the ideas were generated with the editor of the journal present.

Colleagues in attendance came from SUMMIT, clerkships, courses, standardized patient programs, evaluation, and various fellowships and residencies.

By way of background, Drs. Braddock, Candler, and Fetterman met with Dr. David Stevenson, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs before Dr. Candler's presentation. The focus was on the importance of education research and MedEdPORTAL as a vehicle to contribute to that literature. More to the point, the discussion revolved around the legitimacy of this kind of scholarship and need to ensure that A&P committees understand and value the scholarship of teaching.

Dr. Stevenson assured Drs. Braddock and Fetterman that he would bring this to all of the A&P committees and Dean Pizzo as well.

Dr. Fetterman concluded Dr. Candler's visit with a brief tour of the campus including the Rodin sculptures and returning full circle at the Clark Center.