In this episode, Adam and Dr. Paul Kirschner discuss some of the biggest myths in education—like multitasking, learning styles, and the belief that Googling can replace knowledge. They dive into what sets experts apart from novices and explore how certain ‘desirable difficulties’—those useful challenges in learning —actually improve long-term retention, even if they’re tough to stomach.  

 Length of Episode: 52:41 

Resources to check out: 

The Ten Deadly Sins of Education by Dr. Paul Kirschner 

Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2020). Desirable difficulties in theory and practice.  Journal of Applied research in Memory and Cognition, 9 (4), 475-479.    

Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. 

Brown, Peter C. (2014). Make it stick : the science of successful learning. Cambridge, Massachusetts :The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 

Paul’s 3 recent books: 

1. How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice 

1. How Teaching Happens: Seminal Works in Teaching and Teacher Effectiveness and What They Mean in Practice 

1. Ten Steps to Complex Learning 

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In this episode we discuss the new admissions policy at the school of medicine at Queen’s University, which now features a lottery system as part of its process. Adam speaks to the assistant dean of admissions, Dr. Peggy DeJong, about this change, which represents a first for Canadian medical schools.   

Length of Episode 28:33 

 Resources to check out : 

https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram/admissions/methods-selection 

Contact us: [email protected]  

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Adam’s guest today is Dr. Akshay Rajaram, a community emergency physician and AI expert. Our conversation about the impact of AI on medical education is inspired by a recent paper that Akshay wrote in the Canadian Medical Education Journal titled “Large Language models in medical education: new tools for experimentation and discovery”. We are also joined by a resident co-host, Dr. Henry Li, who is a PGY4 pediatric emergency medicine resident from the University of Alberta who also has a special interest in the field. We cover some AI and LLM model basics as well as some of the implications of AI for both medical learners and educators. 

  Length of Episode: 44:01

 Article discussed:  

Rajaram A. Large language models in medical education: new tools for experimentation and discovery. Can Med Educ J. 2024 Jul.

For more information, check out these resources that we mentioned during our conversation with Akshay:  

 1. Rajaram – LLMs in Medical Education: new tools for experimentation and discovery: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/78879   2. Different versions of ChatGPT: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/the-free-version-of-chatgpt-just-got-a-big-upgrade/  3. IBM Research Retrieval Augmented Generation: https://youtu.be/T-D1OfcDW1M?si=OznZlMpG_Rb-nifS  4. Retrieval Augmented Generation: https://bea.stollnitz.com/blog/rag/  5. Gao et al: Comparing scientific abstracts generated by ChatGPT to real abstracts with detectors and blinded human reviewers: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-023-00819-6  6. https://openai-openai-detector.hf.space  7. NEJM Grand Rounds – Google’s Exploration of LLMs in Medicine https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hweI4jXl64vfNJ7Wnn6pr?si=a5d5fa751ca94860  

This episode is Part 2 of a live recording with Dr. Shiphra Ginsburg and Dr. David Taylor as they discuss their perspectives on CBME. In part 2, we touch on the assessment burden in CBME as well as the tone of the discourse around CBME in the literature.  Adam moderates the discussion and provides his take on the topics covered at the end. 

Length of Episode: 38 minutes  

Resources to check out : 

Ott, M. C., Pack, R., Cristancho, S., Chin, M., Van Koughnett, J. A., & Ott, M. (2022). “The most crushing thing”: understanding resident assessment burden in a competency-based curriculum. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 14(5), 583-592. 

Boyd VA, Whitehead CR, Thille P, Ginsburg S, Brydges R, Kuper A. Competency-based medical education: the discourse of infallibility. Med Educ. 2018 Jan;52(1):45-57. doi: 10.1111/medu.13467. Epub 2017 Oct 27. PMID: 29076231. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29076231/ 

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In this episode, Adam is joined by two med ed heavyweights, Dr. Shiphra Ginsburg and Dr. David Taylor, who discuss their views on CBME in Canada in front of a live audience of medical educators. In Part 1 of this lively discussion, our guests discuss whether using EPAs as the unit of measurement in CBME makes sense as well as the challenge of differentiating signal from noise in an assessment environment with so much data.  

Length of Episode: 40 minutes  

Resources to check out : 

Szulewski, A., Braund, H., Dagnone, D. J., McEwen, L., Dalgarno, N., Schultz, K. W., & Hall, A. K. (2023). The assessment burden in competency-based medical education: how programs are adapting. Academic Medicine, 98(11), 1261-1267. 

Schumacher DJ, Cate OT, Damodaran A, Richardson D, Hamstra SJ, Ross S, Hodgson J, Touchie C, Molgaard L, Gofton W, Carraccio C; ICBME Collaborators. Clarifying essential terminology in entrustment. Med Teach. 2021 Jul;43(7):737-744. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2021.1924365. Epub 2021 May 14. PMID: 33989100. 

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Adam invites Dr. Jane Philpott (the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and former federal Minister of Health) to discuss the changes she’s seen in medical education over her career thus far. Jane also talks about where she sees the field of medical education (as well as Canadian healthcare in general) moving forward in the coming years.  

  Length of Episode: 35 minutes  

 Resources to check out : 

 Dr. Philpott’s book 

  Health for All : A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada, Publisher McClelland & Stewart, 2024. https://healthsci.queensu.ca/stories/blog/introducing-health-all  

 Contact us: [email protected]  

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Dr. Dan Dworkis joins us to discuss his perspective on performance under pressure and how it applies to teaching residents in clinical practice settings that are sometimes unpredictable and messy. We’re also joined by a guest co-host, Dr. Julie La, who is a PGY5 general surgery resident and PhD student, who provides her perspective on the topic.  

 Length of Episode: 47:50 

 Resources to check out : 

 Dr. Dworkis’ book:  

Title 

The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure 

Author 

Dan Dworkis 

Publisher 

Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US, 2021 

ISBN 

9798746482327 

Length 

228 pages 

https://www.amazon.ca/Emergency-Mind-Wiring-Performance-Pressure/dp/B094GY88RK 

 Contact us: [email protected]  

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Adam and guest resident co-host, Dr. Victoria Turnbull, interview Dr. Michael Gottlieb about a recent paper of his that should be relevant to anyone who listens to podcasts for learning. The paper looked at immediate and delayed recall of podcast content of residents listening to podcasts during aerobic exercise and at rest. We also discuss multitasking, cognitive load, and the way our brains make decisions.  

Length of Episode: 38 minutes  

Resources to check out : 

Gottlieb M, Cooney R, Haas MRC, King A, Fung CC, Riddell J. A Randomized Trial Assessing the Effect of Exercise on Residents' Podcast Knowledge Acquisition and Retention. Acad Med. 2024 May 1;99(5):575-581. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005592. Epub 2023 Dec 18. PMID: 38109353. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38109353/ 

Perham, N., & Currie, H. (2014). Does listening to preferred music improve reading comprehension performance? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(2), 279–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2994 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-08687-016 

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Adam invites Dr. Lisa Rosenbaum to discuss her recent publication in the NEJM titled Being Well while Doing Well — Distinguishing Necessary from Unnecessary Discomfort in Training.  

This thought-provoking paper is the 3rd in a series of 4 essays in the NEJM by Dr. Rosenbaum.  It’s a social commentary on recent cultural and societal changes and their impact on medical education. We discuss Lisa’s critical perspectives on the important notions of wellness and professional identity in our field.  

Length of Episode: 40 minutes  

Article discussed: Rosenbaum L. Being Well while Doing Well - Distinguishing Necessary from Unnecessary Discomfort in Training. N Engl J Med. 2024 Feb 8;390(6):568-572. doi: 10.1056/NEJMms2308228. Epub 2024 Jan 17. PMID: 38231543. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38231543/ 

Resources to check out : 

Dr. Rosenbaum’s recent related publications   

1. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMms2308228 Being Well while Doing Well — Distinguishing Necessary from Unnecessary Discomfort in Training  

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38265727/ Beyond Moral Injury - Can We Reclaim Agency, Belief, and Joy in Medicine?  

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38197811/ On Calling - From Privileged Professionals to Cogs of Capitalism?  

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38170694/ What Do Trainees Want? The Rise of House Staff Unions  

1. Podcast ‘Not Otherwise Specified’ https://not-otherwise-specified-podcast.nejm.org/e/tough-love/   

 Contact us: [email protected]  

Follow: Dr. Adam Szulewski https://x.com/Adam_Szulewski  

Meet your host Dr. Adam Szulewski