A Systematic Approach to Working With Medical Learners in Difficulty: A Faculty Development Workshop.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Supporting struggling learners is crucial for medical education.
• Faculty often require structured approaches to effectively remediate learners.
• The SOAP diagnostic framework offers a systematic method for addressing learner difficulties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a workshop for medical educators on supporting learners in difficulty.
• To equip faculty with skills for assessing, planning remediation, and evaluating educational systems for struggling learners.

Main Methods:

• A 3-session workshop incorporating didactic, discussion, and role-play methods.
• Participants learned to assess learners, create remediation plans, and evaluate learning systems.
• Pre- and post-workshop surveys assessed self-perceived confidence and skills.

Main Results:

• 99 faculty participated over 7 years, rating the workshop 4.9/5.
• Significant increase in self-confidence in meeting struggling learner needs (4.4 to 7.6 on a 10-point scale, p < .001).

Conclusions:

• The workshop provides a systematic approach to support struggling learners and enhance educational systems.
• Participants reported increased confidence in managing learner difficulties after the workshop.