About Benjamin Schnapp, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Assistant Program Director
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

A Recipe for Success: Virtual Alternatives to Residency Pre-Interview Receptions

The COVID-19 pandemic forced sweeping changes to graduate medical education over the last several months, and as we plan for the new academic year, it is clear that residency recruitment will fundamentally change as well. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) released a position statement encouraging medical school, residency, and faculty interviews to be held virtually [1]. While there is precedent for holding residency and fellowship interviews online [2-4], these new circumstances present significant challenges for applicants and residency programs alike.

One important change will be the loss of the pre-interview reception. Information exchange between students and residents over dinner at these receptions influences rank order list decisions [5,6]. These receptions provide opportunities for applicants to learn about resident life, satisfaction with their training, cost of living, and many other topics not authentically covered during the interview day. How can residency programs address the information gaps that will result from the loss of pre-interview receptions? Well-designed virtual receptions can provide a unique welcome to applicants and a means to communicate directly with faculty and residents. Here are some suggestions for the use of video conferencing to create ‘virtual receptions.’

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By Benjamin Schnapp, MD|2020-08-26T16:13:14-07:00Sep 4, 2020|Academic, Medical Education|

The ALiEM Faculty Incubator: Going Further Together

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

The ALiEM Faculty Incubator continues to be an amazing online community of practice for medical educators interested in taking their game to the next level. By helping participants acquire new knowledge and essential tools for scholarship and engagement, Faculty Incubator members have collaborated to create tons of innovative medical education resources for the education community at large. Since they’re coming so fast and furious (and life is busy!), we know there’s a chance you might have missed some of them. We’re highlighting them below to share the awesome productivity!

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By Benjamin Schnapp, MD|2019-01-07T09:04:20-08:00Jan 7, 2019|Incubators, Medical Education, Professional Development|

Our “User’s Guide to the EM Match Advice Web Series” is published in WestJEM

It’s that time of year again… when the sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom… and new senior medical students are preparing for next year’s Match.

Emergency Medicine (EM) remains a very popular specialty choice. EM enjoys a 99% annual fill rate in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match, with approximately 80% of positions going to U.S. allopathic senior medical students. Students seek many sources of career advice when preparing for their EM clerkships and the residency interview process. Unfortunately, career advice often comes from near-peers and medical school faculty members in other specialties, rather than EM residency directors and clerkship directors. Given the variable quality of information offered as ‘career advice,’ students can be left with inaccurate and confusing opinions about how to assess their candidacy and compete in the Match.

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By Benjamin Schnapp, MD|2020-04-20T19:46:59-07:00May 17, 2017|EM Match Advice, Podcasts|

The Problem

While residents may accumulate teaching tips and techniques during the course of their training by observing their mentors at work, learning how to educate while balancing the needs of a busy emergency department (ED) is a difficult skill to acquire. Unfortunately, excellent clinical skills do not always equate to effective teaching skills. With training, however, even the initially reluctant teacher can begin to effectively engage learners in the ED. An elective aimed toward developing the resident as a teacher allows residents to acquire and practice skills that will be particularly helpful for those that ultimately take on academic roles with teaching requirements.

As dedicated faculty time was in limited supply, our previous Resident As Teacher elective simply offered residents time to practice teaching with junior residents and medical students without offering significant structure or substance for those who wished to enhance their skillset as educators and acquire new knowledge.

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By Benjamin Schnapp, MD|2020-03-12T11:58:03-07:00Sep 9, 2016|IDEA series, Medical Education|

8 Tips On How To Run An Awesome Works-in-Progress Meeting

Do you have 27 projects up in the air but none of them submitted for publication yet? (Guilty!) Have a great project in the works but can’t get past one sticky detail? (Been there!) Need help navigating a finicky IRB? (Yuck!) CV just looking a little threadbare? (Hangs head in shame.) You need a Works-in-Progress (WIP) meeting!