MEdIC Series logo

Inspired by the Harvard Business Review Cases, the MEdIC Series puts difficult medical education cases under a microscope. From 2013-2018, on the fourth Friday of the month we will pose a challenging hypothetical dilemma, moderate a discussion on potential approaches, and recruit medical education experts to provide “Gold Standard” responses. Cases and responses will be made available for download as individual PDFs (i.e. one per case). Year 1-4 are also available as e-book compendiums (see below). Feel free to use them locally for your own education or in group activities with others!

Read more about the background of our process in our paper within the leading medical education journal Academic Medicine:
Chan TM, Thoma B, Lin M. Creating, Curating, and Sharing Online Faculty Development Resources. Academic Medicine. 2015;90(6):785-789. doi: 10.1097/acm.0000000000000692

Our Purpose

The purpose of the MEdIC series is to create resources that allow you to engage in ‘guerrilla’ faculty development – enticing and engaging individuals who might not have time to attend faculty development workshops to think about challenging cases in medical education. We hope to support our readership’s development by creating Expert Peer Reviewed content featuring prominent thinkers in emergency medicine (and beyond) on key topics.

Meet Our MEdiC Team

Series Editors

  • Tamara McColl, MD FRCPC MEd(c)
  • Teresa Chan, BEd MD FRCPC MHPE

Assistant Editors

  • S. Luckett-Gatopoulos, MD MSc
  • John Eicken, MD
  • Eve Purdy, BHSc MD
  • Alkarim Velji, MD
  • Brent Thoma, MA MD FRCPC MSc

Season Five Cases (2017-ongoing)

CaseOriginal PostWrap Up PostPDF link
Case 5.1: The Case of the Discriminatory PatientLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.2: The Case of the Difficult Debrief LinkLink

Bonus:
Podcast

PDF
Case 5.3: The Case of the M&M Shame GameLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.4: The Case of the Technologically-Challenged AcademicLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.5: The Case of the Night Shift StimulantsLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.6 The Case of the Post-Paternity bluesLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.7  The Case of the Orphaned PatientLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.8  The Case of the Overwhelmed SeniorLinkLinkPDF
Case 5.9 The Case of the Medication MishapLinkLinkPDF

Season Four Cases (2016-2017)

CaseOriginal PostWrap Up PostPDF link
Case 4.1: The Case of Cognitive OverloadLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.2: The Case of the Overly Attentive AttendingLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.3: The Case of the Fatiguing Fourth Year LinkLinkPDF
Case 4.4: The Case of the Resident-At-RiskLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.5: The Case of Shifting ExpectationsLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.6: The Case of the Lazy LearnersLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.7: The Case of the Solo SeniorLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.8: The Case of the Failure to FailLinkLinkPDF
Case 4.9: The Case of the Competency ConundrumLinkLinkPDF

Season Three Cases (2015-2016)

CaseOriginal PostWrap Up PostPDF link
Case 3.1: The Case of the FOAM promotionLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.2: The Case of the Patient with a No Learner PolicyLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.3: The Case of the Cackling Consulting ResidentLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.4: The Case of the Awkward AssessorsLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.5: The Case of the Catastrophic ClassroomLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.6: The Case of the Pimping PhysicianLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.7 : The Case of the Fibbing First YearLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.8 : The Case of the Terrible CodeLinkLinkPDF
Case 3.9: The Case of the Honorary AuthorshipLinkLinkPDF

Season Two Cases (2014-2015)

CaseOriginal PostWrap Up PostPDF link
Case 2.1: The Case of the Backroom BlunderLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.2: The Case of the Debriefing DebacleLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.3: The Case of the Ebola Outbreak EthicsLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.4: The Case of the Late LetterLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.5: The Case of Breaking Bad News BadlyLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.6: The Case of the Returning TravellerLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.7: The Case of the Financial FiascoLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.8: The Case of the FOAM Faux PasLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.9: The Case of the Flirtatious PatientLinkLinkPDF
Case 2.10: The Case of the Unseasoned SeniorLinkLinkPDF

Season One Cases (2013-2014)

CaseOriginal PostWrap Up PostPDF link
Case 1.1: The Case of the Difficult ConsultLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.2: The Case of the Facebook FaceplantLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.3: The Case of the Woman in WhiteLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.4: The Case of the New Job NegotiationsLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.5: The Case of the Magnificent MentorLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.6: The Case of the Terrible TeammateLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.7: The Case of the Culture ClashLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.8: The Case of the Not-so-Humorous HumerusLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.9: The Case of the Unexpected OutcomeLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.10: The Case of the Exasperated EducatorLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.11: The Case of the Justified JuniorLinkLinkPDF
Case 1.12: The Case of the Absentee AudienceLinkLinkPDF

Free e-Books: MEdIC Season 1-3 Compilations

Click on this direct iTunes link or the picture below to go there. You may also go to our ResearchGate link to get the PDF version if you are unable to access the iTunes e-book.

MEdIC Cover
Chan TM, Thoma B, Lin M (Eds). (2014). Medical Education in Cases: Volume 1 (1st Edition). Digital File. San Francisco, CA; Academic Life in Emergency Medicine. ISBN: 978-0-9907948-0-6.
MEdICYear2BookCover
Chan TM, McColl T, Luckett-Gatopoulos S, Purdy E, Thoma B (Eds).(2016).Medical Education in Cases: Volume 2. San Francisco, CA; Academic Life in Emergency Medicine.  ISBN: 978-0-9907948-0-6.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2555.1522
PDF     |     iTunes
Chan TM, McColl T, Luckett-Gatopoulos S, Purdy E, Eicken J, Thoma B. (2017). Medical Education in Cases: Volume 3 (1st Edition). Digital File. San Francisco, CA; Academic Life in Emergency Medicine. ISBN: 978-0-9907948-9-9.

Newly available (July 20, 2017)

The Volume 4 e-book is out now.  You may go to our ResearchGate link to get the PDF version, and it is also available on iTunes as an e-book.


Did you know…?

ALiEM MEdIC series was selected as a “Top Five What Works” abstract and will be presented from the podium at the International Conference on Residency Education in 2014. Dr. Teresa Chan will represent the ALiEM Team. On October 25, 2014, Dr. Chan also presented the first ALiEM Press production the ALiEM MEdIC E-Book.

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Pimping Physician

Socrates-239x300-circleWelcome to season 3, episode 6 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, John Eicken, and Teresa Chan) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss difficult medical education cases each month. As usual, the community discussion will be reviewed using qualitative research methods to produce a curated summary that will be combined with two expert responses to create a functional teaching resource.

This month’s case takes us to a team on rounds. There is a rich history in medicine of questioning learners about the mundane, the weird, the esoteric, the wonderful and everything in between. At worst this approach is known as “pimping” and when done well it is known as the Socratic method. How can teachers question the team in a way that is supportive of learners? Similarly how can peers and near peers best support each other in these situations? We will have the discussion open for a whole two weeks before the expert commentaries are released!

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By |2017-01-20T12:30:40-08:00Mar 25, 2016|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Catastrophic Classroom – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

meded hackathon imageThe Case of the Catastrophic Classroom outlined a scenario where a junior faculty member is tasked with revamping didactics at her institution. We joined Jill as she walked through various phases of discovery, building empathy for her stakeholders. This case was subsequently discussed at the CORD Academic Assembly 2016 (#CORDaa16) where 4 teams competed to design novel solutions for this complicated problem.

This month the ALIEM Design team, led by Drs. Teresa Chan (@TChanMD), Catherine Patocka (@patockaem), Jeremy Voros (@vorosmd) co-hosted a design challenge with CORD’s Dr. Rob Cooney (@EMeducation) where a keen bunch of creative medical educators participated to identify the problems and pitch possible solutions that might work for Jill. Their discussion and solutions were based on the insights and suggestions from the ALiEM community. We are proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our Design Hackathon team solutions. Thank-you to all our participants for contributing to the very rich discussions last week.

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By |2019-02-19T18:57:58-08:00Mar 18, 2016|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Catastrophic Classroom – #CORDaa16 Edition

This ALiEM MEdIC series is part of a very special event! In a few days in Nashville, TN the ALiEM Design Fellows (Dr. Catherine Patocka & Dr. Jeremy Voros) and I will be joining forces with CORD’s Dr. Rob Cooney to organize a special Design Thinking Hackathon. This workshop will take place at CORD’s 2016 Academic Assembly, which is only a few days away.  We are very excited that our Design fellows team will be helping to introduce people to the world of Design Thinking!

During our session we will be challenging a group Emergency Medicine educators from all across the nation to rethink their local residency conference (#EMConf). But we need YOUR help! And we’re asking it via the ALiEM MEdIC series through the Case of the Catastrophic Classroom.

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By |2018-10-28T21:43:07-07:00Feb 26, 2016|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Awkward Assessors – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

Awkward AssessorsThe Case of the Awkward Assessors outlined a scenario where faculty members are put in a difficult position as they try to provide negative feedback to a medical student working in the ED. What did the ALiEM community think of this case? This month the MEdIC team, led by Brent Thoma (@Brent_Thoma) and Teresa Chan (@TChanMD) hosted a MEdIC series discussion around this issue with insights from the ALiEM community. We are proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our 2 expert opinions. Thank-you to all our participants for contributing to the very rich discussions last week.

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By |2016-12-15T12:11:33-08:00Jan 29, 2016|Academic, MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Awkward Assessors

awkward assessorWelcome to season 3, episode 4 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, and Teresa Chan) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss difficult medical education cases each month. As usual, the community discussion will be reviewed using qualitative research methods to produce a curated summary that will be combined with two expert responses to create a functional teaching resource.

This month’s case features a couple of colleagues who are trying how to evaluate a medical student appropriate. How can we give critical feedback in a busy emergency department? What is our obligation as physicians in terms of reporting negative feedback to our institutions? Should learners who are uninterested in emergency medicine be held to a different standard? Please read the case and join in the discussion below!

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By |2017-01-20T12:30:40-08:00Jan 22, 2016|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series: The Case of the Cackling Consulting Resident – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

Seth MacfarlaneThe Case of the Cackling Consulting Resident presented us with an interesting scenario that spurred quite an interesting discussion. In this case, we discussed a scenario where a consulting resident laughs when asked to admit a patient for social reason. What did the ALiEM community think of this case? Well, read on to gleam the summaries, or go directly to the blog discussion to read what people wrote!

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By |2016-12-15T12:16:13-08:00Dec 11, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series: The Case of the Cackling Consulting Resident

Seth MacfarlaneWelcome to season 3, episode 3 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, and Teresa Chan) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss difficult medical education cases each month. As usual, the community discussion will be reviewed using qualitative research methods to produce a curated summary that will be combined with two expert responses to create a functional teaching resource.

This month’s case features a problem that educators face when interacting with off-service residents. What is the role of an attending on one service when dealing with residents providing care from another discipline? Does it take a whole village to raise a resident? Please read the case and join in the discussion below!

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By |2017-01-20T12:30:40-08:00Dec 4, 2015|MEdIC series|
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