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)

Case Original Post Wrap Up Post PDF link
Case 5.1: The Case of the Discriminatory Patient Link Link PDF
Case 5.2: The Case of the Difficult Debrief  Link Link

Bonus:
Podcast

PDF
Case 5.3: The Case of the M&M Shame Game Link Link PDF
Case 5.4: The Case of the Technologically-Challenged Academic Link Link PDF
Case 5.5: The Case of the Night Shift Stimulants Link Link PDF
Case 5.6 The Case of the Post-Paternity blues Link Link PDF
Case 5.7  The Case of the Orphaned Patient Link Link PDF
Case 5.8  The Case of the Overwhelmed Senior Link Link PDF
Case 5.9 The Case of the Medication Mishap Link Link PDF

Season Four Cases (2016-2017)

Case Original Post Wrap Up Post PDF link
Case 4.1: The Case of Cognitive Overload Link Link PDF
Case 4.2: The Case of the Overly Attentive Attending Link Link PDF
Case 4.3: The Case of the Fatiguing Fourth Year Link Link PDF
Case 4.4: The Case of the Resident-At-Risk Link Link PDF
Case 4.5: The Case of Shifting Expectations Link Link PDF
Case 4.6: The Case of the Lazy Learners Link Link PDF
Case 4.7: The Case of the Solo Senior Link Link PDF
Case 4.8: The Case of the Failure to Fail Link Link PDF
Case 4.9: The Case of the Competency Conundrum Link Link PDF

Season Three Cases (2015-2016)

Case Original Post Wrap Up Post PDF link
Case 3.1: The Case of the FOAM promotion Link Link PDF
Case 3.2: The Case of the Patient with a No Learner Policy Link Link PDF
Case 3.3: The Case of the Cackling Consulting Resident Link Link PDF
Case 3.4: The Case of the Awkward Assessors Link Link PDF
Case 3.5: The Case of the Catastrophic Classroom Link Link PDF
Case 3.6: The Case of the Pimping Physician Link Link PDF
Case 3.7 : The Case of the Fibbing First Year Link Link PDF
Case 3.8 : The Case of the Terrible Code Link Link PDF
Case 3.9: The Case of the Honorary Authorship Link Link PDF

Season Two Cases (2014-2015)

Case Original Post Wrap Up Post PDF link
Case 2.1: The Case of the Backroom Blunder Link Link PDF
Case 2.2: The Case of the Debriefing Debacle Link Link PDF
Case 2.3: The Case of the Ebola Outbreak Ethics Link Link PDF
Case 2.4: The Case of the Late Letter Link Link PDF
Case 2.5: The Case of Breaking Bad News Badly Link Link PDF
Case 2.6: The Case of the Returning Traveller Link Link PDF
Case 2.7: The Case of the Financial Fiasco Link Link PDF
Case 2.8: The Case of the FOAM Faux Pas Link Link PDF
Case 2.9: The Case of the Flirtatious Patient Link Link PDF
Case 2.10: The Case of the Unseasoned Senior Link Link PDF

Season One Cases (2013-2014)

Case Original Post Wrap Up Post PDF link
Case 1.1: The Case of the Difficult Consult Link Link PDF
Case 1.2: The Case of the Facebook Faceplant Link Link PDF
Case 1.3: The Case of the Woman in White Link Link PDF
Case 1.4: The Case of the New Job Negotiations Link Link PDF
Case 1.5: The Case of the Magnificent Mentor Link Link PDF
Case 1.6: The Case of the Terrible Teammate Link Link PDF
Case 1.7: The Case of the Culture Clash Link Link PDF
Case 1.8: The Case of the Not-so-Humorous Humerus Link Link PDF
Case 1.9: The Case of the Unexpected Outcome Link Link PDF
Case 1.10: The Case of the Exasperated Educator Link Link PDF
Case 1.11: The Case of the Justified Junior Link Link PDF
Case 1.12: The Case of the Absentee Audience Link Link PDF

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 Breaking Bad News Badly – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

medic documentThe Case of Breaking Bad News Badly precipitated yet another thoughtful and riveting discussion over the past week. We are now proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our two expert opinions. Thank-you again to all our experts and participants for contributing again this week to the ALiEM MEdIC series.

(more…)

By |2016-12-15T14:14:50-08:00Jan 30, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series | The Case of Breaking Bad News Badly

DNR canstockphoto4969800Code status. Do not resuscitate. Allow natural death… These can be some of the most daunting concepts for new learners to explain to patients, but they can also be the most critical. Depending on the circumstances, discussing these topics may be difficult for the most advanced clinicians.  This month’s ALiEM MEdIC series case considers how we might help a learner through a bad experience with end-of-life care discussions. Please join us in discussing the case this month, we would love your thoughts and advice.

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By |2017-03-05T14:18:40-08:00Jan 23, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series |The Case of the Late Letter – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

medic documentThe Case of the Late Letter prompted some great discussion around how to properly ask for a letter of reference and what students and preceptors might do when things get down to the wire. As usual, I was extremely impressed by the rich discussion that evolved over the week. We are now proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our two expert opinions. Thank-you again to all our experts and participants for contributing again this week to the ALiEM MEdIC series.

(more…)

By |2026-06-16T16:06:41-07:00Jan 3, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Late Letter

Programs across the country are in the midst of the residency selection process. Fourth years have submitted personal statements, CVs, and letters of reference and are starting on the interview circuit. Obtaining letters is a hot topic for students but it is also important topic for preceptors and educators to consider their role in this process too! This month’s ALiEM MEdIC series case hopes to elicit our community’s considerations about the best and worst practices for requesting and responding to reference letter requests. Join us for this discussion!

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By |2017-03-05T14:18:40-08:00Dec 26, 2014|Academic, MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Ebola Outbreak Ethics – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

medic documentThe Case of the Ebola Outbreak Ethics prompted some great discussion around the ethics of care for a patient who possibly has an Ebola infection. As usual, I was extremely impressed by the rich discussion that evolved over the week. We are now proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and 2 our two expert opinions. Thank-you again to all our experts and participants for contributing again this week to the ALiEM MEdIC series.

(more…)

By |2026-06-16T16:06:39-07:00Dec 5, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series | The Case of Ebola Outbreak Ethics

Ebola PPEThe news has been rampant with discussions about Ebola lately, but many centers are handling the integration of learners into their disaster plans differently.  This month’s ALiEM MEdIC series case hopes to elicit our community’s considerations on the ethical and educational principles behind education during a possible outbreak scenario.  Join us as we discuss this topic!

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By |2017-01-04T18:32:43-08:00Nov 28, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series: The Case of the Debriefing Debacle – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

medic documentThe Case of the Debriefing Debacle brought us into the world of Melanie the medical student who experienced her first cardiac arrest. Join us as we explore the issues around debriefing and how best to incorporate it into your clinical and teaching practices. This week demonstrated that the MEdIC community is dedicated to engaging in thoughtful, reflective discussion.

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By |2016-12-15T18:06:29-08:00Oct 31, 2014|MEdIC series|
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