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.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: ALiEM MEdIC Series | Free e-Book

MEdIC CoverToday, the ALiEM team presented the Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) Series to the world at the 2014 International Conference on Residency Education. Along with student-researcher Daneilla Dmitri, I represented the team to describe the digitally engaging and educationally grounded environment that we have created in our monthly MEdIC cases.  It was an honor to present our work at this international forum and to be featured as one of the Top 5 What Works presentations. In coordination with our presentation, we are releasing our first FREE MEdIC e-book!

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By |2026-06-16T16:06:27-07:00Oct 25, 2014|MEdIC series, Social Media & Tech|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Debriefing Debacle

Welcome back again this week to the Medical Education in Cases series.  Last month we had a record breaking number of people join us for the case discussion, and we hope you will come back and share your thoughts with this one.

This month’s case centers upon Dr. Berner and his student Melanie as they both go through a Cardiac Arrest case. Consider their story and think about how you might approach this case.

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By |2017-01-20T12:30:39-08:00Oct 24, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series: The Case of the Backroom Blunder – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

website cpr image 2The Case of the Backroom Blunder presented us with an interesting scenario that riveted readers across the globe.  In this case, Trevor the medical student overhears the conversation of two of his senior colleagues discussing and laughing about a recent resuscitation.  The senior members of the team used terms like ‘frequent flyer’, ‘red underpants’, which greatly upsets Trevor.  In his opinion: “A caring doctor would never talk like that. And the slang? That’s just awful.”  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 |2026-06-16T16:06:21-07:00Oct 3, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Backroom Blunder

Are you ready??website cpr image 2 Season 2 of the ALiEM MEdIC series is about to begin! We are so excited to kick off the ‘school year’ with a riveting new case from our Medical Education in Cases series.

Join us now to discuss the case of the Backroom Blunder wherein Trevor, the 3rd year medical student, finds himself reflecting about the use of humor by his colleagues in the resuscitation bay.

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By |2017-01-20T12:30:39-08:00Sep 26, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series: Season 1 Annual Review

medic documentDear MEdIC readers: It’s been quite a whirlwind this year for the MEdIC team, and we’re so excited to announce that we’re taking a (much needed) summer hiatus this month to refresh. Tune in when we start “season 2” in late September!

In an effort to continually improve the series, we would love to invite you to participate in our first annual audience evaluation of the MEdIC series. We want to make sure we always strive to meet the needs of our audience, and we would like you to help us by telling us about how you’ve experienced or used MEdIC this year.  Please share a bit about your experience in the following form.

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By |2026-06-16T16:06:02-07:00Sep 5, 2014|MEdIC series|

MEdIC Series: The Case of the Absentee Audience – Expert & Community Commentary

MEdIC SeriesThis month for the ALiEM MEdIC Series, we presented the Case of the Absentee Audience, which depicts a lecturer who experienced a particularly challenging problem with her audience – absenteeism. Her audience was both physically and mentally absent, and as such, the cause of much frustration. In keeping with our mandate with the MEdIC Series, we launched this case last week and waited for the crowd to speak up and help us solve the case. (And boy, did they EVER!) We also asked two esteemed colleagues to prepare some expert consultations on the case. Continue reading to see what everyone had to say.

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By |2026-06-16T16:05:53-07:00Aug 1, 2014|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

MEdIC Series | The Case of the Absentee Audience

LLSAslideHave you ever been at a lecture where the audience didn’t seem in ‘sync’ with the speaker?  Or perhaps as a junior presenter, some of you may have been at a lecture or two that just didn’t seem to work. This month, we ask you to advise Dr. Xiu, a presenter who is experiencing this exact problem. Come out and discuss the Case of the Absentee Audience.

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By |2017-01-04T18:32:43-08:00Jul 25, 2014|MEdIC series|
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