Quick and Clean: LCME Scientific Method Training Without a Teaching Laboratory

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Quick and Clean: LCME Scientific Method Training Without a Teaching Laboratory Rebecca Greenblatt 1

&

Travis Hobart 2,3 & Margaret Formica 3,4 & Paul Ko 5,6 & Margaret M Maimone 7

Accepted: 15 October 2020 # International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020

Abstract This exercise satisfies the Liaison Committee on Medical Education Standard 7.3 for medical student training in the scientific method. The students are challenged, individually and in small groups, to state and test hypotheses based on real patient data concerning risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Keywords Standard 7.3 . TBL . Education odds ratio . LCME accreditation . Medical education scientific method . LCME Standard 7.3 . Education hypothesis testing

The ability to state a clear, testable hypothesis and to design an experiment with the power to disprove it is foundational for scientific endeavors of all kinds. The necessity of imparting this skill to future doctors is reflected in Standard 7.3 of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), requiring that “The faculty of a medical school ensure that the medical curriculum includes instruction in the scientific method …” [1]. At SUNY Upstate Medical University, to give our students practice with hypothesis testing, we developed an interactive exercise inspired by Team Based Learning (TBL) methodology [2]. (For the full text of the exercise, see Appendix.) Like * Rebecca Greenblatt [email protected] 1

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

2

Department of Pediatrics, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

3

Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

4

Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

5

Department of Emergency Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

6

Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

7

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

classic TBL, this exercise combines individual prework, assessment, and small-group work to create learner accountability for mastering the content. In our case, the students, having previously learned about odds ratios and common risk factors for cancer, had to demonstrate the ability to state a hypothesis about risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma and then test their hypothesis by applying odds ratio calculations to published patient data. The Scientific Method exercise took place during a secondyear Gastrointestinal system unit; basic epidemiology and biostatistics had been introduced 14 months prior. The exercise consisted of an individual Prework assignment (hypothesisstating and review of the odds ratio calculation), Narrative Feedback from the lead instructor (RG) on the prework prior to the in-person session, and a 30-min class session that included one Individual task