In this session, the skills of scholarly writing will be explored through the lens of analyzing a manuscript that was accepted for publication. The participants will examine review criteria that are used by healthcare education journals and apply them to a sample manuscript. In discussing scholarly writing the participants will make a decision about the type of feedback they would give to the authors of the sample paper. 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the components of a scholarly publication;
2. Discuss how to frame a problem statement;
3. Identify an effective Research Question;
4. Discuss whether the Design/method is appropriate to the question;
5. Discuss whether the authors have applied the best data collection methods to the appropriate sample;
6. Understand the Results section and how to present results in a clear manner.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 3.

This workshop helps participants prepare their data for analysis and be able to answer questions about their data that a statistician will likely ask when providing consultation. 

At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to:

1. Collect data;
2. Set up data files;
3. Enter data into data files;
4. Check and clean data prior to analysis;
5. Compare my sample to my population;
6. Address statistical issues discussed during consultation with a statistician (e.g., Type I & II errors, power, effect sizes).

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 3.

This workshop is intended for physicians and generalists in medical education, as well as faculty and staff involved in student affairs, who wish to develop perspectives and skills for collecting qualitative data, such as data from focus group discussions, interviews, observation field notes, and responses to open-ended questions—used in admissions processes, program development, curriculum evaluation, needs assessments, performance evaluation, and various scholarship and research applications.

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

1. Demonstrate applied knowledge of the appropriate selection, use, and standards for rigor of some common methods for collection of qualitative data;
2. Generate research questions appropriate for qualitative studies and choose appropriate data collection methods;
3. Demonstrate applied knowledge of approaches to achieve rigor in the design of qualitative studies and collection of qualitative data;
4. Demonstrate essential skills required for conducting focus groups
   

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 3.

This workshop introduces participants to fundamental principles of educational program evaluation, and provides participants with a strategy for developing an evaluation plan. 

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

1. Describe program evaluation and its purposes;
2. Identify barriers to program evaluation;
3. Identify models used in evaluation;
4. Describe the steps of an evaluation;
5. Develop an evaluation plan.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop Series.

This workshop introduces participants to the principles of score reliability and validity, using a combination of didactics and review of medical education research projects. The workshop is divided into two parts with group exercises designed to reinforce understanding of the main principles.

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

1. Identify three types of reliability (inter-rater, test-retest, and internal consistency);
2. Match types of reliability with appropriate statistical measures;
3. Describe the relationship between reliability and validity;
4. Describe multiple forms of evidence for validity;
5. Select an approach to reliability and validity assessment for a particular study.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 3.

This workshop will provide some basic principles in questionnaire/survey design and give workshop participants an opportunity for hands-on experience designing a questionnaire. 

Following participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

1. Design a blueprint for a survey/questionnaire appropriate to their own application;
2. Construct and edit questions to avoid common problems in wording and framing;
3. Select an appropriate response format from a menu of alternatives;
4. Design the overall format of the survey/questionnaire to facilitate data management and analysis.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 3.

This workshop is intended for individuals, medical educators, and clinician educators who want to learn how to effectively search the published medical education literature and to evaluate the value of those searches. 

After participating in this workshop, learners will be able to:

1. Formulate an effective approach to searching the medical education literature;
2. Conduct a search using relevant MeSH headings;
3. Communicate effectively with a research librarian;
4. Evaluate the search results using specific review criteria.

Recordings will be made available for viewing following the completion of each workshop. Viewing of recordings may not be substituted for participation in live workshops.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop2023 - Series 3.

Please review your subtotal before checking out. The cost of registration is $125 per workshop. Your total should not be $1,000 unless you intended to register for 8 workshops. If your subtotal is incorrect, please return to the choose your workshops tab and review your selections.

MERC Overview 

The Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) program is intended to provide the knowledge necessary to understand the purposes and processes of medical education research, to become informed consumers of the medical education research literature, and to be effective collaborators in medical education research. Alone, MERC is not intended to produce independent medical education researchers.

The program is open to all who are interested in improving their educational research skills and is targeted for those with a background in medical education but relatively less experience in conducting educational research. The courses are targeted for clinicians and other educators who desire to learn research skills that will enable collaborative participation in medical education research projects.

Curriculum

Each three-hour workshop focuses on a key skill or area in educational research, emphasizes opportunities for hands-on activities and active participation, so as to maximize the applicability of the workshop principles. Six workshops of the participant's choosing must be completed to qualify for the certificate. These workshops can be taken in any order.

Certificate

Those interested in receiving a MERC Certificate must complete six workshops. In order to receive a MERC Certificate, you must first complete six workshops. Upon completion, you may request your certificate. Certificates are sent via email at the end of each month. There is no fee associated with the certificates at this time.

Registration and Fees

The cost for registration is $125 per workshop. You may register for all eight workshops in this series, or select a single workshop from our a la carte menu. 

Cancellations and Refunds

Please note that refunds will not be issued.  If you have any questions, contact the MERC staff merc@aamc.org. 

Drop in any time during this session to talk to the editors and editorial staff of Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL. This session will not include a formal presentation but instead offer time for you to seek individualized feedback on in-progress or planned scholarly projects and get answers to your questions on the publishing process. Small group discussions will be organized around article type: qualitative and quantitative research reports; perspectives and opinion pieces; innovations including MedEdPORTAL publications and innovation reports; Last Pages and infographics; and humanities features. All are welcome to attend.

The Editors and Editorial Staffs of Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL

In this session, the skills of scholarly writing will be explored through the lens of analyzing a manuscript that was accepted for publication. The participants will examine review criteria that are used by healthcare education journals and apply them to a sample manuscript. In discussing scholarly writing the participants will make a decision about the type of feedback they would give to the authors of the sample paper. 

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the components of a scholarly publication;
2. Discuss how to frame a problem statement;
3. Identify an effective Research Question;
4. Discuss whether the Design/method is appropriate to the question;
5. Discuss whether the authors have applied the best data collection methods to the appropriate sample;
6. Understand the Results section and how to present results in a clear manner.

This workshop is a part of the MERC Virtual Workshop 2023 - Series 2.