MCW Innovations in Healthcare Education Research (IHER) Newsletter

Winter Edition | February 2024

Welcome

Greetings, fellow innovators!

You are reading the first issue of our second volume of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Innovations in Healthcare Education Research (IHER) Conference quarterly newsletter. This is your go-to source for everything you need to know about our Conference. In this issue, you will discover what’s in store for our 11^th annual IHER Conference, taking place September 17-19, 2024, and celebrate the achievements of our 2023 Conference.

The 2023 IHER Conference was a huge success, with 300 conference participants from 22 states and seven countries, including Antigua, Bermuda, Canada, England, India, Poland and Turkey. Our MCW colleagues shared that they loved connecting with innovators and researchers from other institutions and they encouraged us to keep up the good work!

The theme of the 2024 Conference is “Human Connection and Technology: Better Together in Healthcare Education,” which reflects the importance of balancing the human and the digital aspects of healthcare education in a fast-changing world. Our aim is to create a space for educators and researchers to exchange their ideas and practices on how to equip future healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to face the challenges of tomorrow.

We welcome you to join this amazing event by sharing your research findings, innovative teaching methods and best practices in healthcare education. We hope that this Conference will spark your imagination and collaboration for the future of healthcare education. We can’t wait to see you at the 2024 IHER Conference!

We value your input and ideas, so please email us at IHERConference@mcw.edu with any comments or questions.

Warm regards,

2024 MCW IHER Conference Steering Committee

Spotlight

2023 Award Winners

2023 IHER Innovator of the Year
Lana Minshew, PhD, MEd
Assistant Professor, MCW School of Pharmacy
Director of the Human-Centered Design Lab

Presentations

Many of our steering committee members have presented outcomes from the IHER Conference at regional, national and international conferences in the last few years! That’s right! Most recently, we presented at the 2023 AAMC Central Group on Educational Affairs (CGEA) Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, and our presentation details are listed below. Abstracts have been submitted to the April 2024 CGEA Conference, as well as the August 2024 Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Conference.

AAMC Central Group on Educational Affairs (CGEA)

On April 19, 2023, “The Strategy of Rapid Innovations for an Institutional Healthcare Education Research Conference” was presented by Robert Treat, PhD; Austin Gerdes, MPH; Amy Prunuske, PhD; Rachel Kavanaugh, PharmD, BCACP at the 2023 AAMC CGEA spring meeting.

Behind-the-Scenes

Tech Corner

We look forward to deploying artificial intelligence in our Conference and we are working on some ideas for the 2024 IHER Conference! The Zoom AI Companion will be used in our online and hybrid sessions. However, other ideas are currently being discussed and will be made known to the community by March.

During our September 2023 IHER Conference, many of us started working with one of the generative pre-trained transformers (GPT). Officially released in November by OpenAI, we recognized its ability to help us with our lives. GPT technologies spark a wide range of reactions, but its utility cannot be denied. In the realm of IHER, it is pertinent that we consider its use in our 2024 Conference, but also how it will help or hurt us in four key areas:

Innovations: GPT-4 can be used to create new ideas, products and solutions by combining existing knowledge and generating novel text. It can also help with brainstorming, prototyping and testing. However, some of the challenges and drawbacks of using GPT-4 for innovations include:

It may lack originality, creativity and ethical awareness, as it relies on existing data and may reproduce biases or errors.
It may pose intellectual property and ownership issues, as it is unclear who should get credit for or benefit from the generated text.
It may require human supervision and evaluation, as it may not always produce accurate, relevant or appropriate text.

Healthcare: GPT-4 can be used to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes by providing diagnosis, treatment and prevention advice, as well as personalized and empathetic communication. It can also help with medical research, education and documentation. However, some of the challenges and drawbacks of using GPT-4 for healthcare include:

It may pose privacy and security risks, as it may access or disclose sensitive personal or medical information.
It may cause harm or liability, as it may provide incorrect, misleading or harmful text that may affect health decisions or actions.
It may require human oversight and regulation, as it may not always comply with ethical, legal or professional standards.

Education: GPT-4 can be used to enhance learning and teaching by providing feedback, assessment and guidance, as well as to provide engaging and interactive content. It can also help with curriculum development, pedagogy and administration. However, some of the challenges and drawbacks of using GPT-4 for education include:

It may undermine academic integrity, as it may enable or encourage cheating, plagiarism or deception.
It may affect learning outcomes, as it may not always provide accurate, relevant or appropriate text that may support or hinder learning goals or processes.
It may require human involvement and adaptation, as it may not always suit the needs, preferences or styles of learners or teachers.

Research: GPT-4 can be used to advance research and knowledge by providing literature review, data analysis and hypothesis generation, as well as to produce clear and concise writing. It can also help with collaboration, dissemination and replication. However, some of the challenges and drawbacks of using GPT-4 for research include:

It may compromise research quality, as it may produce text that is not valid, reliable or rigorous.
It may raise research ethics concerns, as it may use or generate text that is not transparent, accountable or respectful.
It may require human judgment and verification, as it may not always reflect the state of the art, the research context or the research purpose.

School of Pharmacy

The MCW School of Pharmacy continues to expand their innovative curriculum and programming. Last year we had a great example of this through the Fireside Chat presentation, where audience members enjoyed a cup of hot apple cider and listened to expert Dr. Carolyn Oxencis discuss the role of pharmacogenomics in healthcare and in the classroom. What new and exciting topics will be discussed this year? Stay tuned for our 2024 schedule released in June.

Transformational Ideas Initiative (TI2) Program

The Transformational Ideas Initiative (TI2) program will continue its involvement with IHER in 2024. In 2023, TI2 held two sessions: a virtual speed poster session for the 2022-23 cohort to present their designs and next steps, and a virtual round table session for the 2023-24 cohort to share their initial designs. Both sessions will be back for IHER 2024, and we look forward to sharing each team’s innovative designs. The TI2 program will be accepting applications in late spring. Be on the lookout for the call to be a part of the 2024-25 cohort!

Moving Forward

Save-the-Date: September 17-19, 2024

The 11^th annual IHER Conference will be a hybrid event and is scheduled for Sept. 17-19, 2024. The IHER schedule and registration will be released much earlier this year in June to give everyone more time to plan their sessions! We recognize that everyone has a personal preference for online, in-person, and hybrid sessions. We are striving to find a good balance between the different types of sessions for everyone!

Call-for-Proposals

The first call-for-proposals was released yesterday, February 1, which includes workshops, panel sessions and roundtables. Submission links for these three presentation platforms can be found below and are due March 1.

Watch for our second call-for-proposals on March 1 for all other remaining presentation platforms, which include innovations, research, ignite sessions, fireside chats, world cafés, campfire sessions, and fishbowls.

New Sessions

We have two new presentation formats to add to our list this year which include the Campfire Sessions and Fishbowls! More information will follow in the second call-for-proposals email communication, which will be sent on March 1.

Submit an Idea

If you have an idea for the IHER Conference, no matter how large or small, no matter how wild or calm, please e-mail the committee at IHERConference@mcw.edu, using the subject heading: 2024 IHER Idea. If we accept your idea, you will receive credit on the website, an InfoScope article and in the Conference program.

Website

Check out our 2024 IHER Conference website and come back monthly as we add new information about our 11^th annual Conference!

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