Surgical Education and Simulation Research Fellowship

About the Program

The Surgical Education and Simulation Research Fellowship in the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Surgery is dedicated to training fellows to be academic surgical leaders in the field of surgical education, research and simulation.

This program also consists of close relationships with the Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness, the Procedural Learning and Safety Collaborative and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These relationships, along with others in Boston and across the country, have helped fellows pursue research projects in a variety of areas that bridge education, outcomes and technology.

This program can be one to two years in length depending on the fellow’s career aspirations and available financial resources.

As part of the Consortium of American College of Surgeons (ACS) Accredited Institutes, this fellowship program consists of high-quality formal didactic and hands-on training with regular feedback and mentorship.

Goals

Graduates of the Surgical Education Research and Simulation Fellowship will be able to:

• Conceive, develop and run simulation-based training and evaluation modules
• Create, administer and evaluate new simulation programs/centers
• Critically appraise and/or conduct simulation-based medical education research
• Describe the theoretical and scientific foundations of simulation-based medical/surgical education

Research Areas

Fellows will be able to learn about various research topics, including:

• Adult learning theories
• Assessment of education outcomes
• Emotional intelligence development
• Enhancing medical student exposure to surgery
• Linking resident education to patient outcomes / satisfaction
• Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based assessment
• Resident burnout prevention
• Resident clinical prioritization skills
• Simulation-based skills training
• Video-based education and coaching

Coursework

Fellows are expected to publish at least two manuscripts during the program.

The didactic training includes coursework through the Center for Medical Simulation Instructors Course and the Harvard Macy Institute in the following courses:

• A Systems Approach to Assessment
• Leading Innovations in Health Care and Education
• Program for Educators in Health Professions

Specific information about each of these courses can be provided by request.

Curriculum

The Surgical Education and Simulation Research Fellowship at Mass General provides the fellow with didactic and mentored training that encompasses:

• Administration and leadership
• Curriculum design and evaluation
• Educational theory
• Faculty development
• Learner and program evaluation, and
• Technology support and simulation.

Our existing simulation-based education fellowship curriculum is particularly robust and culminates in a Teaching and Learning Certificate with a Concentration in Healthcare Simulation which is offered by our affiliated Mass General Institute of Health Professions (a graduate school founded by Mass General).

All fellows will complete the certificate program, which includes coursework at the Institute for Medical Simulation (Center for Medical Simulation in Cambridge, MA) and the Harvard-Macy Institute (Program for Educators in the Health Professions). Depending on funding levels, there is also the possibility that fellows will be able to obtain a master’s in health professions education through the Mass General Institute of Health Professions.

Mentored training in the above cognitive elements as well as human/fiscal resource management and research design/methodology will be delivered through bi-weekly meetings with the Fellowship research group and monthly meetings of institution-wide surgical education research meetings.

The fellow will have an opportunity to work very closely with Roy Phitayakorn, MD, Denise Gee, MD, and Emil Petrusa, PhD, to design and complete their own individual research project that emphasizes at least one of the cognitive elements mentioned above. The simulation specialists will also mentor the fellow so that the fellow is comfortable managing the technical elements of a successful simulation session including role playing/improvisation and technical troubleshooting.

How to Apply

Requirements

Applicants must either:

• Have an MD and be enrolled or have completed a residency in any surgically-oriented field, or
• Be enrolled in or have completed a PhD program in a relevant field (including but not limited to psychometrics, education and computer science).
• Independent funding is required to join the fellowship program.

To Apply

To apply for the Surgical Education and Simulation Research Fellowship at Mass General, please contact Roy Phitayakorn, MD, Denise Gee, MD, and Emil Petrusa, PhD, by email below:

Roy Phitayakorn, MD, MHPE, FACS
rphitayakorn@mgh.harvard.edu

Denise Gee, MD, FACS
dgee@mgh.harvard.edu

Emil Petrusa, PhD
epetrusa@mgh.harvard.edu