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Stemmler Fund Grant Awarded to U of U Surgical Educators

Congratulations to PI Brigitte K. Smith and her research team, including Dr. Smith’s local partner and Vascular Division Chief, Dr. Ben Brooke, for winning two years of funding (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2022) from the Edward J. Stemmler, MD Medical Education Research Fund. The diverse team for this study also includes leaders at the ACGME, and medical educators at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and Harvard Medical School. The fund is supported by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Their winning research project is called, Are Longitudinal Assessments of Multiple Competencies During Training Associated with Physicians’ Patient Care Outcomes in Practice?, According to the their abstract:

“The study proposes to link assessments of surgeon competence during training with subsequent patient care outcomes in practice. This association has implications for both trainees and training programs and could inform efforts to support the former and improve the latter, ultimately resulting in better patient care. The results of this work could inform similar efforts in other specialties across medical education and have major implications for the move toward competency-based medical education.”

The submission for this study was reviewed in detail by three external reviewers, multiple Committee members, and then discussed by the entire Committee before reaching a decision. According to their acceptance letter, “The Committee was impressed with the breadth and quality of the proposals, and had a difficult time choosing among the many fine submissions.“

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Stemmler Research Fund, the Executive Board of NBME approved funding five proposals this year, including this one.

Congratulations to Dr. Smith and team for this huge honor!