medical education teaching resources

SPECIAL ELEMENT: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Medical Education Teaching Resources

Michael D. Jibson & Lisa S. Seyfried & Tamara L. Gay

Received: 15 August 2012 /Accepted: 5 September 2013 /Published online: 16 January 2014# Academic Psychiatry 2014

AbstractObjective Numerous monographs on psychiatry educationhave appeared without a review specifically intended to assistpsychiatry faculty and trainees in the selection of appropriatevolumes for study and reference. The authors prepared thisannotated bibliography to fill that gap.Methods The authors identified titles from web-basedsearches of the topics “academic psychiatry,” “psychiatryeducation,” and “medical education,” followed by additionalsearches of the same topics on the websites of major pub-lishers. Forty-nine titles referring to psychiatry education spe-cifically and medical education generally were identified. Theauthors selected works that were published within the last10 years and remain in print and that met at least one of thefollowing criteria: (1) written specifically about psychiatry orfor psychiatric educators; (2) of especially high quality inscholarship, writing, topic selection and coverage, and perti-nence to academic psychiatry; (3) covering a learningmodalitydeemed by the authors to be of particular interest for psychiatryeducation.Results The authors reviewed 19 books pertinent to the pro-cesses of medical student and residency education, facultycareer development, and education administration. These in-cluded 11 books on medical education in general, 4 books thatfocus more narrowly on the field of psychiatry, and 4 booksaddressing specific learning modalities of potential utility inthe mental health professions.Conclusion Most of the selected works proved to be out-standing contributions to the medical education literature.

Keywords Medical education . Professional resources .

Psychiatry education

Monographs on the topic of psychiatry education are animportant adjunct to the briefer and more focused contri-butions of Academic Psychiatry. In the past several years,numerous works have appeared without a review specifi-cally intended to assist psychiatry faculty and trainees inthe selection of appropriate volumes for study and refer-ence. This annotated bibliography was undertaken to fillthat gap.

Titles were identified from web-based searches of thetopics “academic psychiatry,” “psychiatry education,” and“medical education,” followed by additional searches ofthe same topics on the websites of amazon.com, AmericanPsychiatric Press, and several other major publishers,including Lippincott, McGraw-Hill, Norton, Oxford,Springer, and Wiley-Blackwell. Forty-nine titles referringto psychiatry education specifically and medical educationgenerally were identified. From among this group, workswere selected based on their meeting at least one of thefollowing criteria: (1) the book was written specificallyabout psychiatry or for psychiatric educators; (2) the bookwas of especially high quality in terms of its scholarship,writing, topic selection and coverage, and pertinence toacademic psychiatry; (3) the book covered a learningmodality deemed by the authors to be of particular interestfor psychiatry education. All works selected were pub-lished within the last 10 years (most within the past5 years) and remain in print.

Nineteen books met at least 1 of the criteria. These volumesfall into three levels of specificity. The first are general workson medical education that include or at least overlap withpsychiatry education. The 11 books selected do not representthe entirety of the literature on medical education, which isvast, but rather included the authors' choices of the highestquality and most useful works for psychiatric educators. Thesecond more specific level is comprised of books focusedentirely on psychiatry or related mental health professions.

M. D. Jibson (*) : L. S. Seyfried : T. L. GayUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USAe-mail: [email protected]

Acad Psychiatry (2014) 38:43–49DOI 10.1007/s40596-013-0026-2

Each of the four recent additions to this far smallercollection of writings was selected for review, irrespec-tive of its quality. Happily, most of these works provedto be outstanding contributions to the medical educationliterature. Finally, four books on specific teaching mo-dalities were included, chosen because of the attentionthey have received in professional organizations focusedon psychiatry education.

General Works on Medical Education

American College of Physicians Teaching Medicine Series(J. Ende, Series Editor)

The ACP Teaching Medicine series was separated from theremainder of the books on general medical education tohighlight the unique caliber of this work. These suc-cinct, accessible, and highly readable books stand out inthe field as the most comprehensive and successfulattempt to cover a wide range of education topics inan integrated series appropriate for both new and expe-rienced teachers. Although they were primarily writtenby internal medicine faculty, they are general enough toresonate across all specialties. The tone throughout isinformed and authoritative, yet highly personal. Mostchapters include clear graphics with bullet points andkey concepts that clarify, summarize, and augment thetext; some of these are extensive and wordy, but mostare focused and concise. Nearly all the chapters includepersonal vignettes that convey both the cognitive andemotional challenges and satisfactions of teaching. For aprogram seeking to build a library on medical education or ayoung faculty member looking for a career guide, this series isan ideal place to start.

Ende, J: Theory and Practice of Teaching Medicine ,Philadelphia, ACP Press, 2010; 161 Pages; $34.95

This first book in the ACP series offers vignettes and exam-ples that convert learning theory (20 % of the book) intoteaching practice (80 %). It provides a basic introductionespecially appropriate to novice educators (regular readers ofAcademic Psychiatry may find some of the points a bit rudi-mentary), but it clarifies and organizes teaching concepts inways that will benefit even the veteran teacher. The lastquarter of the book is a special section on “MemorableMoments in Teaching and Learning,” containing numerousanecdotes and personal stories illustrating the power, joy, andhumanity of teaching and learning medicine that are bothmoving and inspiring. The unique qualities of this book areits practicality and its personal perspective.

Skeff KM: Methods for Teaching Medicine , Philadelphia,ACP Press, 2010; 141 Pages; $34.95

The editor of Methods is co-director of the Stanford FacultyDevelopment Center for Medical Teachers and coauthored thebook's first chapter, “Developing Expertise in Teaching.” Asmight be expected from someone who studies and teachesteaching rather than medicine, this chapter is less accessiblethan most; the density of the prose, numerous citations ofeducational research, and theoretical focus make it less ap-pealing to the novice educator seeking concrete guidance.This is in contrast to the second chapter which gives a conciseand practical overview of curriculum development. Extensivetables review common instructional methods, educational the-ories, and evaluation methods used in teaching. The use ofreal-world examples bridges the theoretical with the practical.Chapters on how to give lectures, facilitate small-group dis-cussions, and design and conduct workshops provide helpfulguidance to improve teaching techniques. The last chapterconcerns continuing professional development and may beless useful to the majority of readers.

Alguire PC, DeWitt DE, Pinsky LE, Ferenchick GS: Teachingin Your Office , 2nd ed., Philadelphia, ACP Press, 2008; 178Pages; $34.95

This book is intended to help office-based physicians improvetheir teaching of medical students and residents while main-taining the fast pace of the ambulatory medical/surgical set-ting. Because of that perspective, this may be the least appli-cable to the practice and teaching of psychiatry of all thebooks in the series. Even so, there are elements that translatewell, such as useful chapters on “Cased-Based Learning” and“Learner Feedback and Evaluation.” The latter topic was,however, covered from a different approach by other booksin the series.

Wiese J: Teaching in the Hospital , Philadelphia, ACP Press,2010; 325 Pages; $34.95

The first half of this book is especially useful, focusing on theunique opportunities and challenges of hospital-based teach-ing. Early chapters also speak to universal teaching principlessuch as role-modeling skills and behaviors. Chapters on howto teach clinical reasoning and nonclinical skills likewise havebroad applicability, and although the examples were all takenfrom medicine services, they are not difficult to generalize.The chapter on feedback and evaluation, though brief, pre-sents excellent direction for “emotionally neutral” immediateand summative feedback to trainees. The latter half of thebook is comprised of “teaching scripts” for some of the morecommon clinical problems encountered on internal medicineservices, most of which are not directly applicable to

44 Acad Psychiatry (2014) 38:43–49

psychiatry, but may still serve as a template for similar scriptson a mental health unit.

Humphrey HJ: Mentoring in Academic Medicine ,Philadelphia, ACP Press, 2010; 265 Pages; $34.95

This especially well-written and readily digestible bookcovers a broad range of mentoring skills, populations, andsituations. The authors held a range of academic ranks fromjunior faculty to deans, modeling the topic of mentorship bytheir coauthorship of several chapters. The first section of thebook is less about professional development than develop-ment of professionalism, not exactly the same topic, thoughtreated as such by several of the authors, limiting the scope oftheir discussion somewhat. These chapters include extensivediscussion of professionalism itself, along with a detailed andperceptive consideration of differences in generational atti-tudes that challengementorship in this area. This is augmentedby a chapter covering much of the same material from abroader, more philosophical perspective that invites the readerto question widely held assumptions about the nature ofprofessionalism. The second section of the book includespractical suggestions for mentorship of students, residents,faculty, peers, and researchers, along with striking insightsinto positive and negative practices to develop or avoid. Afinal section on special populations includes chapters on men-torship for women, underrepresented minorities, and foreignmedical graduates. These chapters are inconsistent regardingthe goal of mentorship; the chapter on women deals exclu-sively with mentorship for academic medicine, that on minor-ities addresses both clinical and academic careers, and thechapter on foreign graduates focuses on their making itthrough residency. Although the entire book is excellent, thechapters on the fundamentals of mentoring, first from theliterature and later from the author's experience, are especiallyinsightful, illuminating, and practical.

Pangaro L: Leadership Careers in Medical Education ,Philadelphia, ACP Press, 2010; 265 Pages; $34.95

The title of Leadership Careers captured three separate butoverlapping topics as follows: leadership, career developmentfor faculty working in medical education, and the administra-tion of medical education programs. Much of this volumefocused on the day-to-day work of faculty, assuming leader-ship roles in the processes of education at the medical studentand residency levels. These chapters are insightful, thorough,and highly practical, covering the essentials of operation for amedical student or residency curriculum. Beyond many otherworks on these topics, however, are three chapters at thebeginning of the book that review the history and organizationof medical education across the country and the typical orga-nizational structure of a medical school. The historical

information, though interesting, is less pertinent than the clearand explicit outlines of how medical education is structured,administered, and credentialed—essential information forleaders that is not always obvious to faculty newly appointedto administrative roles. The chapter on career developmentincludes exceptionally lucid and explicit information on whatit takes to get promoted in an academic institution. Thebroader topic of leadership is more often addressed in businessschools than in academic medicine, and the tools of study tendto be anecdotal, reflective, and experiential. This volumefollows that pattern with a lengthy final chapter featuring thepersonal reflections of individuals who have achieved successin the administrative hierarchy of medical academia. Thoughnot critical information in the same sense as the rest ofthe book, the stories are compelling and inspiring, notleast because many readers are likely to have encounteredone or more of the writers in the course of training andearly career.

Other Books on General Medical Education

Roberts LW: The Academic Medicine Handbook : A Guideto Achievement and Fulfillment for Academic Faculty, NewYork, Springer, 2013, 486 Pages; $49.95

Please note that one of us (MDJ) contributed to two chaptersof this volume. This book is similar in tone and design toRoberts and Hilty's 2006Handbook of Career Development inAcademic Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences reviewed be-low, but was directed to academic faculty generally, ratherthan to psychiatrists specifically. Thus, although the majorityof the 78 contributors to this volume were drawn from psy-chiatry departments, the scope is broader and the authors werecareful not to allow behavioral health perspectives to domi-nate its themes. The book consists of 56 brief chapters dealingwith finely focused, practical issues that confront faculty at allstages of development. The result is a work of uncommonbreadth and detail, filled with insights and pragmatic sugges-tions that are easy to grasp and ready to implement. The toneof the book is collegial rather than academic, with an emphasison the experience of successful faculty, followed by just asmall number of well-chosen references. The frequent use oftables, boxes, and bulleted lists facilitates quick overviews andhighlights critical points. The book is particularly easy to useas a problem-solving reference, where the reader will beefficiently guided through a discussion of specific issues. Itlends itself less readily to a cover-to-cover reading, for whichthe large number of brief, narrowly focused chapters mayprove overwhelming. In this sense, it is rather like a visit witha goodmentor, allowing the reader to define the day's questionrather than having to sit through a course of material chosenfor someone else.

Acad Psychiatry (2014) 38:43–49 45

Holmboe ES, Hawkins RE: Practical Guide to the Evaluationof Clinical Competence , Philadelphia, Mosby Elsevier, 2008;244 Pages; $57.95

Contributors to the Practical Guide were mostly from educa-tion accreditation and assessment organizations (e.g., theNational Board of Medical Examiners) with expertise in edu-cation research and theory. This perspective was stronglyreflected in the book, which is densely packed with empiricalstudies and references to theoretical concepts, at times leaningmore toward the needs of education theorists than practi-tioners struggling to know exactly what to do to assess theirtrainees. For example, a chapter on written tests has a long anddetailed review of published findings regarding these exami-nations, with little practical information on how to use them,although two small graphs convey the sobering reality of justhow many questions are required to get a valid and reliableassessment of student knowledge. Even so, much of the bookis excellent, particularly the sections on portfolios, the impacton clinical care of practice-based learning and improvement,and patient simulations. The editors have extensive expertisein the use of direct observation for trainee evaluation, and theyinclude a detailed section on how to train the faculty to dothese assessments reliably, a useful adjunct to psychiatryeducators implementing the clinical skills assessments nowrequired by the ABPN. Finally, the Guide includes a DVDwith training videos of patient encounters at different levelsof competence with specific commentary on why they wererated the way they were. Overall, the Guide should be ofvalue to anyone with a serious interest in high-qualitytrainee assessment.

Rider EA, Nawotniak RH, Smith G: A Practical Guideto Teaching and Assessing the ACGME Core Competencies ,Marblehead, HCPro, 2007; 238 Pages; $179.00

A second Practical Guide covers much of the same materialas Holmboe and Hawkins, but with more emphasis on readilyusable examples for teachers and education directors. Thisapproach is facilitated by an accessible tone without excessivejargon or theory and by extensive use of tables and charts foreasy reference. The content of most chapters is comparable tothat found in other sources, but a few stood out as uniquelyvaluable. The chapter on interpersonal and communicationskills fills the first third of the book and does a commendablejob of integrating the competency recommendations of severalorganizations with both specifics of behavior and how toevaluate them, even going so far as to recommend detailedteaching and evaluation strategies. This is followed by nearly50 pages of sample assessment forms from other publishedsources, along with contact information to obtain permissionto use those resources. Interestingly, the chapters on patientcare and systems-based practice were written by a program

coordinator, who made passing reference to “our profession,”speaking not of education but medical practice, a gentle re-minder of the broad range of professionals who contribute tohealthcare. The chapter on practice-based learning and im-provement effectively demonstrates the role of evidence-based medicine in a didactic curriculum, on clinical rotations,and in medical practice, along with specific assessments foreach setting. The discussion of portfolios in the assessmentof this competency is particularly good. Overall, the bookcovers familiar ground, but includes a number of highlypractical resources and detailed, ready-to-use forms in aneasily digestible format.

Cooke M, Irby DM, O’Brien BC, Shulman LS: EducatingPhysicians : A Call for Reform of Medical Schoolsand Residency, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2010; 320 Pages;$45.00

Published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancementof Teaching, this extensive summary of medical education inthe US includes its history, current state, and specific recom-mendations for much needed improvement and innovation. Itbegins with descriptions of programs and practices prior toAbraham Flexner's 1910 report on the deplorable state ofNorth American medical education. The text quickly movesthrough the past century of teaching, accreditation, and licens-ing reforms. The authors identified four overarching goals forfuture undergraduate medical education (UME), graduatemedical education (GME), and continuing medical education(CME) during professional practice as follows: (1) standard-ization and individuation, (2) integration, (3) insistence onexcellence, and (4) formation of professional identity.Helpful case examples illustrate ways in which the currentsystems and practices succeed and fail in each of the abovedomains. The final chapter outlines seven detailed proposalsfor the advancement of US medical education and the healthof the public. Recommendations for sweeping change includeupdated and forward thinking of medical school admissionprerequisites and processes, unification of competenciesacross UME, GME and CME, faculty development with anemphasis on evidence-based pedagogy, increased focus oninterdisciplinary patient care and teaching in ambulatory set-tings, and funding commitments to support educational infra-structure, innovation, and research. Stakeholders working inmedical education, as well as funders, regulators, and profes-sional organizations, will find this book to be well-researchedand thought provoking. The authors made compelling argu-ments for revamping the present system in numerous ways.They made an especially persuasive case for seamless transi-tions of medical school to residency and residency to unsu-pervised practice. The text is tightly written and requires someprior knowledge of medical education's current configuration,funding, and regulatory structures to be easily understood. It is


an especially interesting read given the historical timing, acentury after the Flexner report provided a comparable anal-ysis of the status quo with bold recommendations for change.

Peterkin AD: Staying Human during Residency Training :How to Survive and Thrive After Medical School , Toronto,University of Toronto Press, 2008; 175 Pages; $25.95

The general theme of Staying Human is the importance ofwork/life balance and ways to enable trainees to preserve theirhumanity and ability to see medicine as a calling and notmerely a job. The author succeeded by allowing his specificsuggestions and recommendations for self-care to meld withhis more existential perspectives about the qualities and habitsthat lead to fulfillment as a physician. The book begins with adescription of the daunting risks of residency training, includ-ing anxiety and depression, burn-out, substance abuse, harass-ment, troubled relationships, and suicide. Happily, by the endof the first chapter, the author had created a framework ofcrucial elements for well-being during residency, includingselection of a humane residency, self-care, personal and pro-fessional relationships, learning and teaching, professional-ism, and financial management, each of which was developedin subsequent chapters. The table of contents and index arewell-organized and include many internet resources. Mostchapters are a blend of narrative writing and lists of relatedsources of self-help information. The author was a practicingpsychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the departments ofPsychiatry and Community and Family Medicine at theUniversity of Toronto. He provided both Canadian and USresources that take into account the residency and medicalpractice differences between the two countries. Although hisaudience is primarily graduating medical students and currenthouse staff, training directors and teaching faculty acrossspecialties have much to gain from careful reading of thisrelatively brief text.

Books Specific to Psychiatry and the Mental HealthProfessions

Gask L, Coskun B, Baron D: Teaching Psychiatry : PuttingTheory into Practice . West Sussex, JohnWiley & Sons, 2011;267 Pages; $89.99

The editors of this most recent addition to the growing bibli-ography of psychiatry education set out to cover the topicthoroughly across two broad dimensions, longitudinally frommedical school through graduate medical education and geo-graphically across international boundaries. The former task isnot unlike other works on the topic. The later, ironically, mayhave weakened the book by diffusing its focus with lengthydiscussions of differences among countries and cultures that

would be useful for surveyors, but less so to an individualeducator. Even so, there is much about this book that isadmirable and useful. The chapters are short, focused, wellreferenced, and accessibly summarized in clear tables andother graphics. The sections on curriculum development,how to teach interviewing, use of feedback, and the role ofsupervision are especially well presented and useful. A chap-ter on teaching research methodology is rich in teachingcontent as well as methods, and would make an ideal outlinefor teachers. The standardized patient chapter is exemplary inits presentation of practical examples that could be readilyimplemented, but at the expense of little background informa-tion or evidence of efficacy. Other chapters would be ofvariable utility depending on the reader's background. Forexample, the chapter on problem-based learning includesextensive introductory information justifying the techniqueand a good deal of text describing different aspects of theprocess, along with a sample case, but the mechanics ofproblem-based learning (PBL) are described only in passing.A unique contribution is a detailed chapter on student welfareand support that is unusually specific in its review of mentalhealth issues among medical trainees and mentioned issues inhow to develop experts to do work with this population.Overall, the book is a fine addition to the genre, but not thefinal word on the topic.

Roberts LW, Hilty DM: Handbook of Career Developmentin Academic Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences ,Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 2006; 340Pages; $66.00

The Handbook of Career Development was sponsored by theAssociation for Academic Psychiatry and reflects its missionto enhance education practice and facilitate the career devel-opment of educators. It opens with a wonderfully insightfulpersonal reflection on what it takes to succeed in an academiccareer. The book is divided into sections based on stages of acareer, from finding a first job to assuming a senior role,making it useful across the professional lifespan andforeshadowing for junior faculty the skills they will need infuture years. Especially impressive is the balance betweenchapters on teaching skills and those on academic productiv-ity, highlighting the overlapping but nonidentical tasks re-quired to be a great educator and to get promoted. Severalchapters on research cover topics not commonly seen, such ashow towrite a grant and conduct a peer review of a manuscriptfor publication. The chapters are short, highly focused, per-sonal, and reflective, with helpful examples of pertinent doc-uments such as an academic CV and sample employmentcontract. Each chapter includes “smart strategies” and ques-tions to discuss with a mentor or colleague. The book has onlya few minor weaknesses. The chapter on promotion couldhave emphasized the importance of outside reviewers in the


process and the importance of networking and engagement innational organizations a bit more. The chapter on theories ofteaching is longer and less practical than the others. Thesection on how to search the research literature, thoughexceptionally practical, deals only with PubMed and is abit dated. Despite these small flaws, this book is anoutstanding addition to the genre of career guidance foracademic psychiatrists.

Kay J, Silberman EK, Pessar LF: Handbook of PsychiatricEducation , Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press,2005; 379 Pages; $86.00

This Handbook is an update of one part of the authors' classic1999 work, Handbook of Psychiatric Education and FacultyDevelopment , but with a focus entirely onmedical student andresidency education. In contrast to Roberts and Hilty, the bookdeals primarily with how to run a medical student or residencyeducation program, rather than how to be an educator. Assuch, it reads more like an instruction manual than a conver-sation with a mentor or senior colleague and its relative valuewould depend on which approach is of greater use to thereader. The chapters are detailed and content-rich, with a greatdeal of essential background information for educationleaders, but with fewer practical guides on how to handlespecific issues. There are twice as many chapters on residencythan medical student education, but the choice of residencytopics was somewhat haphazard, in contrast to the tightlyorganized medical student material. With its primary focuson program design and operation, the Handbook remains auseful adjunct for psychiatry educators.

Andrews LB, Burruss JW, Core Competencies for PsychiatricEducation . Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press,2004, 145 Pages; $59.00

Although somewhat dated now by more recent changes in theAccreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education(ACGME) requirements, Core Competencies still containsseveral elements that should be useful to residency programdirectors. It opens with a clear explanation of what theACGME and related organizations are, without delving intoa detailed history of the organization. In contrast, the historicalbackground of the ACGME competencies creates the idealcontext to clarify and justify some of their more arcane ex-pectations. By far, the most detailed and practical section is“How to Assess Learning and Competence,” which has asuperb discussion of formative versus summative feedbackand a brief review of how assessment tools should bedesigned. A series of 1-page descriptions of 13 specificassessment tools includes resident evaluation forms withdetailed anchors for each item and sub-item. The chapteron definitions of knowledge, skills, and attitudes included

under each general competency attributes them to anAADPRT workgroup and includes a few additions andmodifications to current ACGME requirements, such asdefinitions of competencies for specific psychotherapies(brief, CBT, psychodynamic, combined, supportive). A briefdiscussion of how to incorporate these competencies into theprogram is followed by detailed checklists for the programdirector and coordinator. The latter was especially detailed andnot found in most such manuals. The specificity of the samplematerials in the book should be a boon to frustrated trainingdirectors trying to translate the broad concepts of the ACGMEcompetencies into specific items for trainee evaluation(or trying to remember what systems-based practice is).

Books on Specific Learning Modalities

Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade MO, Cook DJ: Users ' Guidesto the Medical Literature : A Manual for Evidence-BasedClinical Practice , 2nd ed., New York, McGraw-Hill, 2008;380 Pages; $75.00

This popular volume fills an essential niche for both thelearning and teaching of evidence-based medicine (EBM).The authors carefully established the foundations of EBMwith a discussion of its purpose, philosophy, approach, andlimitations. Themechanics of how to formulate a question andsearch for information include detailed discussion and direc-tions to cover the range of experience of medical students toexperienced clinicians and teachers. Much of the book isfocused on how to evaluate evidence, including chapters onconfidence intervals, validity, and applicability of researchstudies. Many of these topics are covered twice, first in asurvey chapter, then in more depth in “advanced” topic chap-ters. Statistical tests are approached conceptually rather thanmathematically, from the perspective of what theymean ratherthan how they are measured. Throughout the book, key pointsof the text are outlined in tables and diagrams of varyingdegrees of complexity. Overall, the book is an effective guideto introduce and teach the mechanics of EBM for both traineesand practitioners, always with a focus on informing clinicalpractice as the goal.

Clouston T,Westcott L,Whitcombe SW, Riley J,Matheson R:Problem Based Learning in Health and Social Care , WestSussex, UK, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010; 222 Pages; $75.99

Although introduced nearly 50 years ago, PBL has remainedon the periphery of medical education in most settings, withfewer monographs on the topic than might be expected. Mostof this volume was written by faculty at the School ofHealthcare Studies at Cardiff University, rather than by phy-sician educators themselves. Consequently, the background


material is extensive and detailed, though not always essentialfor a practitioner. The chapters tend to be conceptual ratherthan directive, most appropriate for educators already familiarwith the mechanics of PBLwho want to improve their skills ormove into a more pivotal role. For example, much of the bookdeals with interfaces between PBL and other models of learn-ing, which would be especially interesting and useful for aneducator to move from the novice to skilled facilitator. Forthose new to PBL or attempting to initiate a PBL program, thebook would be hard to digest without a good mentor. Even so,it has few competitors.

Michaelson LK, Parmelee DX, McMahon KK, Levine RE:Team -Based Learning for Health Professions Education ,Sterling, Virginia, Stylus Publishing, 2008; 229 Pages; $27.50

Although originally developed to teach business, team-basedlearning (TBL) has gained popularity in medical schools. Thefirst third of this book explains the basic principles of TBL andthe specifics of how to design and implement a program in ageneral education setting. Two chapters are dedicated to arationale for TBL in medical student education, followed byseveral more chapters on specifics of TBL that could beapplied in any venue. Finally, the book devotes a large seg-ment to testimonials from educators at the premedical, pre-clinical, clerkship, and residency levels of medical school,along with nursing, physician assistant, and exercise psychol-ogy programs. The book's strength is the clarity of its descrip-tions and explanations, making it possible for a motivatededucator to adopt this modality without additional training.Its greatest weakness is the lack of specific examples ofmaterials that work well in medical education, which may bethe biggest obstacle for educators wanting to adopt this ap-proach. The book has nonetheless become a standard text forTBL aficionados in medicine.

Stahl SM, Davis RL: Best Practices for Medical Educators ,Carlsbad, NEI Press, 2009; 287 Pages; $32.49

In a rare role reversal, a book from psychiatry was addressedto the medical profession at large. The premise of BestPractices is to base education practice on empirically derived

principles of learning, a worthy goal to be sure, but in this caselimited to traditional lecture-style presentations, without ad-dressing the broader topics of content selection, alternativeteaching methods, or learning outcomes. Taken within thisnarrow perspective, the recommendations are good, thoughunnecessarily laden with obscure and forgettable jargon and insome cases fairly impractical to implement. For example, itwas hardly necessary to include a section on “proxemics” tomake the point that speakers should stand where the audiencecan see them. Similarly, few lecturers are likely to devotemuch effort to the recommended personality assessment(“dominance,” “influence,” “steadiness,” and “conscientious-ness”) of individuals in the audience. An educational needsassessment, in contrast, was mentioned only in passing. As istypical of NEI publications, the figures were graphically strik-ing and clearer than most. For readers whose involvement inmedical education is CME talks and an occasional medicalstudent lecture or who need some pointers on public speakingor what good slides look like, the book is great. In otherregards, the book falls short.

Implications for Educators

& Monographs on medical education are an important component ofacademic psychiatry.

& Familiarity with basic concepts, research literature, and best practicesin medical education is essential for effective teaching.

& Books on specific teachingmodalities are available to aid educators inbroadening and deepening their teaching repertoire.

& Even veteran teachers may benefit from books that clarify andorganize teaching concepts.

Implications for Academic Leaders

& Development of academic resources is an ongoing need in the fieldand an opportunity to demonstrate leadership.

& Familiarity with specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes regardingeducation, leadership, and administration is essential for effectiveacademic leadership.

& Both reflective and evidence-based guides are available to helpleaders improve their administrative and teaching skills.

& Resources are available to assist junior faculty in achieving promotionand in developing leadership and administrative skills.


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