Ep 111 Effective Learning Strategies in Emergency Medicine

This is EM Cases Episode 111 Effective Learning Strategies in Emergency Medicine. With the rapidly evolving and expanding specialty of Emergency Medicine, learning in Emergency Medicine should be thought of as a journey, not a destination. In this episode, a followup to Episode 98 Teaching on Shift, with the help of Jonathan Sherbino, Assistant Dean of Education at McMaster University and Rick Penciner, the head of education at North York General Hospital, we explore the most effective learning strategies while debunking 5 myths in learning, and answer questions such as: How do we maximize our learning in the face of an ever-growing body of knowledge and procedure skill set so that we can become better doctors? What can we learn from the Dunning-Kruger effect? How do we best minimize distractions while we learn? How do we improve retrieval strength for easy recall? How can deliberate practice inform learning procedures? How can social learning improve our knowledge base? and many more... Podcast production, sound design & editing by Anton Helman Written Summary and blog post by Alexander Hart & Shaun Mehta, edited by Anton Helman June, 2018 Special thanks to Brent Thoma, Anand Swaminathan, Salim Rezaie and Jeff Ridell for their contributions to this podcast Cite this podcast as: Helman, A, Sherbino, J, Penciner, R. Effective Learning Strategies in Emergency Medicine. Emergency Medicine Cases. June, 2018. https://emergencymedicinecases.com/learning-strategies-emergency-medicine/. Accessed [date]. It may be true that as a species, we humans aren’t the best at learning. Indeed, we forget easily. We all know the feeling of frustration that comes with racking one’s brain in the vain attempt to retrieve a small but important piece of information. Especially while in the middle of a shift! What’s more, trying to stay abreast of all the new information that is published constantly can be overwhelming. The ratio between what we know and what we can know seems to shrink every day. Here then are some theory, tips, tricks, advice, pearls and pitfalls on how we can be the best learners possible. 5 Learning Theories that are myths There has been a lot written over the years about learning theory. While some are backed by strong evidence, others have been relegated to the status of myth. Some examples include: Learning Styles: While you may consider yourself a visual, auditory (or other perceptual mode) learner, there is no evidence that individuals learn more effectively in one perceptual mode over another. Rather, multimodal learning seems to be for effective than learning in a single mode. The Adult Learner: The healthy adult brain is no different in its neuronal pathways for learning than the brains of younger people. Furthermore, there is no evidence that we are better motivated or more task oriented as we enter adult life. Learning Pyramind: This theory holds that we can predict the percentage of retained knowledge based on the method used, be it reading, lectures, teaching others, etc. The learning pyramid theory unfortunately is not backed by any reproducible evidence. The learning pyramid theory for retention rates has never been studied rigorously. 10,000 Hour Rule: This theory is based on the notion that practice makes perfect. This is only partially true. Only perfect practice makes perfect. Without coaching, focused teaching, or deliberate practice one may be doomed to simply repeating ineffective technique ad infinitum. This does not lead to expertise. Digital Natives: Being born in an age permeated by information instantly accessible on a technologically advanced plat...