PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebrating 25 years of the Edward J. Stemmler, MD, Medical Education Research Fund, NBME is proud to announce an expanded cohort of recipients and their newly funded projects, which address critical areas of assessment of medical education.
Five projects were chosen to receive grant funds totaling nearly $750,000. Funding of these projects is designed to support research or development of innovative approaches for assessing those preparing or continuing to practice medicine.
NBME created the Stemmler Fund in 1995 to help ensure that assessments keep pace with changes across the continuum of medical education, from undergraduate and graduate studies, to training and practice. In its 25 years, the Stemmler Fund has awarded nearly 100 grants, totaling over $9 million, to recipients whose projects focused on key areas such as practitioner performance, validity of assessments, applications of technology and effectiveness of teaching practices. The contributions of Stemmler Fund recipients have helped medical assessments continuously evolve to reflect current medical practice and helped to ensure all medical students and physicians are held to the highest standards.
About this year’s award recipients:
Lorelei Lingard, PhD, Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Centre for Education Research & Innovation in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, and Stefanie Sebok-Syer, PhD, Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine with Stanford University School of Medicine, were awarded $149,999 over two years for their project entitled, “Conceptualizing and Assessing Interdependent Performance in Collaborative Clinical Environments.”
Pilar Ortega, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Lisa Diamond, MD, MPH, Assistant Attending Physician in the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, were awarded $149,971 over two years for their project entitled, “Medical Spanish Proficiency Assessment: Evaluating Physician Communication with Spanish-speaking Patients in Medical Education Settings.”
Brigitte Smith, MD, Assistant Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine, was awarded $148,248 over two years for her project entitled, “Are Longitudinal Assessments of Multiple Competencies During Training Associated with Physicians’ Patient Care Outcomes in Practice?”
Paul Joshua Chung, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, was awarded $150,000 over two years for his project entitled, “Automated Scenario Generation from Public Datasets for Simulation-based Training in Surgery.”
Anand Malpani, PhD, Assistant Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, was awarded $149,999 over two years for his project entitled, “Impact of Gender Bias on Surgical Technical Skill Assessment and Machine Learning Models for Automated Skill Assessment.”
The Stemmler Fund was named in honor of Dr. Edward J. Stemmler, who recognized that assessment of medical education should evolve to address advances in science and medicine. Dr. Stemmler was largely responsible for the conception of the program and served as the first chair of the Fund’s Steering Committee.
There are more than 190 medical schools in the United States, and they are constantly evolving in response to scientific advancements and the needs of society. This continuous, rapid evolution in medical education means that innovative and reliable assessments to evaluate physician preparedness are more important than ever.
During these unprecedented times, it is especially important to celebrate good news and remarkable individuals. On its official website this summer, NBME will highlight people and programs that advance the science of assessment and medical education. Additionally, NBME is currently accepting Letters of Intent for the Stemmler Fund 2020-2021 cycle; information on the submission process can be found here.
About NBME
NBME offers a versatile selection of high-quality assessments and educational services for students, professionals, educators, and institutions dedicated to the evolving needs of medical education and health care. To serve these communities, we collaborate with a comprehensive array of professionals including test developers, academic researchers, scoring experts, practicing physicians, medical educators, state medical board members, and public representatives.
Together with the Federation of State Medical Boards, NBME develops and manages the United States Medical Licensing Examination®. In addition, we are committed to meeting the needs of educators and learners globally with assessment products and expert services such as Subject Examinations, Customized Assessment Services, Self-Assessments, the International Foundations of Medicine®, and Item-Writing Workshops.
We also provide medical education funding and mentorship through the Latin America Grants Program, Stemmler Fund, and Strategic Educators Enhancement Fund, which serve to advance assessment at educators’ and health professionals’ own institutions.
Learn more about NBME at NBME.org.