Advancing Innovation and Standards: An Embedded Capstone in a Virtual Health Professions Education Graduate Program

• In Event: Varieties of Master of Education in the Health Profession Capstone Experience: Standards and Creativity

Abstract

Objective: To share efforts that support and guide the advancement of quality scholarship to demonstrate competence.
Perspective/theoretical Framework: The rapidly evolving healthcare environment requires complex skills often beyond the discipline training of health professions educators (HPEs). To meet these demands, many enroll in Health Professions Education graduate programs (HPEGP) to advance their formal education (Artino et al, 2018). The majority of HPEGPs include capstone projects to capture evidence of graduates’ competence (Tekian, 2023). This case shares a virtual program’s efforts grounded in Boyer’s (1990) four forms of scholarship and Glassick’s (2000) six standards. It shares an ongoing effort to advance discovery and innovation while identifying processes and guardrails to guide a sound research process
Methods/techniques: Fellows engage in capstone projects that focus on identifying needs and proposing innovations to improve processes and outcomes. Guided by faculty, fellows design projects focused on either a macro need of their specialty or an institution-specific micro-curricular change to address a needs assessment conducted earlier in the program. These capstone projects use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches such as quasi-experimental studies, surveys, focus groups, and semi-structures interviews. More recently (since COVID) grounded theory studies, scoping reviews, and systematic reviews have grown in number. Results of an alumni survey and semi-structured interviews coupled with faculty feedback informed changes in the capstone process and content. These included threading the capstone across the program and connecting it to course work throughout the program to provide more guidance in scope, focus, and outcomes. This included the use of Lingard and Watling’s (2021) problem, gap, and hook approach (2021) to introduce capstone in the onboarding process using work, a 5-step template to provide study guardrails, a two-step proposal and mentor assignment process, the creation of a capstone minicourse series, integration of DEI and AI, use of a 5-step template to provide focus and guide process, and progress presentation opportunities to faculty and colleagues to clarify ideas and solicit support and feedback.
Data sources/evidence/objects/materials: Data sources include capstone project evaluations, the review of presentations/defense, course evaluations, faculty debriefs, and ease of publication.
Results/conclusions: Initial indicators (rubrics, grades, reduced time to completion, course evaluations, unsolicited comments, faculty discussions) regarding these changes indicate that the changes are resulting is increased clarity of expectations, a sense of support throughout the process, increased confidence and reduced isolation, enhanced sense of connectedness, need for research on impact, and increased community engagement and networking.
Significance: HPEGPs support the continued formal education of professionals who teach and lead undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate health professions education. Research on these programs, their content, and their impact and sharing best practices are important to ensure they are advancing innovative solutions while maintaining quality standards.

Author

• Toni Ungaretti, Johns Hopkins University