DART certificates are awarded to residents who participated in Academic Boot Camp activities, co-ordinated project development with the GME Office, and implemented their programs to improve the curriculum and assessment systems of their residency programs.

In 2023-24, GME held 3 Academic Boot Camps (ABCs), all virtually via Microsoft Teams:

Developing Active Resident Teachers (DART)

The Office of Graduate Medical Education offers a Developing Active Resident Teachers (DART) certificate for residents who have developed their educational skills beyond the expected level and have made a tangible contribution to the residency education program at Wayne State University. Recipients of the certificate complete a series of online learning modules and design and carry out a medical education project under the supervision of their Program Director and a faculty mentor. The online learning modules cover essential topics in education scholarship: theories of adult learning, tactics of teaching (small group facilitation, bedside teaching, giving effective feedback, etc.), sensitivity to learning environment, and professional development. Attendees will be supported and advised by the Office of Graduate Medical Education with their deep knowledge of residency education, cognitive psychology, curriculum development, social science research, and quality improvement.

Requirements

Participants are eligible to receive a Developing Active Resident Teachers (DART) certificate from the Office of Graduate Medical Education if they complete the following three requirements:  

1. Complete at least six online modules addressing the theory, tactics, and professional development in medical education. See the Online Learning Modules section below for the specific requirements.

2. Participate in at least one Academic Boot Camp (ABC) offered during the fall of 2023, the winter of 2024, or the spring of 2024.

3. Design and carry out a medical education project.  Project proposals must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Medical Education for approval in order to count towards the DART certificate.

1. Online Learning Modules

For information on how to access FD4ME modules, click here; for IHI modules, click here; and for AMA modules, click here. 

2. Academic Boot Camp (ABC)

In the ABC, participants will learn how to help trainees learn better, save time on all aspects of teaching (including mentoring), get better teaching evaluations, and have more fun in the process. It is an intensive seminar/workshop on the principles and practices for conducting and evaluating effective clinical teaching. Topics include identifying and remediating the struggling medical learner; student learning strategies; designing and implementing a variety of learning experiences; and continuing instructional improvement strategies through documenting/publishing scholarly teaching and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

3.  Medical Education project

Qualifying projects must have the approval of the Office of Graduate Medical Education prior to completion. Proposals should be no more than 400 words and should list a Goal (an education need that the resident has identified), a proposed Method (specific set of steps the resident will take to address the need), and an Outcome (at least one measure that will be used to evaluate the impact of the stated Methods toward the stated Goal). Applicants will need a faculty mentor from within their program and approval from the Program Director.

1. Identify a Faculty Mentor
2. Work with your Mentor to develop a project proposal
   1. Proposals should be do-able: something the program can actually implement
   2. Proposals should be concrete: the methods should be clear and specific
   3. Proposals should be time-bound: you should have a stopping point to assess them
3. Get your Program Director's signature on your proposal
4. Once proposals are approved, residents can take steps toward project completion
5. Obtain IRB educational exemption through the Wayne State University IRB office