In recent years, the digital twin (DT) technology has become the subject of significant excitement as its potential to revolutionize many different industries has become clear. However, excitement around DT has led to an eagerness to label many models, simulations, and control systems (CSs) as DTs when they do not meet the strict definition of a DT. We posit that this mislabeling is partly due to the lack of a clear consensus on what is and is not a DT. In order to clarify the differences between DT and CS, this article reviews a number of current DT definitions for practical applicability, develops a refined definition, provides a method of differentiating between DTs and CSs, and presents use case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.
PurposeThis study explores the mental health and well-being, overall job satisfaction, likelihood to leave position, and perceptions of job satisfiers and stressors and dissatisfiers in a national sample of program and institutional coordinators in graduate medical education (GME).MethodBetween August and September 2022, 11,887 program and institutional coordinators and managers with email addresses listed in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education database were emailed a survey link. The survey queried mental health using the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 depression scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and a 2-item burnout scale derived from the Maslach Burnout Inventory; overall satisfaction with work; likelihood to leave work; and drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.ResultsA total of 6,372 coordinators and managers responded to the survey, with 1,367 (23.9%) reporting moderate to severe depression symptoms on the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 and 1,767 (30.4%) reporting moderate to severe anxiety symptoms on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7. A total of 2,183 respondents (38.4%) screened positive for burnout, 1,288 (20.4%) reported being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with work, and 1,510 (27.9%) reported being likely or very likely to leave their job in the next year. Positive interactions with administrative staff, residents, fellows, faculty, and program leadership were the highest ranked drivers of job satisfaction. Tracking down residents, fellows, and faculty to complete required tasks, low pay, overall workload, level of detail to manage, time pressure, lack of appreciation by faculty, and sense of entitlement of residents were leading job dissatisfaction drivers.ConclusionsCoordinators are vitally important members of the GME community who play critical roles in supporting the GME enterprise. This study aims to raise awareness of the challenges and struggles faced by coordinators to lead to improvements in their job satisfaction, mental health, and well-being.
Abstract In 2009, the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) Longitudinal Educational Assessment Research Network (LEARN), a national educational research network, was formed. We report on evaluation of the network after 10 years of operation by reviewing program context, input, processes, and products to measure its progress in performing educational research that advances training of future pediatricians. Historical changes in medical education shaped the initial development of the network. APPD LEARN now includes 74% (148 of 201) of US Pediatric residency programs and has recently incorporated a network of Pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs. At the time of this evaluation, APPD LEARN had approved 19 member-initiated studies and 14 interorganizational studies, resulting in 23 peer-reviewed publications, numerous presentations, and 7 archived sharable data sets. Most publications focused on how and when interventions work rather than whether they work, had high scores for reporting rigor, and included organizational and objective performance outcomes. Member program representatives had positive perceptions of APPD LEARN’s success, with most highly valuing participation in research that impacts training, access to expertise, and the ability to make authorship contributions for presentations and publication. Areas for development and improvement identified in the evaluation include adopting a formal research prioritization process, infrastructure changes to support educational research that includes patient data, and expanding educational outreach within and outside the network. APPD LEARN and similar networks contribute to high-rigor research in pediatric education that can lead to improvements in training and thereby the health care of children.
The gaming industry has experienced a monumental shift in recent years, driven by rapid advancements in technology and the proliferation of the Internet. As games have grown in complexity and sophistication, the demand for unique and personalized in-game assets has also increased.
In this article, the authors describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric graduate medical education (GME), including the impact on clinical experiences for trainees, teaching methods used, trainee wellness, GME leader wellness and support, and the traditional interview process. A thorough literature review was done to identify impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric GME. In addition, information was collected through Association of Pediatric Program Directors virtual cafes and conferences. Positive changes for GME from the COVID-19 pandemic included: the rapid transition to telehealth; asynchronous learning allowing for increased cross-program collaboration; innovative online teaching modalities; increased flexibility and decreased cost of online recruitment; and shared innovations across pediatric GME. Challenging aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic included: decreased learning about common childhood illnesses, such as bronchiolitis, acute otitis media, and influenza; decreased patient volumes and patient complexity in clinics and inpatient wards, leading to less practice developing efficiency, time management, and triaging skills; and an increased burden on trainees, including moral distress and decreased support from one another and other social supports. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted important opportunities in U.S. educational systems. As medical educators move forward, it will be important to learn from these while mitigating the negative impacts.
