UMEC Spotlight on Faculty Development: Katie M. Smith, MD, MS
Meet Katie M. Smith, MD, MS
Presenter at the 2017 Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar
“Podcast Learning for Faculty Development”
Ob-gyns often face a dilemma: They want to continue to develop their skills, but they have such jam-packed schedules that it seems impossible to fit in even one more obligation. Katie M. Smith, MD, MS, clerkship director at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, knew this—and that’s why she aimed to create a faculty development-focused presentation for the 2017 Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar that wouldn’t require much future facetime for her colleagues.
“We have no faculty development requirement,” Smith noted. “There are a lot of interesting morning and lunch meetings on campus but as ob-gyns, we are often working during/through those times with surgery and deliveries. I was looking for a novel way to do faculty development and make it flexible.” Her solution? Podcasts, the on-demand audio shows that let fellow doctors work on faculty development while on the go.
At the 2017 Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar, Doctor Smith presented a round table discussion on “Podcast Learning for Faculty Development.”
APGO: What are the resources that you found most useful in developing your round table discussion?
Doctor Smith: The APGO Surgical Education Scholars (SES) program was instrumental in helping me formulate my question and project idea. APGO has a lot of online resources that I like, and it inspired me to create an online/on-the-go tool. When it came to learning about podcasting, I contacted a local expert and had them teach me how to get started!
APGO: What challenges did you encounter when developing your program? What was the solution?
Doctor Smith: I was a novice in podcasting. I developed a document to take me through the process step-by-step, so I wouldn’t get frustrated when something didn’t work. I made notes about troubleshooting, etc. The first podcast was the hardest, and they have all gotten easier as I have learned.
APGO: What are one to three things that you hope people who attended your presentation at the Faculty Development Seminar took home with them?
Doctor Smith: I hope participants are more willing to engage in using technology for teaching and learning, and that those attending will explore podcasts already created to teach their students/residents. I also hope that they will consider incorporating podcasts into their faculty development program. (And maybe even collaborate to create more content!)
For more informative sessions such as Doctor Smith’s, mark your calendar for the 2018 APGO Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar, to be held at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, Florida from January 6-9.