Alert

Apply Now for Prestigious Harvard Macy Institute Program

PAEA is pleased to announce that, for the second year, we have secured a position for a PA educator in the prestigious Harvard Macy Institute’s Program for Educators in Health Professions, for which program funding will be provided by PAEA.

The program provides “a select group of participants with the knowledge base and skills to enhance their expertise in both conducting an educational project of their own design and taking a leadership role in the educational activities at their institutions.”

Ultimately, the program aims to give participants the skills and knowledge to step in and lead change in medical education through a mix of personal professional development and exposure to the broader medical education community.

“You learn a lot, you’re exposed to a lot, and it’s a really important table for PAs to sit at with colleagues from across the health professions,” said Cody Sasek, MPAS, PA-C, who was chosen and funded by PAEA to attend last year’s program. Other PAs in attendance agreed that it was valuable to sit with interprofessional medical education experts and let them know more about our profession, education, and training, and learn more about their fields as well.

The program gives its community of scholars time and support to work on a project for their institution in collaboration with colleagues from across the health professions. While each person’s project is unique, the feedback and input from other program participants can be invaluable. Sasek’s project involves developing a framework for clinical education using entrustable professional activities and is well under way.

According to Sasek, a typical day at one of the program’s two in-person meetings involves highly variable, multimodal curriculum, and might include small groups, guest speakers, and teaching demonstrations for feedback and self-improvement.

“This experience can be whatever someone wants it to be. They can improve as teacher, develop thoughts along a research agenda, or work through curriculum innovation,” said Sasek. “There are a million different reasons to participate in this program, and a million ways to accomplish what you want to do.”

The six major themes of this program are:

  1. The science of learning
  2. Teaching skills and strategies
  3. Inquiry and evidence in education
  4. Curriculum design
  5. Leadership development
  6. Innovations in education

Participation in this prestigious program will not only enhance professional development and innovation at your program, but will increase opportunities for interdisciplinary awareness and collaboration. A scholarship of $6,100 will be awarded to one candidate selected by PAEA to attend the program. (Please note that the stipend covers only the program cost, and does not include travel, lodging, etc.) While PAEA will select only one candidate to receive the scholarship, we encourage all interested and eligible members to apply for this outstanding opportunity.

To apply for the PAEA scholarship, please include the following:

  • CV/Resume
  • Response to the following question (500-word maximum): What do you hope to gain from this program, and how would your participation impact the educational process of the PA profession?
  • Project Proposal (view the program website for background and information). Please note, the project plan you develop for the PAEA scholarship application is the same project you’ll submit for Harvard Macy, so completion of the application should not be extensive.

Use the following questions to formulate the one-page project proposal (limited to a maximum of 3,300 characters including spaces) of the institutional project you plan to develop during the program.

  • Project Title
  • Focus of Project: What is the primary focus of your project? What question, concern, problem, or situation is addressed by your project?
  • Project & Assessment Design: List 1–3 specific goals of your institutional project. Describe your project, plan for implementation, and assessment data. Identify 2–3 short-term indicators that progress is being made. What outcomes will define success?
  • System in which your project will be introduced: What individuals or groups (stakeholders) are needed to effect your plan? Who will be interested in or impacted by your proposal? What sources of resistance are you likely to encounter?
  • What target population will your project implementation effect? (select as many as needed):
    • Choices: undergraduate, graduate, continuing professional development
  • What is the educational focus of your project? (select as many as needed):
    • Choices: teaching and education, curriculum design, faculty development, assessment and evaluation, educational technology

Applications are due to PAEA by August 3, 2018. The individual selected by PAEA to receive the scholarship will then need to submit an application to the Harvard Macy Institute program by September 7, 2018.

Please send any questions and all application materials in a single PDF file to Kendall Mealy, KMealy@PAEAonline.org, with the subject line “Harvard Macy Application: [Name].”