Social Connectedness and KINETIC3 Medical Educator Track

 From the 3/5/2021 newsletter

Perspective/Opinion

Social Connectedness and KINETIC3 Medical Educator Track

 

 

by Jeffrey Amundson, PhD, Tavinder K. Ark, PhD, and Alexandra Harrington, MD

 

Drs. Amundson, Ark and Harrington share how the KINETIC3 program is producing valuable data for program assessment and publication, but more importantly it is providing opportunity for a mediator of flourishing to exist and develop...

 

It may seem obvious that social connectedness is important, however, understanding its impact in particular environments allows individuals to leverage its benefits to build character and promote flourishing. Moreover, when we think of social connectedness, we often define it in superficial terms as social networking or creating a circle of friends, family, and colleagues. However, we seldom consider the depth of how impactful such connection can be, especially at work. That is, we might only think of work relationships as ways to get ahead, but upon digging deeper into these connections one begins to see the real value. For example, social connections play an important role in professional development and the co-construction of knowledge, by shaping an individual’s access to valuable information, guidance, and overall support. (Baker-Doyle, & Yoon (2011); Wasserman & Faust (1994). 

What does this mean for medical education? 

 The culture of medical education emphasizes productivity and demands excellence given the seriousness of the potential impact on the eventual practicing physician and patient. The stress of this environment can be mediated by social connectedness. That is, if faculty have more connections and more meaningful connections, then their ability to flourish and in turn help emerging physicians flourish is more accessible (Happiness Is 'Infectious' In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual – Phenomenon, 2008; Mere Belonging: The Power of Social Connections., 2012; Learning in Faculty Development: The Role of Social Networks, 2020). 

What we found 

 Social network analysis (SNA) has been used variably in faculty development efforts in medical education to assess effectiveness of learning about teaching, but prospective data from formal programs is minimal. We developed a SNA to understand how social connections emerge, develop, and add value to the learners in our faculty development program for medical educators (Kinetics3). Prior to a workshop on building professional networks at our institution, participants completed a SNA exercise. Participants were asked to sketch the direction (unidirectional- one-way value relationship vs. bidirectional- value provided for both parties) and strength (1-weak/low value, 2-moderate, 3-strong/high value) of relationships to individuals and organizations in and outside of our institution, as they relate to their existing academic educational networks. Text box descriptions of the relationship(s) were encouraged. Individuals were also asked to sketch future connections they hoped to foster over the program duration (dotted lines). For our enrolled participants, the strength of their relationships related to education was dependent on the type of relationship (organization vs. individual). Specifically, faculty rated their unidirectional relationships highest from organizations and lowest from individuals. This suggests that junior faculty use of organizational expertise and resources may be more impactful than any given individual. We plan to monitor faculty SNAs after several curricular interventions in the program as an outcome metric to understand if our faculty development program influences the strength and diversity of connections to people and organizations involved in the educational mission. Junior faculty in our faculty development program tend to have stronger baseline relationships with organizations than individuals for educational-related activities at our institution. This data is unique in the faculty development literature and suggests that our program’s mentorship component and the influence of individual program instructors have the potential to fill voids in faculty relationships early in their careers. Additional network analyses by our faculty will provide data on how connections and community of practices evolve in an academic faculty development program.

KINETIC3 Medical Educator Track and Social Connectedness While what we found is only a part of the story on social connectedness and adds to our overall understanding of such constructs, the real value lies in how the process of experiencing the KINETIC3 program can foster these connections. That is, the process of the KINETIC3 program exists through planning for a capstone project and participating in workshop activities. Planning for the capstone meetings involves identifying mentor(s), collaborators, and working with members of a cohort. Once mentors and collaborators have been identified one is trained in empathetic interviewing to develop networking skills. During workshops leading up to and including identifying mentor(s) and collaborators there are activities to promote thinking about connecting with people. For example, in addition to the social connectedness study mentioned above, a barriers and potential solutions for the capstone activity was implemented that required identification of individuals one would connect with to help solve barriers to the progress and completion of the project. 

The KINETIC3 program is producing valuable data for program assessment and publication, but more importantly it is providing opportunity for a mediator of flourishing to exist and develop. 

Jeffrey Amundson, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education. Tavinder K. Ark, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Data Lab in the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education. Alexandra Harrington, MD, MT, (ASCP), is a Professor of Pathology and Director of Hematopathology in the MCW Department of Pathology. She serves as Director of the Faculty Pillar and the KINETIC3 Teaching Academy within the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education.