Medical Education Research, Innovation, Teaching, and Scholarship (MERITS) Program

The MERITS One-Year Fellowship in Medical Education will provide postgraduate fellows with the conceptual and practical skills required for successful future careers as medical education scholars and leaders. Fellows will participate in a curriculum drawn from various fields to develop innovative teaching methods, and undertake successful medical education projects and program implementation and evaluation. The goal of the Fellowship in Medical Education is to develop educational leaders and scholars through participation in a focused curriculum, research in medical education workshops, mentored projects, and active engagement with a rich network of colleagues and faculty in an environment of collaborative learning and support. The One-Year MERITS Fellowship Program is directed by H. Barrett Fromme, MD, MHPE.

The One-Year Fellowship is not a full-time funded fellowship (no salary or benefits provided).

Beginning with the 2022-2023 cohort, we will be asking each Department and/or Section to contribute $1500 towards the Fellow's tuition, which will also be supplemented by matching funds from the Pritzker School of Medicine.  PLEASE NOTE: In recognition of your new financial contribution and to minimize the impact to your department, we will NO longer be asking Departments/Sections to sponsor Fellow’s travel to the AAMC conference. Instead, Pritzker will assume support for MERITS fellows to attend a local conference or event with senior medical education leaders in Chicago.  This support enables us to sustain MERITS through dedicated faculty coaching and mentoring for all those who participate. 

Certificate of Completion will be provided to fellows at the culmination of the program after meeting all program requirements.

• Candidates for the one-year, full-time fellowship must be part of the University of Chicago or NorthShore affiliates as a faculty, fellow, or serving as the Chief Resident in a University of Chicago/NorthShore residency program.
• Candidates must have Department Chair, Section Chief, or Program Director approval to attend the one-year seminar series (provided 2-3 times a month).

1. MERITS Seminar Series includes topics such as:

   • Scholarship & Current Issues Facing Medical Education 
   • Curriculum and Evaluation 
   • Theory and Practice of Medical Education 
   • Medical Education Leadership

2. Course Directors: Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, Jeanne Farnan, MD, MHPE, H. Barrett Fromme, MD, MHPE, Nancy Schindler, MD, MHPE, and Sandra Valaitis, MD.

3. Medical Education Scholarly Project: Develop, plan, and/or carry out an individual medical education scholarly project within the context of curriculum development or curriculum evaluation.

4. Research in Medical Education (RIME) Conferences: Held the first Thursday of each month between October and June from 12:15-1:00 pm.

5. A local event with medical education leaders around Chicago, in concert with either the AMA or the ACGME.

The application for the 2023-2025 Fellowship can be found at this link.

The MERITS One-Year Faculty Fellowship application consists of the following:

• Application form 
• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of support & financial support from the Department, Section, or Training Program
• Personal statement 

For additional inquiries please contact Kayla Scales.

 

The GME Medical Education Scholars Track goes a step further in focusing and developing educational leaders in the early stages of training, during physicians' Residency Programs. During postgraduate education, residents face many time limitations that preclude them from seeking advanced training in medical education. This program offers medical education training to junior residents through virtual and in-person courses and mentoring. The Two-Year GME Medical Education Scholars Track is directed by James Ahn, MD, MHPE and Shannon Martin, MD, MS.

There is no fee associated with participating in the GME Medical Education Scholars Track.

The Two-Year GME Medical Education Scholars Track is open to residents in training programs at the University of Chicago campus.

Applications will be considered from rising PGY2 residents or residents entering their research years.

Virtual Training:

Residents will have the opportunity to participate in virtual Medical Education Journal Club discussions.

Residents will also participate in six annual webinars in the following areas during the course of two years of training:

• Theory and Practice of Medical Education

• Curriculum and Evaluation

• Advanced Teaching Skills

Live Program:

Residents in the GME Scholars Program meet quarterly during the lunch hour to discuss topics in medical education.

Residents will participate in at least five in-person RIME workshops offered monthly between October and June from 12:15pm-1pm.

In addition, residents will also be able to participate in the Residents Are Teachers electives.

Faculty Mentored Experiences:

Residents will conduct a mentored project and participate in quarterly workshops within their cohort.

Residents will also have the opportunity to have their teaching skills directly observed and critiqued by expert faculty.

The application for the 2023-2025 Scholars Track can be found at this link.

The Two-Year GME Medical Education Scholars Track application consists of the following:

• Application form
• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of recommendation from your program director indicating their support for your attendance in the program and your program director's financial support to attend at least one medical education conference and to develop at least one poster during the two-year term.
• Personal statement (1 page)

For more information please email Kayla Scales.