Assembly Line Education: A Novel Educational Technique for Today's Learners

Abstract

Background Education is undergoing a transformation. The traditional passive lectures are failing to capture and inspire the new generation of learners who value more active and collaborative learning techniques. Objective We sought to create a novel educational technique to integrate into our curriculum that would be more personalized, employ more active learning and collaboration, and allow for an effective assessment of resident strengths and weaknesses. Discussion We created a monthly assembly line education academic half-day that evolved to replace one of the typical in-classroom didactics each month. Faculty run small-group simulation rooms, procedure workshops, competitive ultrasound, and wellness stations through which residents and medical students rotate. Conclusion This novel education technique resulted in a more personalized approach that increased resident interest, sparked the creation of a very popular MedEd-Simulation elective, and allowed the faculty to gain a better sense of resident strengths and deficiencies.