Generalists as Clinical Physiologists: Bringing Science Back to the Bedside

Background Few generalists engage in basic science research or feel comfortable teaching physiology at the bedside. This may reflect a lack of understanding or confidence teaching physiologic principles. Aim To inspire general internists to relearn and teach physiology in clinical practice. Setting An active biomedical research laboratory. Participants We educated 67 faculty participants (4 primary care, 59 hospitalists, and 4 other specialties) from 24 medical centers, representing 17 states. Program Description The 5-day course was structured around re-learning basic physiology principles and developing teaching skills. Participants engaged in hands-on experiments through 4 modules using aquatic species, each paired with a physiology content primer. Participants also developed teaching scripts based on their experiments. Program Evaluation Post-course surveys revealed that 97% felt confident teaching physiology at the bedside, 100% felt the course enhanced their understanding of the mechanisms of disease, and there was a significant improvement in self-reported teaching ability. Discussion An immersive, hands-on faculty development course that integrated physiology with clinical decision-making increased participants' comfort level and self-rated ability to teach and incorporate physiology in their clinical work. We believe faculty development is one potential solution to the growing chasm between clinicians and scientists in general medicine.