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Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program

Purpose

The Medical Education Research Certificate program is intended to provide the knowledge necessary to understand the purposes and processes of medical education research, to become informed consumers of the medical education research literature, and to be effective collaborators in medical education research. By itself, the MERC is not intended to produce independent medical education researchers. The program is open to all who are interested in improving their educational research skills and is targeted for those with a background in medical education but relatively less experience in conducting educational research. The courses are targeted for clinicians and other educators who desire to learn research skills that will enable collaborative participation in medical education research projects.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the program consists of a set of workshops, each of which focuses on a key skill or area in educational research. Workshops are typically three hours in length and are facilitated by an experienced medical education researcher. The workshops emphasize opportunities for hands-on activities and active participation so as to maximize the applicability of the workshop principles. Six workshops of the participant's choosing as well as the individualized capstone mentored project are required for the certificate. These can be taken in any order, except for the concluding capstone project.

The following workshop topics constitute the curriculum.

Getting started in medical education research/formulating research questions and designing studies
Searching and evaluating the medical education literature
Data management and basic statistics in educational research
Reliability and validity of educational outcomes
Institutional review boards and research ethics
Qualitative research methods
Program evaluation and evaluation research
Questionnaire design and survey research
Capstone (to end the program)

Program Fee Structure

The MERC Certificate program has been revamped. As of Jan. 1, 2008, everyone will pay $50 for each registered workshops. Those interested in receiving a MERC Certificate must complete six (6) workshops. In addition, to receive a MERC Certificate, you must register for the MERC Certificate program for an additional fee of $100.

Those who registered for the MERC Certificate program and paid $550 prior to Jan. 1, 2008, will continue to accrue the required number of workshops and will be issued the certificate upon completion of six (6) workshops and are not required to pay the individual workshop fee.

Registration for MERC workshops hosted by the AAMC and its regional divisions take place through the AAMC. You can register online for the MERC program. Workshops hosted by other societies or organizations offer registration through their own meeting registration systems. Every effort will be made to find space for MERC Certificate registrants in MERC workshops, but no guarantees can be made. Slots available to MERC registrants may be limited for workshops sponsored by some societies or organizations.

2008 MERC Regional Workshops

Region Hosting and Topic
Central GEA (Columbus, Ohio)
Data Management and Preparing for the Statistical Consultation Qualitative Analysis Methods in Medical Education	Read brief description Read brief description
Western GEA (Asilomar, Calif.)
Qualitative Analysis Methods in Medical Education Program Evaluation and Evaluation Research	Read brief description Read brief description
Southern GEA (Nashville, Tenn.)
Measuring Educational Outcomes with Reliability and Validity Data Management and Preparing for the Statistical Consultation	Read brief description Read brief description
Northeast GEA (Burlington, Vt.)
Searching and Evaluating the Medical Education Research Literature Questionnaire Design and Survey Research	Read brief description Read brief description

Cancellation Policy

The program fee will only be reimbursable for a registrant who has participated in no more than one MERC workshop. Once a registrant has taken two workshops, the program fee will be non-refundable. The fee for an individual workshop will be refundable up to two weeks prior to the scheduled meeting. Cancellation after that point will forfeit the registration fee.

MERC Program Steering Committee

Brian E. Mavis, PhD, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Chair - mavis@msu.edu
Amy V. Blue, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine - blueav@musc.edu
Larry D. Gruppen, PhD, University of Michigan Medical School - lgruppen@umich.edu
Gretchen Guiton, PhD, University of Colorado School of Medicine - gretchen.guiton@uchsc.edu
Janet Palmer Hafler, EdD, MEd, Tufts University School of Medicine - janet.hafler@tufts.edu
Sarang Kim, MD, University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey - kimsa@umdnj.edu
S. Barry Issenberg, MD, Univerity of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine - bissenbe@mednet.med.miami.edu
Linda C. Perkowski, PhD, MS, University of Minnesota Medical School - perkowsk@umn.edu
Ernie Yoder, MD, PhD, Providence Hospital and Medical Centers - ernest.yoder@stjohn.org

Questions or suggestions?

Please contact the MERC Program, Brian E. Mavis, PhD, Chair; mavis@msu.edu, M. Brownell Anderson, MEd, Senior Associate Vice President and Deputy Director; mbanderson@aamc.org, or Caroline Ford Coleman, Program Manager; ccoleman@aamc.org.