CLIMEcast

In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan talks with Dr. Frank Batcha, recently retired Idaho WWAMI Assistant Clinical Dean for the UW School of Medicine Office of Regional Affairs and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine. Dr. Batcha practiced family medicine in Hailey, Idaho, for nearly 30 years, and served as a site director for the TRUST and WRITE programs. Following up on our Arctic medicine episode, Kate and Dr. Batcha turn from remote medicine to rural practice, and to how we prepare medical trainees for that life and career.

Dr. Batcha shares how a former high school chemistry teacher from small-town Ohio ended up in rural Idaho, and what he has loved and struggled with along the way. He talks about the strong sense of community, the challenge of the undifferentiated patient, and the heartbreak of caring for patients who are also neighbors and friends. He then walks through UW’s rural training programs: the four-week Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP), the longitudinal Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST), and the WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience (WRITE), a longitudinal integrated clerkship. He also shares outcome data, including that RUOP students are about twice as likely to go on to practice rural.

The conversation closes with what it takes for students and preceptors to thrive. Dr. Batcha describes the curiosity, comfort with uncertainty, and cultural humility that rural practice requires. He makes the case for rewarding physicians who teach and for state investment in rural training, and offers a message for future preceptors and students alike: teaching is a cure for burnout, and a rural training experience might be life altering.

Resources:

• Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP)
• Target Rural Underserved Track (TRUST)
• WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience (WRITE)

In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan speaks with Dr. Barb Doty, Assistant Clinical Dean of the Alaska WWAMI Medical Program, for a conversation on the art and science of Arctic medicine. A WWAMI graduate and family physician of 35 years in Wasilla, Dr. Doty co-championed the original design of the Alaska Family Medicine Residency Program and is now helping launch a second residency and teaching health center in the Palmer-Wasilla area.

The conversation opens with a cameo from Dr. David Compton, an OBGYN in Bethel, who shares firsthand stories of practicing medicine along the Kuskokwim River, from navigating medevac transport during spring breakup to managing obstetric emergencies with limited resources. Drawing on his stories and her own decades of experience, Dr. Doty unpacks the realities of Arctic practice: the challenges of distance and limited resources, the resourcefulness required to work outside traditional guidelines, and the historical and cultural context shaping mental health and wellbeing in Arctic communities.

The conversation also turns to training the next generation of physicians for remote practice. Dr. Doty describes the model behind Alaska's family medicine residency, built on early exposure to remote settings, cultural competency, and repeated opportunities to refine skills in the field before returning to practice independently.

In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan speaks with Dr. Joan Cangiarella, Executive Vice President and Vice Dean of Education, Faculty, and Academic Affairs at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and a leading figure in the national movement to reimagine medical training. Dr. Cangiarella helps lead the National Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMP), which now spans over 40 medical schools across the country. In this conversation, they explore the evolution and growing momentum of three-year MD programs.

Drawing on more than a decade of experience building and refining NYU's accelerated pathway, Dr. Cangiarella discusses what it actually takes to launch a three-year program, from securing institutional buy-in and navigating NRMP logistics, to fostering strong UME-GME relationships and individualized student mentoring. She shares compelling outcome data showing that accelerated graduates perform equivalently to their four-year peers in residency, and highlights innovative uses of technology at NYU, including AI tutors, precision advising dashboards, and a shadowing app that are transforming how students are supported throughout their training.

The conversation also looks ahead. Dr. Cangiarella reflects on what surprised her most about the program's success, the role accelerated pathways can play in addressing primary care workforce shortages and student debt, and emerging models like three-plus-three college-to-medical-school pipelines and PhD-to-MD tracks. Together, she and Kate consider what a future of increasingly individualized, technology-enhanced medical education might look like and what it will take to get there.

In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan speaks with Dr. Nitin Seam, Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a nationally recognized leader in pulmonary critical care and medical education research, on the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence in medical education.

Drawing on his research and clinical experience, Dr. Seam explores how AI can personalize learning and address knowledge decay, a persistent challenge in medical training, where foundational knowledge gained early in medical school often diminishes significantly by the time trainees reach fellowship. He discusses his work using AI to generate high-quality assessments in complex clinical topics, and the potential for lifelong learning portfolios that adapt to individual learners over time.

The episode also turns a careful eye toward risk. Dr. Seam unpacks the concepts of de-skilling, never-skilling, and mis-skilling ways AI use can quietly erode or prevent the development of core clinical competencies and raises questions about overreliance, screen time, deep thinking, and the importance of keeping humans in the loop. Together, he and Kate reflect on what it means to be a medical educator in an AI-shaped future, and why studying how we use these tools is just as essential as using them.

In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan moderates a live Conversation Café with CLIME leaders Addie McClintock and Justin Bullock, exploring their Academic Medicine paper “Our House Won’t Rebuild Itself: Peace, Love, and Hope as Tools to Transform Graduate Medical Education.”

Drawing on scholarship, lived experience, and audience dialogue, the conversation examines how graduate medical education systems can unintentionally perpetuate harm through pain, silence, and despair—particularly for trainees experiencing identity-based harms. Drs. McClintock and Bullock discuss the house metaphor at the heart of the paper, unpacking how bias, assessment practices, professionalism norms, and power structures shape learning environments.

The episode also focuses on pathways forward. Together, the speakers explore how peace, love, and hope can serve as practical tools for rebuilding learning environments while we are still living in them—emphasizing psychological safety, identity safety, belonging, and growth-oriented assessment. Audience questions deepen the discussion, addressing faculty wellbeing, institutional accountability, and realistic strategies for everyday clinical teaching. The result is a thoughtful, candid exploration of what transformative change in medical education can look like, at both the individual and structural levels.

In this episode, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan speaks with Dr. Douglas Lane, a board-certified clinical and geropsychologist and Clinical Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, about the subtle and overt ways ageism shows up in healthcare.

Drawing on decades of experience working with older adults, Dr. Lane discusses how age-related assumptions affect clinical decision-making, communication, and trainee development. He and Kate explore provider reactions to aging, how transference and countertransference influence care, and practical approaches to building age-inclusive, dignity-centered clinical environments. The conversation also touches on healthy aging, modeling age-awareness for learners, and steps healthcare systems can take to better support older adults.

 In this episode of CLIMEcast, CLIME Associate Director Kate Mulligan sits down with Dr. Grace Huang, Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, to explore how educators can transform their teaching ideas into meaningful scholarship. Dr. Huang shares her nonlinear journey into medical education, practical advice for getting started, and insights on both traditional and innovative ways to disseminate scholarly work—from MedEdPORTAL to digital scholarship. Whether you’re a faculty member just beginning your scholarly path or looking to expand your impact, this conversation offers encouragement, strategies, and inspiration to make your teaching count. 

Resources from this Episode

1. Scoping Review on Faculty Development for Educational Scholarship
   • Cameron, M.W.; Crowther, L.N.; Huang, G.C. (2023). Faculty Development and Infrastructure to Support Educational Scholarship: A Scoping Review on Author Development. Academic Medicine, 98(1), 112–122.
   • Read on PubMed| Journal Link
2. MedEdPORTAL (AAMC)
   • Open-access, peer-reviewed journal for teaching and learning resources in health professions education.
   • https://www.mededportal.org 
3. Academic Medicine – “Last Page” Infographics
   • Concise, peer-reviewed infographics on medical education topics.
   • https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine
4. CLIME Small Grants Program (UW)
   • Funding to support innovative medical education projects.
   • https://clime.washington.edu/research-scholarship/clime-grant/
     
     
5. AAMC Faculty Development & Certificate Programs
   • National opportunities to build skills in medical education and scholarship.
   • https://www.aamc.org/professional-development
     
     
6. IAMSE (International Association of Medical Science Educators)
   • Global network supporting collaboration and innovation in medical education.
   • https://www.iamse.org
     
     
7. Peer Review as Professional Development
   • Guidance on becoming a reviewer and growing through the process.
   • BMJ Resource for Reviewers

In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Potter explores the importance of trauma-informed approaches in medical education. Building on her Grand Rounds presentation, Dr. Potter shares practical strategies for recognizing and responding to trauma in learners, creating supportive learning environments, and promoting resilience and well-being. She introduces key frameworks like the “Four R’s” and six guiding principles of trauma-informed care, and highlights how these approaches benefit all learners, not just those with known trauma histories. Tune in for thoughtful insights on shaping a more compassionate, inclusive, and effective educational experience.

In this episode, Dr. Brad Sharpe dives into the power of authentic connections in medical education. Building on his Grand Rounds presentation, "What's in a Name? Authentic Connections in Medical Education," Dr. Sharpe shares practical tips for fostering a positive learning climate, emphasizes the link between connection and psychological safety, and explores how genuine relationships can drive motivation and improve educational outcomes. Tune in for insightful strategies to enhance teaching practices and create meaningful connections with learners. 

https://clime.washington.edu/

Grand Rounds: What's in a name? Authentic Connections in Medical Education

In this episode, CLIME Associate Director, Kate Mulligan talks with Michael Campion about precision medical education. They explore how personalized learning approaches could enhance the training of future healthcare professionals. Join us as we discuss innovative strategies for integrating data-driven insights into curriculum and assessment, fostering individualized learning paths, and ultimately improving outcomes in medical education.

Resources: 

• Exploring Precision Medical Education Episode Transcript
• Precision Medical Education
• Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)
• Precision Medical Education: Marc Triola, MD and Jesse Burk-Rafel, MD, MRes: https://journals-lww-com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/academicmedicine/fulltext/2023/07000/precision_medical_education.22.aspx  
• AMA Precision Medical Education initiative: 
  https://www.ama-assn.org/education/changemeded-initiative/precision-education
• Academic Medicine Supplement on Precision Medical Education, April 2024: 
  https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/toc/2024/04001