The Ozmosis Blog

One of the most powerful events in medical education is the traditional case presentation at Grand Rounds.  It is the opportunity for physicians to present challenging clinical cases to their colleagues, to deliver the history and physical, and to defend and discuss the management of that case.  During the course of the presentation, something amazing happens: everyone learns from each other.  The collective input from residents, faculty, and other attending staff help work through the complexities of an otherwise difficult to manage case.  Everyone in the room gains valuable insight regarding how to approach a complicated case, such as the one discussed.

So why is such an invaluable learning experience not taking place throughout all physician training programs, in every hospital, and at all practices across the country?  The reasons vary, but ultimately, it is a function of lack of time and too few resources.  The end result is that more and more physicians are missing out on Grand Rounds and other similar learning opportunities.

Like many Residency training programs, one program from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has found it difficult to gather all of the residents and faculty together at any one time.  Restrictions on work hours, multiple clinic rotations, and a number of other limiting factors contribute to this.  Recently, Bret Ripley D.O., the Associate Director at VCU's Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program in Front Royal, Virginia, took the initiative to find a solution. 
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