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Didactics & Discussions

Whether you’re searching for ways to engage students in virtual learning, revamping a stale lecture, or building a new didactic session, flipping the classroom around Aquifer cases is a powerful way to engage your students and help case-based learning stick. Check out different ways that medical educators are integrating Aquifer cases into their pedagogy...
March 1, 2021

7 Tools for Flipping Your Classroom with Aquifer

Designing Didactics for GenZ
November 16, 2020

Redesigning Didactics for Gen Z: Engaging Students Around Principles of Geriatrics

Flipping the classroom with Aquifer
May 11, 2020

Strategies for Flipping the Classroom with Aquifer

It may seem unusual to design and implement a medical student course focused on high-value care in the middle of a pandemic. As third and fourth-year medical students were pulled from clinical duties at the urging of the AAMC, educators at the University of Virginia School of Medicine developed a two-week online course. The course introduced students to an integrative, comprehensive model of high-value care applicable to future clinical practice.
April 27, 2020

A High-Value Care Course in the Era of COVID-19

Assessment

Case-Analysis-Tool
February 17, 2021

Case Analysis Tool: Feedback for Developing Clinical Reasoning Skills

Student feedback summary graphic
July 16, 2020

Providing Formative Feedback Via Summary Statements

Student Perspectives

This summer I began my first clinical rotation of my third year in Family Medicine. Due to local COVID-19 precautions, the first half of our rotation was being conducted virtually. During that time, we were encouraged to complete the Aquifer Family Medicine cases. In my experience, the cases were a helpful bridge to patient care from my coursework...
September 17, 2020

Student Experience: Bridging the Gap Between Coursework and Patient Care

Having just completed my third year of medical school, I can confidently say that Aquifer has been highly useful for my learning. I found that its clinical relevance and stepwise learning process combined to make it a one-of-a-kind learning resource. Here are a few of my recommendations to clinical educators so that students of all medical disciplines can get the most out of Aquifer.
August 24, 2020

Using Aquifer Cases Effectively: Perspective of a Third-Year Medical Student

Students provide consistently high rankings for Aquifer as reported in our five-star rating feedback data, but how and when cases are integrated into the curriculum can have a significant impact on their learning. Find out what themes emerged when we ask students what methods are most effective--and discover practical tips for assigning Aquifer cases based on student feedback.
June 24, 2020

Student Perspectives: Practical Tips for Assigning Cases

Strategies & Tips

Remediation

We all know that every student will have a slightly different experience in each of their supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). At our program, we’ve been using Aquifer cases to augment learning, build key communication skills, and supplement clinical experiences to meet ARC-PA standards.  
May 12, 2021

Remediation Part 2: Success Stories & Structures

We all know that every student will have a slightly different experience in each of their supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). At our program, we’ve been using Aquifer cases to augment learning, build key communication skills, and supplement clinical experiences to meet ARC-PA standards.  
April 28, 2021

Remediation Part 1: Aquifer Tools & Strategies

Integrating Basic & Clinical Science

WISE-OnCall is used by programs across medical and health professions education to help learners diagnose and manage clinical situations they are likely to encounter on clinical clerkships, advanced sub-internships, and during the transition to residency or practice. Here are some successful integration strategies that we’ve heard from faculty users...
November 17, 2021

Start Small: Six Activities to Get Started Integrating Basic Science and Clinical Learning

WISE-OnCall is used by programs across medical and health professions education to help learners diagnose and manage clinical situations they are likely to encounter on clinical clerkships, advanced sub-internships, and during the transition to residency or practice. Here are some successful integration strategies that we’ve heard from faculty users...
May 27, 2021

Using Integrated Illness Scripts: Three Integration Stories

WISE-OnCall is used by programs across medical and health professions education to help learners diagnose and manage clinical situations they are likely to encounter on clinical clerkships, advanced sub-internships, and during the transition to residency or practice. Here are some successful integration strategies that we’ve heard from faculty users...
April 13, 2021

Building on Basic Science: Integrated Illness Scripts as a Foundational Boundary-Crossing Curricular Tool

If you want to use Aquifer cases as a clinical correlate in basic sciences classes just assign one case per week (e.g. pediatric case about cystic fibrosis in a genetics course; internal medicine case about anemia in hematology course). Students at UW have told me that this is about the right number of cases because the case content is complicated for early students. Students can work independently through the case and you can use it as context for discussion about how the basic science helps explain the clinical presentation--getting to the “why” behind how patients present as they do! 
April 30, 2020

The Pre-Clinical Pace: Using Cases for Early Learners

Preparing for Clinic

This summer I began my first clinical rotation of my third year in Family Medicine. Due to local COVID-19 precautions, the first half of our rotation was being conducted virtually. During that time, we were encouraged to complete the Aquifer Family Medicine cases. In my experience, the cases were a helpful bridge to patient care from my coursework...
September 17, 2020

Student Experience: Bridging the Gap Between Coursework and Patient Care

This year, COVID added additional challenges to the difficult transition from pre-clinical to clinical/clerkship years by limiting student and faculty interactions during the traditional orientation week. We used Aquifer to create an online Orientation Course for our LIC students that addressed multiple key concepts and facets of the transition to the clinical/clerkship years and allowed our team to focus our limited in-person time on crucial activities.
September 10, 2020

Easing the Transition to Clinic: An Approach to Preparing Students

Returning to Real Patients: Preparing with a Virtual Rotation
June 2, 2020

Returning to Real Patients: Preparing with a Virtual Rotation

Hospital-systems-learning
May 12, 2020

Hospital Systems Learning: A Virtual Case-based Framework

Curriculum Planning

At Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, we are supporting our fourth-year students with flexible online elective rotations by adapting the model we created during COVID. Our virtual asynchronous electives--built with Aquifer cases and WISE-MD modules and implemented on the fly during lockdown--proved valuable to students, earning positive feedback and course reviews. With a few minor modifications, we are continuing this offering in response to student requests and the wide range of time-consuming requirements in the fourth year.
November 30, 2021

Improving Student Confidence and Performance with an Engaging Hybrid Clerkship

Touro University California Physician Assistant Program has been utilizing Aquifer cases since 2019. Originally, the cases were assigned to clinical year students to fill knowledge gaps and remediate rotations. Clinical year students found reviewing concepts in Aquifer cases during the virtual rotation block very valuable and found that cases improved in-person patient encounters.
September 21, 2021

Case Study: Using Aquifer Across the PA Curriculum

At Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, we are supporting our fourth-year students with flexible online elective rotations by adapting the model we created during COVID. Our virtual asynchronous electives--built with Aquifer cases and WISE-MD modules and implemented on the fly during lockdown--proved valuable to students, earning positive feedback and course reviews. With a few minor modifications, we are continuing this offering in response to student requests and the wide range of time-consuming requirements in the fourth year.
July 22, 2021

Flexibility in the Fourth-Year: Extending Virtual Electives

Diagnostic errors are a major source of morbidity and mortality in health care, and there is increasing focus on reducing diagnostic errors in medicine. Fitting these topics into your curriculum can be challenging. To help, I’d like to highlight strategies that educators have found successful using the cases and teaching tools included in Aquifer Diagnostic Excellence.
December 14, 2020

Teaching About Diagnostic Error: Tools for Creating Space in a Crowded Curriculum

Making Connections Across the Curriculum
June 10, 2020

Making Connections Throughout the Curriculum

Due to curriculum modifications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, our clerkship directors were charged with developing a virtual curriculum to keep students engaged in clinical learning activities while suspended from participation in face-to-face clinical care. Rather than develop a virtual curriculum for each individual clerkship...
May 11, 2020

Building a Core Clinical Virtual Integrated Curriculum

Getting Started & More

Dive In

Aquifer-cases-as-standardized-patients
April 23, 2020

Reframe: Aquifer Cases as Virtual Standardized Patients

Orienting Students

Engaging Faculty

Our community faculty are busy clinicians in local health systems or private practice. At several points throughout the clerkship, we provide calendars with the didactic and Aquifer case schedule illustrating the clinical information students will cover on campus. We actively encourage preceptors to engage in discussion with their students about what was covered during these activities outside of their offices to the benefit of both students and preceptors.
August 10, 2020

Just-in-time Teaching: Connecting Didactics with Clinical Learning for Community Faculty

Top Posts

Clinical Skills

March 19, 2025

AI-Powered Feedback: Enhancing Clinical Reasoning in Medical Education

September 3, 2024

Effective Remediation Strategies for Future Healthcare Heroes

AI in Case blog graphic
June 21, 2024

Aquifer Cases Now Include AI-Powered Student Feedback

Unique Ways to Improve Key Clinical Skills Using Aquifer
January 17, 2023

Unique Ways to Improve Key Clinical Skills Using Aquifer

We all know that every student will have a slightly different experience in each of their supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). At our program, we’ve been using Aquifer cases to augment learning, build key communication skills, and supplement clinical experiences to meet ARC-PA standards.  
May 12, 2021

Remediation Part 2: Success Stories & Structures

We all know that every student will have a slightly different experience in each of their supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). At our program, we’ve been using Aquifer cases to augment learning, build key communication skills, and supplement clinical experiences to meet ARC-PA standards.  
April 28, 2021

Remediation Part 1: Aquifer Tools & Strategies

Explore Our Content

4 Ways to Use Aquifer High Value Care Across Your Curriculum
June 14, 2021

4 Ways to Use Aquifer High Value Care Across Your Curriculum

WISE-OnCall is used by programs across medical and health professions education to help learners diagnose and manage clinical situations they are likely to encounter on clinical clerkships, advanced sub-internships, and during the transition to residency or practice. Here are some successful integration strategies that we’ve heard from faculty users...
March 29, 2021

6 Ways to Use WISE-OnCall to Prepare Your Students for Clinical Responsibilities

5 ways to use Aquifer Radiology
February 3, 2021

5 Ways to Use Aquifer Radiology

5 Ways to Use Aquifer Geriatrics
January 4, 2021

5 Ways to Use Aquifer Geriatrics

Diagnostic errors are a major source of morbidity and mortality in health care, and there is increasing focus on reducing diagnostic errors in medicine. Fitting these topics into your curriculum can be challenging. To help, I’d like to highlight strategies that educators have found successful using the cases and teaching tools included in Aquifer Diagnostic Excellence.
December 14, 2020

Teaching About Diagnostic Error: Tools for Creating Space in a Crowded Curriculum

Virtual-patients-combined-with-real-patients
October 28, 2020

Covering ARC-PA Standards & Supporting SCPEs with Aquifer Courses

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