Pathway Director: Supraja Thota, M.D.
The University of California San Diego Internal Medicine Residency Program is excited to unveil The RACE Track, our newest pathway for aspiring clinician-educators! Our objective is to ensure trainees interested in careers as academic medical educators are marketable for these positions upon completion of their training. Our 2-year curriculum includes protected time to build and practice teaching skills, design and evaluate curricula, develop administrative and leadership skills, and pursue scholarly projects in medical education. There will be opportunities to work with learners at all levels in multiple settings with direct feedback. Track residents will be paired with a faculty mentor who will oversee their progress while ensuring personal and professional goals are met.
Teaching Skills
There will be opportunities to teach in multiple settings including: staffing with medical students at our student-run free clinics, teaching at the medical school (Problem Based Learning), teaching medical students rotating through inpatient wards, leading commonly held conferences (e.g. morning report), providing feedback (observing OSCEs), and more. Many of these activities will be under direct supervision by a faculty member or chief medical resident allowing for direct feedback.

Required Activities
Efforts will be made to schedule track members on outpatient rotations concurrently throughout the year. This will allow us to protect five half-days throughout the year for residents to participate in didactics and workshops together. In additional, a 2-week clinician-educator rotation will be scheduled in the winter to further develop teaching skills and provide opportunities for practical application.
Curriculum Development
In addition to building and honing teaching skills, we expect track residents to graduate with the ability to design and evaluate a curriculum. Didactics and workshops will be dedicated to this topic and there will be an opportunity to design a Friday School day with a Chief Medical Resident.
Administrative/Leadership Skills
Positions as an academic clinician-educator naturally includes administrative tasks and leadership skills. Track residents will be encouraged to join a committee of their choosing offered at UCSD to gain insight into budget decisions and policy development and implementation.
Scholarly Projects
We encourage pursuit of scholarly projects including case vignettes, case reports, case series, book chapters, review articles, and abstracts with the goal of presenting at regional and national meetings.
Teaching Portfolio
Experiences, acquired skills, and accomplishments while in the pathway will generate a robust portfolio to be regularly updated and presented for review by faculty mentors and the Pathway Director. This will include:
1. Teaching skills and presentations in various settings
2. Curriculum development and evaluation
3. Learner assessment and feedback
4. Administrative and Leadership Roles
5. Regional and National Conference participation
6. Honors and awards
Mentorship
All residents accepted into The RACE Track will be paired with a faculty mentor based on shared professional and project interests. Track members will meet with their assigned mentor and Pathway Director, Dr. Supraja Thota, at least on a semi-annual basis to review their progress and portfolio.
If you have any questions regarding The RACE Track please contact Kevni Eng (keeng@ucsd.edu) or Supraja Thota (sthota@ucsd.edu).
Applications will be accepted beginning January 2018. More details will be posted at that time.