Given the challenging cases and sometimes ambiguous paths to a solution, faculty may find seminar discussions provocative enough they could lead the group astray from the RP&L method. A brief review by the faculty after the seminar session has ended helps them reinforce principles of the method while examining the times they stray. We usually simply ask ourselves, “How did we do?”
Example Faculty Review
The challenge question raised in one seminar was, “How do you handle such high risk activities and so many decisions all day and go home and let yourself go to sleep?”
After the seminar and during our faculty review, we realized that we, and other participants, failed to distribute the question across the group. Instead the group focused questions and suggestions on the individual who presented the concern. We concluded that all involved, including the faculty, wanted to assist the participant who appeared to be significantly distressed over a particularly complex patient situation. We further determined in our review that the key issues, especially those of maintaining a balance between work and personal life, represented a notable challenge to all faculty, to one degree or another.
As with most faculty reviews, this realization led to specific strategies we could apply to future seminar sessions. For example, we thought we should gauge the significance to faculty and the participants of each challenging case, as it is presented. This idea reinforces the importance of monitoring each seminar session to ensure all participants have the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences. The second change requires that faculty invite all participants to respond to the question rather than allow the group to focus on the initial presenter as though he or she were the only one to have encountered such a problem. Thus, it is crucial to elicit analogous situations from other participants and use this information to develop a specific plan for strategic action.