COM Winter 2019 Curriculum Spotlight on Innovation

During the Infectious Diseases Synthesis block in Phase 1, Dr. Zimmer and Dr. Bares incorporated Contagion Theatre, a novel improvisation-based tool, to engage the students. In Contagion Theatre, a standardized actor (student or faculty member) was scripted with a clinical scenario and instructed to interrupt the case-based learning (CBL) session in order to present their symptoms and clinical history to the class. The students were then invited to take part in the evaluation of his/her condition. This was followed by power point slides with laboratory data and related audience response USMLE boards style questions. Improvisation and props were used to enhance the take-home points and/or highlight the disease processes. One student actor smeared a tissue with red food coloring to illustrate the hemoptysis that occurs in pulmonary infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a faculty actor interrupted the session in a state of utter confusion to illustrate the most common infectious cause of encephalitis (Herpes Simplex Virus). The Contagion Theatre skits proved to be effective in breaking up the CBL sessions and encouraging student participation. Dr. Bares and Dr. Zimmer are working with microbiology course directors around the country to pilot this tool.