A National Virtual Workshop for Health Professions Educators
AUDIENCE
Faculty who teach medical students, residents, and fellows in clinical learning environments.
DURATION
90 minutes via Zoom
December 8, 2025 (4:00 – 5:15PM PT – 75 minutes)
OVERVIEW
Faculty often ask learners to “make their reasoning visible,” but the coaching moves to support that practice are rarely taught explicitly. This national workshop provides a structured environment for faculty to practice those moves in real time, using a synthetic resident learner designed specifically for clinical reasoning coaching practice.
This session is hands-on. Participants will interact directly with the synthetic learner and practice naming reasoning patterns, coaching reasoning visibility, and maintaining the educational alliance while providing feedback.
WHO THIS IS FOR
- Clinical faculty who supervise trainees
- Program and clerkship directors
- Simulation, assessment, and faculty development leads
- Educators working to strengthen reasoning instruction in clinical settings
No previous experience with AI tools is required.
WHY SYNTHETIC LEARNERS
Synthetic learners provide a live, conversational practice environment without the interpersonal risks of practicing on real residents. Faculty can try new coaching language, experiment, pause, restart, and reflect without damaging a trainee relationship or triggering performance anxiety.
The synthetic learner:
- Maintains a consistent developmental level (Interpreter, RIME framework)
- Demonstrates reasoning that is present but not yet explicit
- Responds to coaching attempts without defensiveness
- Allows repeated practice with the same reasoning challenge
This supports deliberate skill-building rather than performance, and protects the educational alliance while faculty are still developing the coaching move.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending this online zoom workshop, participants will be able to:
- Recognize “reasoning present but unspoken” in a learner’s handoff.
- Use precise language to prompt learners to make reasoning visible.
- Coach reasoning transparency while maintaining psychological safety.
- Set a small, concrete learning goal with the learner based on observed reasoning patterns.
FACILITATORS
Session leads include faculty from the Stanford Anesthesia Informatics and Media (AIM) Lab and collaborators from national residency programs working on faculty development in clinical reasoning, coaching and feedback.
- Larry Chu, MD – Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Director, Stanford AIM Lab
- Aileen Adriano, MD – Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University
- Garrett Burnett, MD – Associate Professor in Anesthesiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Viji Kurup, MD – Professor of Anesthesiology, Vice Chair of Education, Yale University
SESSION STRUCTURE (75 minutes)
• Brief framing and demonstration (10 minutes)
• Live practice in small groups with the synthetic resident learner (45 minutes)
• Structured debrief and reflection (15 minutes)
• Optional Q&A for implementation in local programs (5 minutes)
DATE & FORMAT
Delivery: Virtual (Zoom)
Date: December 8, 2025, 4:00PM – 5:15PM PT
Cost: No cost.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Please click the button below to register. We are limiting registration for the best learner experience. Please re-confirm your attendance 1 week and 1 day prior.
Participants will be asked to attend with a microphone enabled to practice coaching out loud.
REGISTRATION
Registration is free. Space may be limited to support an interactive format.
OPTIONAL FOLLOW-UP
Participants will be invited to contribute brief survey feedback that informs the development of a MedEdPORTAL teaching resource on reasoning visibility and synthetic learner practice.
