Short Courses
The following Short Courses are part of the forthcoming BCH CEEI Certificate Program in Foundations of Health Professions Education Research. These Short Courses may be taken independently or combined to achieve a Certificate.
Please note that Short Course development is ongoing.
This page will be updated as Short Courses become available.
Registration Deadline: April 11, 2025
Overview
This course is designed to provide you with a foundational understanding of the uses and practice of qualitative research in health professions education. The course emphasizes practical skills in designing, conducting, and analyzing qualitative research, equipping you to employ these techniques in your scholarly activities.
Course Objectives
By the end of this short course, you will be able to:
- Define qualitative research and describe its uses in health professions education
- Determine the most appropriate methodology for your research questions from among common approaches to qualitative research
- Determine an appropriate method of qualitative data collection and apply best practice guidance to data collection
- Apply foundational qualitative data analysis principles
- Assess the rigor and quality of qualitative studies
Who Should Attend?
This Short Course is designed for health professions educators who are new to qualitative research, as well as those with some experience in qualitative research but little prior training in the field.
At this time, this Short Course is open to all BCH Academy Members and BCH Clinical Fellows, at no cost.
Course Logistics
The course meets four times on May 1, 15, 29 and June 12. All sessions are 12-1pm via Zoom. Learners are expected to attend all sessions and complete pre-readings and short assignments between sessions. Learners will receive feedback on each short assignment. Sessions will provide opportunities for facilitated discussion and skills practice.
Session 1 (May 1): Understanding Qualitative Research in Health Professions Education
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
- Define qualitative research and identify key differences from quantitative research
- Describe the role and importance of qualitative research for health professions education scholarship
- Recognize different approaches to qualitative research
- Identify research questions amenable to qualitative research
- Understand ethical aspects of qualitative research
Activities in this session will include exploration of main approaches to qualitative research with examples from HPE literature and assessing research questions suitable for qualitative study. You will have the opportunity to write or revise your own research questions and consider what qualitative research approach might be most suitable for your study idea(s).
Session 2 (May 15): Designing Qualitative Research Studies
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
- Recognize different methods of qualitative sampling
- Consider appropriate approach to sampling for different research studies
- Describe common qualitative data collection methods and their application
- Identify key skills and responsibilities of the qualitative interviewer
- Draft interview questions following best practice guidelines
In this session, we will explore qualitative sampling strategies and the main methods of qualitative data collection, with a deep dive on interviewing questions and conduct. You will practice essential interviewing skills and develop example questions for an interview guide.
Session 3 (May 29): Analyzing Qualitative Data
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
- Understand steps and tools in qualitative data management
- Describe common data analysis techniques
- Apply initial coding techniques
- Recognize variation in qualitative data analysis by approach
- Consider the use of AI in qualitative data analysis
This session will focus on fundamental techniques in qualitative data management and analysis, as well as concepts of saturation. You will practice initial coding, using a sample data excerpt, and examine how analysis might progress depending on the qualitative approach used. You will gain tips and strategies for analysis, including on the developing use of AI.
Session 4 (June 12): Presenting Qualitative Research
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- Describe key criteria for assessing rigor in a qualitative study
- Identify ways to demonstrate rigor in write-up, including the role of data selection and display
- Assess the uses and limitations of qualitative research quality checklists
- Identify ways of communicating qualitative research findings for maximum impact
In the final session, we will focus on writing up qualitative research and demonstrating rigor. Activities will include review of common qualitative research quality “checklists,” responding to reviewer comments, and examples of integrating insights from qualitative studies into educational practice. You will reflect on overall learning from the course and create personal goals for the future.
Continuing Education
This course will offer CE credits for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, registered dieticians, and dentists.
