NMP researcher and Assistant Professor Dr. Andrea Gingerich has received a Medical Council of Canada Research in Clinical Assessment Grant ($30,971) to study how B.C. physicians communicate about clinical incompetence.

“Supervisors are reluctant to document when trainees have incorrectly performed skills while learning new tasks but the documentation is critical for tracking their learning," says Andrea.

Past research has focused on defining competence rather than understanding incompetence.

“Labelling someone, or something they did, as incompetent is cold and harsh. Over the next year we will identify socially appropriate language to communicate about inadequately performed skills.”

The project is a collaboration with scientists Dr. Lorelei Lingard and Dr. Chris Watling at Western University and Dr. Stefanie Sebok, a UNBC alumnus, now at Stanford University.