The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education

D Thomas Markle Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USACorrespondence: D Thomas Markle, Department of Family & Community Medicine, UNM School of Medicine, MSC08 4720, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001,...

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Main Author: Markle DT
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2025-02-01
Series:Advances in Medical Education and Practice
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Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/the-case-for-brutalist-honesty-in-medical-education-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-AMEP
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author Markle DT
author_facet Markle DT
author_sort Markle DT
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description D Thomas Markle Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USACorrespondence: D Thomas Markle, Department of Family & Community Medicine, UNM School of Medicine, MSC08 4720, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA, Email dtmarkle@salud.unm.eduIntroduction: The assumption of a prioi trust between students and institutions of medical education is anachronistic and promotes both unnecessary student anxiety and the adoption of hidden curriculums to offset perceived risk due to a lack of transparency. Compared to the past, students now have access to a wealth of outside data to evaluate their curricular progress and career prospects against, and yet institutions are lagging behind in openly disclosing information related to metrics of student success (course passing rates, number of repeat students per class, Step 1 pass rate, etc.) that would engender trust and afford students greater agency in their academic decisions.Approach: In developing a new academic counseling office, the author deployed a method of using brutalist honesty as a means of student support, both in terms of answering all curriculum questions truthfully no matter the topic and with individualized data analytics to provide objective evidence as to student performance progress. The overarching goal was to foster student trust and have a positive relationship, both of which are necessary to give meaningful recommendations.Outcomes: As a result, the 2023 graduating medical school class, the first class to go through a full 4 years of this approach, rated the academic counseling office with a 96.2% satisfaction rate. This is above the national average of 88.1%, and the class performed 9 points higher than the institution’s three-year historical average on Step 1.Next Steps: Our goal is to maintain this approach to see if student satisfaction continues to remain high, or if given time, brutalist honesty becomes an assumed trait of the program. Additionally, we aim to push for high-quality research into student perceptions of trust and the impact that has on their academic outcomes.Keywords: student trust, hidden curriculum, medical students, academic counseling
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spelling doaj-art-728a69d1ad314ec699c68d6408d0297b2025-02-11T17:30:55ZengDove Medical PressAdvances in Medical Education and Practice1179-72582025-02-01Volume 16215219100056The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical EducationMarkle DTD Thomas Markle Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USACorrespondence: D Thomas Markle, Department of Family & Community Medicine, UNM School of Medicine, MSC08 4720, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA, Email dtmarkle@salud.unm.eduIntroduction: The assumption of a prioi trust between students and institutions of medical education is anachronistic and promotes both unnecessary student anxiety and the adoption of hidden curriculums to offset perceived risk due to a lack of transparency. Compared to the past, students now have access to a wealth of outside data to evaluate their curricular progress and career prospects against, and yet institutions are lagging behind in openly disclosing information related to metrics of student success (course passing rates, number of repeat students per class, Step 1 pass rate, etc.) that would engender trust and afford students greater agency in their academic decisions.Approach: In developing a new academic counseling office, the author deployed a method of using brutalist honesty as a means of student support, both in terms of answering all curriculum questions truthfully no matter the topic and with individualized data analytics to provide objective evidence as to student performance progress. The overarching goal was to foster student trust and have a positive relationship, both of which are necessary to give meaningful recommendations.Outcomes: As a result, the 2023 graduating medical school class, the first class to go through a full 4 years of this approach, rated the academic counseling office with a 96.2% satisfaction rate. This is above the national average of 88.1%, and the class performed 9 points higher than the institution’s three-year historical average on Step 1.Next Steps: Our goal is to maintain this approach to see if student satisfaction continues to remain high, or if given time, brutalist honesty becomes an assumed trait of the program. Additionally, we aim to push for high-quality research into student perceptions of trust and the impact that has on their academic outcomes.Keywords: student trust, hidden curriculum, medical students, academic counselinghttps://www.dovepress.com/the-case-for-brutalist-honesty-in-medical-education-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-AMEPstudent trusthidden curriculummedical studentsacademic counseling
spellingShingle Markle DT
The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
Advances in Medical Education and Practice
student trust
hidden curriculum
medical students
academic counseling
title The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
title_full The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
title_fullStr The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
title_full_unstemmed The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
title_short The Case for Brutalist Honesty in Medical Education
title_sort case for brutalist honesty in medical education
topic student trust
hidden curriculum
medical students
academic counseling
url https://www.dovepress.com/the-case-for-brutalist-honesty-in-medical-education-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-AMEP
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