Overview of Program
The Medical Education and Scholarship Fellowship at the University of Florida offers fellows a 2-year mentored program to develop the skills to not only become leaders in health professions education but also education scholars. Fellows will complete a fully funded online master’s degree in Program Evaluation in Educational Environments from the UF College of Education as well as engage with the full spectrum of learners at our institution in many diverse clinical and non-clinical settings. Fellows will receive additional experience and mentorship in their chosen focus area of undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, or simulation. Finally, fellows will begin development of an academic niche in medical education by receiving mentorship from the University of Florida community while completing their required scholarly project.
For applicants who are not seeking an MAE degree, a 1-year fellowship track is also available. This option provides structured mentorship, educational experiences, and scholarly development opportunities tailored to individual career goals in medical education, while maintaining engagement with the fellowship community and educational initiatives across the institution.
Mission and Vision
The mission and vision of UF EM’s medical education and scholarship fellowship is to develop clinician educators that have robust knowledge of learning theory, excel in clinical and non-clinical teaching methods, and have strong background and experience with educational research methods. Fellows will work in our dynamic clinical environment and gain exposure to all areas of current educational program administration with opportunities to pursue further opportunities in their chosen educational niche. Further, we will train skilled investigators in educational research methodology through partnership with UF’s college of education and with scholarship opportunities as well as mentorship from our experienced education faculty.
Eligibility
Graduate of an ACGME accredited residency program at the time of matriculation. Applicants must be board-eligible or board certified. J-1 Visa applicants are not currently accepted. Once a letter of offer is extended, employment will be contingent upon criminal background screening and securing/maintaining an eligible license to practice medicine in the state of Florida.
Clinical Responsibility
Fellows are appointed as Post Doctorate Clinical Associates in the Department of Emergency Medicine. They have a core clinical commitment of 56 hours per month working as Attending Physicians in any of the four UF Health Gainesville Emergency Departments over the course of each of their two years of fellowship.
Application Process
Applications should be submitted directly to the fellowship program coordinator using their email information below. Applications should include three letters of recommendation (one from the resident program director if currently a resident), the applicant’s CV and a personal statement (not to exceed one page). Any other questions regarding applying should be directed to our fellowship program coordinator: EMED-Fellowships@ufl.edu
MAE Program Details
: Fellows pursuing a 2-year program will complete their master’s degree with our partners in the UF College of Education. This program is completed fully online over two years (6 semesters) and begins once a year in the Fall. Completion of the GRE is not required. See the program website for further details.
Salary and Benefits
2026-2027 Stipends
| CS level | annual salary | biweekly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $67,177.00 | $2,573.83 |
| 2 | $69,444.00 | $2,660.69 |
| 3 | $71,841.00 | $2,752.53 |
| 4 | $74,765.00 | $2,864.56 |
| 5 | $77,915.00 | $2,985.25 |
| 6 | $81,136.00 | $3,108.66 |
| 7+ | $84,203.00 | $3,226.17 |
Benefits
Generous stipend for academic enhancement and conference attendance/presentations.
GatorBites meal program.
15 days of paid vacation. 10 days of paid sick leave.
Fellows are employed by the University of Florida College of Medicine and are considered to be PGY4-7+ housestaff for salary and benefit purposes. Please see the Housestaff Benefits webpage for more information on insurance, retirement plan, leave policy, malpractice insurance, and additional services included.
Ample moonlighting opportunities within the UF Health system at the Main ED, Pediatric ED and two freestanding EDs (Springhill and Kanapaha) for additional income, all covered by malpractice insurance and sovereign immunity.
Core Curriculum Areas
- Adapted from Yarris et al. A Suggested Core Content for Education Scholarship Fellowships in Emergency Medicine. Acad Emerg Med. 2012 Dec;(12):1425-33.*
- Adapted from Yarris et al. A Suggested Core Content for Education Scholarship Fellowships in Emergency Medicine. Acad Emerg Med. 2012 Dec;(12):1425-33.*
Professional Development
- CV and Educator’s Portfolio*
- Boyer’s model of scholarship and Glassack’s six standards for assessing scholarship
- Understanding P&T process*
- Goal setting
- Mentorship training (finding and being a mentor, how to be a mentee)*
- Leadership training
- Membership in national EM education committees (e.g. ACEP Academic Affairs, CORD committees, SAEM MedEd Fellowship Community of Practice)*
- Attendance at a national medical education related conference (e.g CORD, SAEM, AAMC, ACGME)*
Theories of Learning and Teaching Methods (covered in fellowship didactics)
- Adult learning theory
- Andragogy
- Bloom’s taxonomy*
- Miller’s pyramid*
- Kolb’s theory of experiential learning*
- Constructivism
- Dryfus’ stages of learning
- Kirkpatrick model of evaluation*
- Bandura’s social learning theory
- Learning style inventories (e.g. VARK)
- Situated learning model
- Cognitive load theory*
- Deliberate/Reflective Practice*
- Didactic methods
- Large group*
- Best practices (e.g. slide design, engaging, incorporation of active learning methods)
- Small group learning*
- PBL/TBL
- Large group*
- Clinical reasoning strategies
- Illness scripts
- Cognitive errors
- Script concordance testing
- Clinical Teaching*
- One-minute preceptor, SNAPPs, Aunt Minnie
- Bedside teaching
- Procedural teaching
- Psychomotor education theory and structured approach
- Development of procedural curricula and methods of competence assessment
- Role modeling and the hidden curriculum*
- Learner Assessment Methods*
- ACGME Milestones
- AAMC EPAs
- Giving feedback*
- Written, oral, public, private, peer
- Debriefing (simulation)
- Remediation and the problem learner*
Education Research Methods
- Conceptual frameworks*
- Study design (MAE degree)*
- IRB process and ethical issues specific to education research*
- Qualitative methods (MAE degree)*
- Quantitative methods (MAE degree)*
- Survey research (MAE degree)*
- Curriculum Development and Evaluation*
- Assessment methods (question development, reliability/validity, psychometrics)*
- Systematic review methods
- Scientific writing
- Peer reviewer for educational journal(s)
- Grantsmanship
- Conducting general and targeted needs assessments*
Program Administration
Fellows will complete requirements above and in one of the three specializations below, additional experiences over and above one specialization are available.
UME
- Function as assistant clerkship director*
- Attend clerkship orientation*
- Monthly small group teaching for medical student didactics*
- Participate in medical student grading committee*
- UME focused fellows
- Mentor fourth year students applying to EM
- Function as Emergency Medicine Student Association (EMSA) faculty liaison
- Attend monthly clerkship director meeting +/- other UF College of Medicine committees (program evaluation, curriculum, etc.) based on interest
- Become familiar Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) requirements and American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for students
- Suggested Textbook: Guidebook for clerkship directors (5th edition). (2019). Gegensatz Press.
GME
- Attend resident conference*
- Deliver a resident conference didactic quarterly*
- Attend a Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) meeting and Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting*
- GME focused fellows
- Assist conference APD in developing and delivering resident curriculum content
- Function as a member of CCC and PEC committees
- Participate in the annual residency program review
- Become familiar with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements and resident milestones
- Simulation
- Obtain certification in Healthcare Simulation Education (CHSE)*
- Simulation focused fellows
- Attend and present and simulation journal club
- Work with simulation mentor to design, implement, and evaluate effective simulation-based training experience(s)
- Participate in debriefing training and observation
- Complete mentored scholarly project on simulation-based education topic (satisfies fellowship project requirement)
Required Texts
- Thomas, P. A., Kern, D. E., Hughes, M. T., Tackett, S. A., & Chen, B. Y. (Eds.). (2022). Curriculum development for medical education: A six-step approach (Fourth edition). Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Yudkowsky, R. (Ed.). (2020). Assessment in health professions education (2nd edition). Routledge.
Program Leadership
Nicholas G Maldonado M.D., FACEP
Meredith C Thompson M.D., M.A.Ed., FACEP
Program Faculty
Lars K Beattie M.D., M.S., FACEP
Maritza Plaza-Verduin M.D., FAAP
Ronnie K Ren MD, MSEd
Program Staff