A Conversation with Taylor Lafrinere and Mike DeSimone on the Future of Feedback in Medical Education
In the ever-evolving landscape of medical education, the ability to provide timely and effective feedback is crucial for developing competent healthcare professionals. MyTipReport, a pioneering feedback platform, has been at the forefront of this mission since its inception in 2014. Originally conceived as a research project, it has grown into a vital tool used by more than 400 programs across various medical specialties.
In this insightful conversation, we delve into the journey of myTipReport with its creator, Taylor Lafrinere, and explore its future as it joins forces as part of the MedHub portfolio, a leader in medical education technology. Together with Mike DeSimone from MedHub, they discuss the evolution, impact, and exciting opportunities that lie ahead for myTipReport and the broader field of medical education. Join us as we explore MedHub’s vision to enhance competency-based education and improve the training of future healthcare professionals by amplifying myTIPreport’s reach across a multitude of specialties.
Taylor, can you tell us about the history of myTIPreport and what you’re most proud of?
Taylor: The project actually started as my wife’s research project back in 2014. She was a medical resident and, together with her residency director, they aimed to study the impact of giving and receiving procedural and milestone feedback through an app. Initially, it was a side project rolled out to 20 institutions for a six-month study. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and institutions wanted to continue using it beyond the study period and they began telling their colleagues across specialties about myTIPreport. I’m proud that our growth has been organic, driven by users who genuinely find value in the product. It’s rewarding to know that people choose to use it because it solves an important problem.
How has myTIPreport evolved in terms of technology and clientele since its inception?
Taylor: Initially, we focused solely on procedural and milestone feedback and over time users expressed interest in using the platform for all types of feedback, prompting us to pivot towards a more generic feedback platform. This evolution involved enabling various scenarios and meeting diverse needs across specialties. While we started in OB/GYN, we’ve expanded to anesthesia, emergency medicine, and more, each with unique evaluation requirements.
Technologically, we’ve aimed to create intuitive tools that are enjoyable to use. As we grew, we realized the importance of not only delivering the tools and technology, but also empowering and enabling users so that together we can foster a culture change to emphasize the value of giving and receiving feedback. We’ve implemented features like magic email links for easy login and workflows that accommodate users who may not carry their phones, ensuring secure and efficient feedback processes.
What has it meant to you to serve future healthcare professionals through myTIPreport?
Taylor: It’s incredibly rewarding – the most impactful thing I’ve done, actually. Although I’m not a physician, as the husband of one, I understand the stakes and challenges of medical training. Giving and receiving feedback is hard, but it’s crucial for development. If we’ve made this process safer and more enjoyable for trainees and faculty members, we’ve not only improved physician training but contributed to producing better doctors – across more than 400 programs and counting. It’s fulfilling to know that we’ve made the world a better place.
Why do you feel MedHub is the right partner to carry myTIPreport forward?
Taylor: MedHub possesses three rare qualities that make them an ideal partner. First, they have a deep understanding of the space and a vision for improvement, backed by historical knowledge to avoid past mistakes. Second, they have the technical capability and resources to execute their vision effectively. Third, they have the breadth to bring the product to a wide audience, beyond just one specialty. MedHub’s commitment to making myTIPreport best in class and available across specialties aligns perfectly with our goals.
Shifting gears a bit…Mike, what originally interested you most about myTIPreport?
Mike: Several factors drew us to myTIPreport. Communication is key in providing constructive feedback to already knowledgeable individuals, helping them drive better processes and learning. We recognized the powerful tools Taylor and his team built and their benefits to schools and users. Our discussions with other societies revealed their reliance on, or interest in using, myTIPreport for evaluations, highlighting its value. The valuable data, dashboards, and reporting in myTIPreport enables us to better inform curriculum and training plans, and drive toward competency-based medical education. We’re excited about the potential to grow this tool beyond MedHub and to amplify the value created by Taylor.
What excites you most about myTIPreport joining the MedHub portfolio?
Mike: It’s a natural fit. myTIPreport offers flexibility and convenient capabilities in capturing evaluation data, which can be mapped to show trainees’ progress or how a group (program, class, etc.) is doing across a single competency. With BoardVitals’ curriculum and assessment technology and the MedHub residency management system, we have tools that support the multitude of complexities and learning modalities associated with education, and allowing data to flow between helps leaders unearth insights that may have been missed across disparate systems. Faculty can use this information to enhance their teaching methods, institutions can use the data to understand trends or gaps in plans, and we’re proud to play a greater role in surfacing it to academic programs.
What can myTIPreport clients expect as they get to know the MedHub team?
Mike: Many of our customers are already familiar with MedHub, so the transition should be smooth. For current MedHub clients, integrating myTIPreport technology into their MedHub platform will enhance their experience by providing user-friendly feedback and evaluation tools, as well as more comprehensive data and dashboards. We’re excited to deliver on this promise and believe our customers will be too.
For clients who are new to MedHub, we’re proud to be known for our customer-centric approach and industry expertise provided through our consultants, client relationship managers, support team members, and others. We are excited to welcome you into our business and look forward to getting to know your unique needs and how we can serve you to the best of our abilities.
For more information on MedHub’s acquisition of myTIPreport, please read the press release.