Nicholas Blackstone, MD, on the left, and Abdulghani Sankari, MD, PH.D., attended the international conference of the American Thoracic Society in May 2025.
The work of a Wayne State University School of Medicine scholarship holder was selected for a podium presentation as the first summary by the working group on scholarship innovations at the international conference of the American Thoracic Society.
Pulmonary medicine and intensive care Nicholas Blackstone, MD, presented “Innovative online learning for mechanical ventilation: a solution for standardized training in limited resources and various horizons” during a special session of May 17 for program directors and other participants involved in medical education during the conference in San Francisco.
He launched the project because mechanical ventilation is one of the most vital and technically complex skills in intensive care, but standardized assessment tools and structural training are often limited. “I wanted to create something practical, reproducible and rooted in best educational practices to help guarantee that scholarship holders reach a real competence – not just an exhibition. This project was also deeply personal, because I wanted to help fill an educational gap that I had noticed at the start of my own training, “he said.
The abstract describes the development of a free online learning platform to provide a standardized mechanical ventilation program without economic time and teachers. The program targeted scholarship holders in pulmonary medicine and intensive care.
“Our innovative online online registration platform offers an evolving and profitable solution to the challenges of mechanical ventilation education.
A month after finishing the online learning modules, participants took a test and repeated a simulator exercise to assess knowledge retention and application.
Preliminary data suggest that the apprenticeship platform can actually be set up to meet the needs of scholarship programs on a global scale, in particular in limited resource parameters. By making the program of studies widely accessible and free, they aim to improve opportunities for trainees from under-represented horizons, contributing to greater inclusiveness and to reduce disparities in academic access.
Dr. Blackstone joined the Wayne State University School of Medicine in July 2022.
“Wayne State offered an ideal balance between clinical intensity, academic support and significant community commitment. I was attracted by the training of the High Acuity Intensive Care Unit of the program, a robust teaching culture and the opportunity to work at the intersection of clinical care and education in Detroit-he said.
He is an academic scholarship holder, member of the clinician-educator and clinical instructor of medicine.
“The Wayne State clinician-educator gave me the formal structure, mentoring and dedicated time to transform this passion into tangible academic work. Thanks to the track, I was able to become a clinical instructor of internal medicine, which gave me access to the medical school of this project, “he said.
His career objective is to practice pulmonary medicine and intensive care in a university medical center while directing educational initiatives that improve the training of future doctors.
“Whether thanks to the design of the curriculum, the training in simulation or the bedside mentoring, I want to shape how pulmonary education and intensive care is evolving. This scholarship-in particular through the clinical-educator track-gave me the tools, the experiences and the advice I need to achieve this goal,” he said. “Wayne State has provided unshakable support for my growth as a clinician and educator. I was fortunate to have exceptional mentorship of Dr Divya Venkat and Dr Abdulghani Sankari, who encouraged me to pursue innovative projects and present them on a national scene. to grow.”
For more information on the program of pulmonary medicine scholarships and intensive care at the Wayne State University, visit pulmonaryCarecare.med.wayne.edu/fellowship
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