Addictive Learning That Sticks

Dr. Kerfoot is a staff surgeon (urologist) at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.  The focus of Dr. Kerfoot's research has been the application of rigorous clinical trial methodologies to the evaluation of online educational technologies.  Since 2004, Dr. Kerfoot has worked to develop spaced education as an effective means by which students and clinicians could improve their learning and retention of core medical concepts. 

His educational research efforts have been generously supported by the following institutions:
     Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System
     VA Health Services Research & Development Service (HSR&D)
     American Urological Association (AUA)
     AUA Foundation
     Harvard Medical School (HMS)
     HMS Center for Educational Technology
           (fantastic work by Ron Rouse, David Bozzi and Jason Alvarez!)
     Harvard Medical International (now Partners Harvard Medical International)
     Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
     Harvard University: William F. Milton Fund, Presidential Distance Learning Grant, & 
               the Provost's Fund for Innovation in Instructional Technology    

Education
1985-89        A.B.               Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
1989-91        M.A./B.A.        Oxford University (Balliol College), Oxford, UK
1992-96        M.D.              Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
1999-2000     Ed.M.             Harvard Graduate School of Education, Boston, MA

Employment:
1996-2002       Harvard Residency Program in Urology (Longwood Area), Boston, MA
2002-             Staff Surgeon (Urologist), VA Boston Healthcare System, MA
                              (Certified 2004, American Board of Urology)
2006-8            Senior Consultant, Harvard Medical International, Boston, MA

Academic Appointments:
2002-2005        Instructor in Surgery (Urology), Harvard Medical School
2005-8             Assistant Professor in Surgery (Urology), Harvard Medical School
2008-              Associate Professor in Surgery (Urology), Harvard Medical School 

Medical Education Training:
2000          Harvard Macy Institute’s Program for Leaders in Medical Education
2002-3       Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education, Boston, MA

Major Committee Assignments:
2000-2    National Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Urology, ACGME
2005-6    Assessment Committee, Harvard Medical School (HMS)
2005-6    Co-Chairperson, Working Group for National Urology Curriculum
                     for Medical Students, AUA
2007-      Research & Development Committee, VA Boston Healthcare System
2008-      Strategic Planning Task Force for Educational Technology, HMS

Honors:
1989        Summa Cum Laude, Princeton Univeristy
1989        Class of 1916 Cup  --  Princeton University’s Scholar-Athlete Award      
1989-91   Newton-Tatum Scholarship -- For study at Balliol College, Oxford University
1991-2     Captain of the Blues Tennis Team, Oxford University, England
2002-4     Research Scholar Award, American Foundation of Urologic Disease (AFUD)
2002-       Fellow in the Academy at Harvard Medical School, Harvard University
2005-8     Veterans Affairs Research Career Development Award 
2007        Felch/Wyeth Research in Education Award, Alliance for CME
2006-10   AUAF/Astellas Rising Star in Urology Research Award, AUA Foundation
2009        Felch/Wyeth Research in Education Award, Alliance for CME

Selected Publications
(1)  Kerfoot BP, DeWolf WC. Does the outpatient setting provide the best environment for medical student learning of urology? J Urol. 2002;167(4):1797-9.
(2)  Kerfoot BP, Mitchell ME, Novick AC. Grappling with the evaluation of clinical competencies: a view from the Residency Review Committee for Urology. Urology 2002;60(2):223-4.
(3)  Kerfoot BP, Masser BA, Hafler JP. How does the introduction of computers and wall-mounted plasma screens Impact small group tutorials? Preliminary results. Med Educ. 2003;37(5):478-9.
(4)  Kerfoot BP, Baker H, Volkan K, Church PA, Federman DD, Masser BA, DeWolf WC. Development and initial evaluation of a novel urology curriculum for medical students. J Urol. 2004;172(1):278-81.
(5)  Kerfoot BP, Baker H, Volkan K, Church PA, Federman DD, Masser BA, DeWolf WC. Development of validated instrument to measure medical student learning in clinical urology: a step toward evidence based education. J Urol. 2004;172(1):282-5.
(6)  Kerfoot BP, Nabha KS, Hafler JP. Designing a surgical 'resident-as-teacher' programme. Med Educ. 2004;38(11):1190.
(7)  Kerfoot BP, Masser BA, Hafler JP. Influence of new educational technology on problem-based learning at Harvard Medical School. Med Educ. 2005;39(4):380-7.
(8)  Kerfoot BP, Nabha KS, Hafler JP. Duty-hour restrictions' impact on teaching by surgical residents. Med Educ. 2005;39(5):528.
(9)  Masser BA, Woo B, Kerfoot BP. Randomised trial of early clinical training for students. Med Educ 2005;39:1150-1.
(10)  Kerfoot BP, Nabha KS, Masser BA, McCullough DL. What makes a medical student avoid or enter a career in urology? Results of an international survey. J Urol. 2005;174(5):1953-7.
(11)  Kerfoot BP, Baker H, Jackson TL, Hulbert WC, Federman DD, Oates RD, DeWolf WC. A multi-institutional randomized controlled trial of adjuvant Web-based teaching to medical students. Acad Med. 2006;81(3):224-30.
(12)  Kerfoot BP, Masser BA, DeWolf WC. The continued decline of formal urological education of medical students in the United States: does it matter?  J. Urol 2006; 175, 2243-2248.
(13)  Kerfoot BP, Conlin PR, McMahon GT. Comparison of delivery modes for online medical education. Med Educ. 2006;40(11): 1137-8.
(14)  Kerfoot BP, Conlin PR, McMahon GT. Health-systems knowledge and its determinants in medical trainees. Med Educ. 2006;40(11): 1132.
(15)  Kerfoot BP, DeWolf WC, Masser BA, Church PA, Federman DD. Spaced education improves the retention of clinical knowledge by medical students: randomized controlled trial. Med Educ, 2007: 41:23-31.
(16)  Kerfoot BP, Baker HE, Koch MO, Connelly D, Joseph DB, Ritchey ML. Randomized controlled trial of spaced education to US and Canadian urology residents.  J Urol 2007; 177, 1481-1487.
(17)  Kerfoot BP, Conlin PR, Travison, T, McMahon GT. Web-based education in systems-based practice: a randomized trial.  Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:361-366.
(18)  Shields HM, Guss G, Somers SC, Kerfoot BP, Mandell BS, et al.  A faculty development program to train tutors to be discussion leaders rather than facilitators.  Acad Med. 2007;82(5):486–492.
(19)  Kerfoot BP, Conlin PR, Travison, T, McMahon GT.  Patient safety knowledge and its determinants in medical trainees.  J Gen Intern Med 2007;22:1150–1154.
(20)  Kerfoot BP, Holmberg EF, Lawler EV, Krupat E, Conlin PR. Provider-level determinants of inappropriate prostate-specific antigen screening. Arch Intern Med 2007;167(13):1367-1372.
(21)  Kerfoot BP, Asher KP, McCullough DL.  Financial and educational costs of the residency interview process for urology applicants.  Urology 2008; 71: 990–995.
(22)  Kerfoot BP, Turek PJ.  What every graduating medical student should know about urology: the stakeholder viewpoint.  Urology 2008; 71: 549–553.
(23)  Kerfoot BP.  Interactive spaced education versus web-based modules for teaching urology to medical students: a randomized controlled trial.  J Urol 2008; 179, 2351-2357.
(24)  Kerfoot BP, Armstrong EG, O’Sullivan PN.  Interactive spaced education to teach the physical examination: a randomized controlled trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2008; 23(7):973-8.
(25)  Kerfoot BP, Armstrong EG, O'Sullivan PN. Impact of item clustering on interactive spaced education. Medical Education 2008; 42: 1115–1116.
(26)  Kerfoot BP, Brotschi E. Online spaced education to teach urology to medical students: a multiinstitutional randomized trial. Amer J Surg 2009;197(1):89-95.
(27)  Matzie KA, Kerfoot BP, Hafler JP, Breen EM. Spaced education improves the feedback that surgical residents give to medical students: a randomized trial. Amer J Surg 2009: 197(2), 252-257.
(28)  Kerfoot BP. Learning benefits of online spaced education persist for two years. Journal of Urology. (accepted for publication Nov 2008). in press, 2009.
(29)  Kerfoot BP, Kearney MC, Connelly D, Ritchey ML. Interactive spaced education to assess and improve knowledge of clinical practice guidelines: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Surg (accepted for publication Jan 2009). in press, 2009.