Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Pusic is a practicing Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician with an advanced interest in the science of learning as it applies to subspecialty and health professions education in general.
A predominant model for his team’s research involves the collection of clinical artefacts, such as images, programming of an educational intervention and the subsequent collection and analysis of assessment data.
His team has published methodological papers on the use of learning curves and signal detection theory in health professions education. They also use focus groups, hierarchical linear modelling and Item Response Theory, each of which were part of his training. They have also published several reports on the use of deliberate practice for the learning of image interpretation which forms the core of the research program. The key contention is that the improved understanding of cognitive models of learning (and their assessment) in the health professions can drive the improvement of learning efficacy and efficiency.
Dr. Pusic also has multi-institutional trials experience having previously been a site coordinator for national research networks in Canada and the U.S. and am presently Co-Investigator of an American Medical Association (AMA) funded 8-medical school consortium entitled “Reimagining Residency” where the project involves competency-based advancement of residents in 5 representative programs. Previously, Dr. Pusic had been a co-investigator on another AMA grant at the UMCE level where our project involved the development of a novel “Big Data” curriculum. Dr. Pusic co-chaired the Evaluation Committee and the Adaptive Learning Interest Group for that initiative. Dr. Pusic was the principal investigator for a Dept. Of Defense grant to develop an adaptive ECG tutor. The core investigations involved seven different sub trials recruiting over 700 learners in a two-year period.
Researcher | Research Background
Dr. Pusic obtained his medical degree from the University of British Columbia, residency training at the University of Toronto, a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at McGill, Master's Degree in Clinical Informatics and his PhD in Education from Teachers College of Columbia University. Dr. Pusic is Board-Certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.