Backwards Planning to Forward Progress

The chief resident year is comprised of administrative tasks, leadership meetings, and the sudden acquisition of pre-existing curricula that require implementation, revision, or continued sustainability. When coupled with unexpected challenges such as funding cuts or resident attrition, the true vision and goal of these tasks can be reduced or minimized. Backwards planning is a skill often used in education to help plan curriculum or administrative tasks by starting with the final goal and then working backwards to consider what smaller objectives, tasks, and meetings need to occur to accomplish that final product. This session will focus on introducing future chief residents to backwards planning and its application in their new administrative roles. By providing a planning template, chief residents will have a systematic approach to evaluating and innovating the curricula they will be leading. Shifting the focus to the goal of the curricula or administrative tasks allows chief residents to develop a plan for implementation that reflects their approach to problem solving. Furthermore, this skill will be invaluable beyond the chief resident year as they will continue to encounter administrative tasks in their career.