The Teaching As a Resident: Highlighting the Evidence and Enthusiasm of Learning (TAR HEEL), newly revamped and piloted in 2020, offers residents (AOE members and non-members) the opportunity to participate in a standardized program to improve cross-department collaboration, enhance engagement between faculty and residents, and increase academic scholarly projects and publications, beneficial to enhancing faculty educational scholarship. This curriculum augments the teaching skills of residents in mentoring and educating medical students, physician assistant students, and other learners across the UNC Hospitals and the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) system.

Each year, residents are recruited in July. Two cohorts are selected, consisting of approximately 20 residents each. Each cohort will commit to attending 4 virtual and 4 in-person sessions (approximately 2/month and lasting approximately 1-1.5 hours between the hours of 5:00 – 7:00 PM EST) during the fall 2022 (September – December) or spring 2023 (February-May). All sessions are recorded and provide access to watch either live or at a later date for participants to watch, if unable to attend in person. Synchronous participation, however, is strongly encouraged and required for at least half of the sessions. UNC AOE faculty members will facilitate each session.

The TAR HEEL Program is co-directed by Taylor Carter (Surgery Resident), Eric Zwemer (Pediatrics), Winston Li (Psychiatry), and Hillary Spangler (Medicine-Pediatrics; TAR HEEL Program alum). Reach out to aoe@med.unc.edu with questions.