Aquifer Surgery: Case Author and Reviewer Call to Action

Make an Impact: Work with Aquifer to Advance Medical Education

For decades, Aquifer has been a leader in clinical learning tools for medical and health professions education, with more than 16 million virtual patient cases completed. As a nonprofit committed to comprehensive curriculum coverage, we’re now developing a new course in Surgery, and we’re inviting professionals to join or support the Aquifer Consortium as Case Authors and Peer Reviewers.

In these roles, you’ll help shape cases that build clinical reasoning skills in surgery for the next generation of clinicians.

Call to Action

Apply today to become a Case Author or Peer Reviewer for the Aquifer Surgery Course.

Case Authors

Case Authors are Surgery educators who write the cases.

Requirements:

• Actively engaged in MD, DO, NP, or PA student education in Surgery

• Subject matter expertise in the assigned case content

• Comfortable using the authoring software and remote meeting tools the project requires

• Able to commit to the project timeline

What We Ask of You:

• Write all required case components and self-assessment questions using Aquifer’s authoring templates and tools
• Complete Aquifer’s online training module before you start authoring
• Attend scheduled working meetings with your Aquifer editor and staff
• Meet project deadlines, share updates when asked, and flag unavoidable delays early
• Follow Aquifer’s style and pedagogical guidelines
• Secure and document copyright permissions for any media you use
• Respond to peer review and editorial feedback, and revise content that doesn’t meet development standards
• Answer questions about case maintenance over time

What Aquifer Provides:

• Timely mentoring and staff support for authoring activities.

• Expert guidance on case pedagogy

• Upon successful completion of your work, a Letter of Acknowledgment recognizing your scholarly contribution, impact metrics as available, and a recommended CV citation

Term: Service begins when you sign the contract and ends when your work is complete or one year after signing, whichever comes first.

Peer Reviewers

Peer Reviewers can be Surgery educators or students!

You’ll review cases and give feedback on clinical authenticity, pedagogical quality, and alignment with learning objectives. Your input directly shapes how health professions students across the country learn Surgery.

Requirements:

• Experience in Surgery education or clinical training, as either an educator or a student

• A commitment to academic integrity and thoughtful, unbiased feedback
  

What We Ask of You:

Review assigned Surgery cases and complete a structured feedback survey assessing clinical authenticity, learning objective coverage, and overall case quality. Each review is expected to take approximately 3–5 hours.

What You’ll Receive

A formal letter of recognition for your contribution to medical education, and a hand in shaping high-quality Surgery curriculum used across the country and beyond.

Term:

One year

If you are interested and have additional questions, please email Megan Hotaling, Manager of Consortium Operations & National Partnerships, at megan.hotaling@aquifer.org.