Can We Make Grand Rounds “Grand” Again?

Abstract

In many teaching institutions, grand rounds are a weekly educational activity and a time-honored tradition.1–,7 A 2006 article in the New York Times criticized grand rounds, noting “Socratic dialogue [has given way] to PowerPoint presentation” and “grand rounds are not so grand anymore.”8 The literature also suggests that the relevance of grand rounds is declining.1,5,7,9–,12 With decreasing attendance and a format that is drastically different from its original design, some have proposed forgoing the term “grand rounds.”5,13,14 Several studies, surveys, and editorials have tried to explain the possible reasons for the declining relevance of grand rounds and identified different strategies to make them more effective, but to date no scholarly work has systematically aggregated this information. In this article, we review the history of grand rounds and how they evolved into the current state. We also identify problems with the current design and offer strategies for more effective grand rounds sessions. To aggregate this information, we conducted a review of the literature on grand rounds, using Google (Scholar and Search) and PubMed. The initial search utilized the terms grand rounds, origin, and history. References of the articles obtained from this search were then searched to further study the topic, and studies on grand rounds from a range of specialties and subspecialties were included. Ethical approval was waived by the Institutional Review Board at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University.