A successful approach to faculty development at an independent academic medical center

Abstract

Background: Faculty development is crucial to the success of medical education programs. Relatively few independent academic medical centers, despite their burgeoning role in medical education, offer active programs in faculty development.Aim: To describe the successful implementation of a voluntary departmental faculty development program at an independent academic medical center.Methods: Initiation of the program revealed significant barriers to faculty participation including clinical responsibilities and lack of supported time for educational pursuits. An extensive needs assessment, including detailed faculty interviews, was completed and a participant-driven faculty development program was designed based on the identified faculty needs. Local practice group leaders were also interviewed and asked to support the initiative. The resultant program centered on three domains, specifically Teaching Activities, Clinical Skills and Research/Leadership Training. Specific offerings included clinical skills and specialty discussion sessions, time-intensive teaching workshops and participant-driven lecture series.Results: A significant percentage (47%) of faculty participated in at least one faculty development offering over the initial two years of the program. A higher percentage of generalist faculty (75%) participated compared with specialty faculty (19%). An even number of specialists and generalists, however, participated in the more time-intensive aspects of the program. Approval rates of each individual component of the program were very high, ranging from 88–100%.Conclusions: By identifying the specific needs of faculty members, a successful departmental faculty development program was implemented at an independent academic medical center. The key factors in the success of the program were early involvement of the faculty in the initiation of the program and specifically maintaining the program as a participant-driven process. This method may be generalizable to other similar institutions.