Abstract

BackgroundFaculty evaluations can identify needs to be addressed in effective development programs. Generic evaluation models exist, but these require adaptation to a particular context of interest. We report on one approach to such adaptation in the context of medical education in Iran, which is integrated into the delivery and management of healthcare services nationwide.MethodsUsing a triangulation design, interviews with senior faculty leaders were conducted to identify relevant areas for faculty evaluation. We then adapted the published checklist of the Personnel Evaluation Standards to fit the Iranian medical universities' context by considering faculty members' diverse roles. Then the adapted instrument was administered to faculty at twelve medical schools in Iran.ResultsThe interviews revealed poor linkages between existing forms of development and evaluation, imbalance between the faculty work components and evaluated areas, inappropriate feedback and use of information in decision making. The principles of Personnel Evaluation Standards addressed almost all of these concerns and were used to assess the existing faculty evaluation system and also adapted to evaluate the core faculty roles. The survey response rate was 74%. Responses showed that the four principles in all faculty members' roles were met occasionally to frequently. Evaluation of teaching and research had the highest mean scores, while clinical and healthcare services, institutional administration, and self-development had the lowest mean scores. There were statistically significant differences between small medium and large medical schools (p < 0.000).ConclusionThe adapted Personnel Evaluation Standards appears to be valid and applicable for monitoring and continuous improvement of a faculty evaluation system in the context of medical universities in Iran. The approach developed here provides a more balanced assessment of multiple faculty roles, including educational, clinical and healthcare services. In order to address identified deficiencies, the evaluation system should recognize, document, and uniformly reward those activities that are vital to the academic mission. Inclusion of personal developmental concerns in the evaluation discussion is essential for evaluation systems.

Highlights

  • Faculty evaluations can identify needs to be addressed in effective development programs

  • The results demonstrate a strong belief that medical school evaluations should address faculty members' needs, help performance improvement, yield defensible personnel decisions, and effectively provide high quality healthcare services and medical education

  • Current evaluation systems for medical school faculty do not distinguish between faculty performance and institution performance, even though they should not be isolated from faculty development opportunities

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Summary

Introduction

Faculty evaluations can identify needs to be addressed in effective development programs. In this study "faculty evaluation" is defined as formal measures made by academic authorities in medical schools to assess the academic performance of faculty members. These assessments result in a judgment about faculty performance and may be followed by either positive or negative promotion decisions. Faculty evaluation system refers to the inter-related elements and processes that produce evaluation data, and provide useful performance feedback. By this definition, a comprehensive faculty evaluation system proposes to systematically and fairly document and evaluate academic activities, ie, all activities related to teaching, research, administration and services [7,8,9,10]

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