Development of an asset map of medical education research activity

Abstract

Medical education research is gaining recognition as scholarship within academic medical centers. This survey was conducted at a medium-sized academic medical center in the United States. The purpose of the study was to learn faculty interest in research in medical education, so assets could be used to develop educational scholarship further. A cross-sectional study design was used to survey faculty activity and interest in medical education research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM). Overall response rate was 31% (263 out of 855) of faculty. Over half (60%) indicated interest in education research with 18% of the respondents currently involved in education research. If faculty were aware that education scholarship can lead to advancement, they were more likely to be involved in conducting such research ( p < 0.01). A total of 22% did not understand what was meant by education research and 17% had no interest in education research. Interest in medical education research and scholarship is evident at WFUSM. Experience in conducting education research and understanding of the nature of this type of research have not yet been fully developed. There appears to be a core set of faculty interested in conducting education research who may serve as a resource for faculty development in future medical education scholarship.