Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: Academic project work is a common practice in medical education to address complex cross-disciplinary problems. A progressive career in academic medicine will include opportunities to lead such projects, mobilizing temporary groups of individuals to achieve project goals. There is little guidance, however, on how academic projects should be structured and supported. Aim: We provide a guide to deepen understanding of the tools and approaches available for leading academic projects. Methods: Our framework, adapted from Edmondson (2012b) organizes guidance under the categories of project management activities and project leadership principles. We used this framework to develop practical tips based on current literature and our experience. Results: We identified practical tips and guidelines for leading and managing academic projects. We also offer a sample project management template designed for the medical school setting. Conclusion: Concepts from organizational leadership and project management literature can be applied to the medical education setting to improve the likelihood of successful academic projects.
Highlights
In medical education, academic project work is a common practice to address complex cross-disciplinary problems, advance change and lead innovation
We offer a sample project management template designed for the medical school setting
Concepts from organizational leadership and project management literature can be applied to the medical education setting to improve the likelihood of successful academic projects
Summary
A medical education career will include a variety of roles related to committee work, planning and implementation within the institutional setting (Harden 2000). Team-based project work is increasingly common in the medical school setting, but there has been little guidance available for leaders to navigate the complexities and challenges. While recognizing that structured project work may be regarded as incongruent with the academic process, we suggest that concepts from organizational and management literature can be applied carefully to the medical education setting. Examples are numerous, ranging from large organizational initiatives to small programmatic changes (e.g., interprofessional education planning, course design, new policy development and curriculum renewal.) As there is little guidance on how such projects should be structured and supported, we offer a series of practical tips to deepen understanding of tools and approaches. A sample project charter template, aligned with the needs of a typical project in the medical school setting, is provided
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