Abstract
IntroductionTo date, research studying health professions education scholarship units has overlooked the perspectives of research scientists in the field, despite their important role in these units. This research explores how health professions education scientists uphold and/or upend the institutional logics of the units they work within.MethodsRecruited via snowball sampling, 29 Canadian health professions education scientists participated in semi-structured interviews that lasted between 32–55 min. Data analysis was informed by the theories of organizational institutionalism—specifically, the microfoundation element of sensemaking.ResultsRespondents’ narrations of career success were overtly linked to their research-oriented pursuits above other expectations (i.e., teaching, service).DiscussionRespondents’ narrative revealed a mismatch between the value they associated with teaching- and service-related pursuits, and the value the institution associated with those pursuits. Participants indicated a need to reconceptualize the institutional value associated with these endeavors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-020-00577-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
To date, research studying health professions education scholarship units has overlooked the perspectives of research scientists in the field, despite their important role in these units
An health professions education scholarship units (HPESUs) has been recognized as an essential requirement for institutions that educate health professionals since these units help the housing institution (a) educate higher numbers of clinicians (b) who can meet the demands of modern healthcare delivery, (c) while simultaneously meeting increased social accountability expectations [6]
This study aims to bring the perspectives of these scientists to the fore so that the success of HPESUs can be buoyed by insights from these important contributors
Summary
Research studying health professions education scholarship units has overlooked the perspectives of research scientists in the field, despite their important role in these units. Research has laid the foundation for on-going studies of these units; to date, research has been informed solely by the perspectives of unit directors and other leaders in health professions education [1,2,3,4,5]. This limited scope is problematic because health professions education scholarship scientists have been identified as vital contributors to the success of individual HPESUs [3].
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