Faculty Expectations Research Articles

Influence of Role Models and Unstructured Relationship on Changes in Medical Student Character, Medical-Specific Empathy, and General Empathy

Purpose: Medical student empathy and character changes are of great interest with clear implications for patient interactions. With much focus on deleterious education culture, this study focuses more on what may bolster empathy and character. Building from interventions highlighting role models, the authors hypothesize the importance of informal relational connections within medical school may promote both modest empathy and character development. Materials and Method: This study uses unique secondary data that follows a cohort of medical students over time, with two surveys about a year apart. The data is unique not only in the inclusion of time, but also in various relational measures and both a medical-specific empathy as well as a general empathy measure. This allows for modeling change in medical student empathy. Results and Conclusion: First, general and medical-specific empathy appear to function different. At baseline, receiving positive character feedback from an attending/resident is positively related to medical empathy while negative feedback is inversely related to medical empathy and burnout is related only to general empathy. Over the next year, being around an admirable physician increased both types of empathy, seeing burnt out specialists increased medical empathy, and a sense of calling generally bolsters empathy. Second, exposure to morally admirable role models is broadly, although modestly, related to character development. It is positively associated with expectations for faculty to teach, shape, and train character, and with an increased sense that bad people may not make good physicians. Finally, exposure to these role models tends to increase one’s sense of calling to the profession. While not dramatic, informal relationships can be an important part of professionalization and may affect general and medical-specific empathy differently, and shift changes in student character.

Expanding Expectations: Faculty Perceptions on Student Retention

The shift in the political environment calling for greater student retention in higher education is changing the work dynamics of higher education faculty. Despite many initiatives, the research indicates that faculty have the greatest impact on student persistence. The demands for faculty time continues to increase and to broaden. No longer do faculty just teach courses, engage in research, and perform some service; today many faculty are also expected to help in student retention. This descriptive survey looks at faculty perceptions of their roles in retention efforts and the impacts on faculty expectations. Results show a general trend of faculty having increasing responsibilities for student success. Particularly, the expectations of faculty have shifted more towards having faculty provide mentoring and building more personal relationships with students.

Information Literacy Instruction in Engineering Graduate Courses: Instructional Design and Reflection

Prior research on information literacy instruction in engineering graduate programs rarely considers course instructor perspectives, and instead only uses student feedback to evaluate the efficacy of information literacy instruction. This study documents the authors’ efforts to evolve the library curriculum to motivate student learning and meet the course needs. Data collected from the student survey and course instructor questionnaire found that most students reported that the instruction was engaging and satisfying, but evaluations of the usefulness of the instruction were mixed. The course instructor was satisfied with the students’ overall work in information gathering though found their project reports unsatisfactory in terms of report writing and critical thinking. The findings shed light on student needs and faculty expectations of engineering project-based graduate courses.

We Deserve to Thrive

The summer of 2020 saw a racial justice awakening among predominantly white scholars. While this “awakening” or reckoning regarding the long-standing racism in society is welcomed and necessary, we must recognize the stark differences in how this work is felt and ultimately in how the work needs to be done by different groups in society. While BIPOC scholars worked to balance the need to process and recover, self-preserve, and advocate, white peers formed book clubs and posted black squares to their social media sites. This distinction describes the frustrating reality that many BIPOC scholars experience in the work of undoing racism. We bear the unrelenting burdens of being oppressed, fighting racism, and trying to survive in a society that does not value our inherent dignity and worth. For BIPOC doctoral students who simultaneously navigate the roles of being a student, peer, and instructor, these burdens are threefold. We are expected to do the invisible work of mentoring and holding space for fellow BIPOC students while also educating white students and faculty/administrators on racial justice issues and contending with faculty expectations. These burdens are exacerbated as we see anti-racism quickly go in vogue and then fall out of favor soon after. The aftermath: unfulfilled promises and commitments by self-proclaimed anti-racists, leaving BIPOC scholars to pick up the pieces and solely shoulder the never-ending work of anti-racism. There is a continued lack of sustained commitment to achieving racial equity across the board. The steps that have been taken are often characterized by quick fixes that fall short of the real work that will lead to a racially just, equitable and inclusive community. The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to the challenges within the academy experienced by BIPOC social work doctoral students. Drawing upon our experience with creating a BIPOC-centered support group at a predominantly white institution (PWI), we provide insight and recommendations on how colleagues and administrators alike can take action to hold space, bolster, and better support BIPOC doctoral student scholars by creating inclusive educational environments, offering tailored, concrete, and formal supports, and ultimately creating an anti-racist academic culture free from all forms of oppression.

Exploring alternative forms of scholarship for nurse educators' success.

Teaching-intensive universities require faculty to have increased teaching workloads. Nursing faculty have additional burdens that faculty members in other disciplines and departments do not experience, making it difficult to produce scholarship as it has been traditionally defined in research-intensive universities. Teaching-intensive universities should begin to rethink nursing faculty expectations for meeting their universities' missions of scholarship, especially those required for tenure. This article discusses alternative forms of scholarship and to generate ideas beyond the gold standard of writing peer-reviewed manuscripts and conducting empirical research studies for teaching-intensive universities. It also explores challenges that hinder nursing faculty from scholarly work and offers various scholarship ideas for nursing faculty and nursing administrators to consider for promotion and tenure criteria. Nursing administrators and faculty can change the current culture through a reconceptualization of Boyer's scholarship model in which more innovative forms of scholarship are embraced to support nursing faculty in balancing the multiple demands on their time according to their respective institutional needs. The outcome is increased work-life balance and retention of nursing faculty. Deans' support and faculty advocacy for human resources and financial investment in faculty workload boundaries are key factors for future changes in practice.

Clinical Rotation Handbook Promotes Orthopaedic Resident Wellness: A Quality Improvement Study.

IntroductionTransitioning from one clinical rotation to the next may be particularly stressful for orthopaedic residents attempting to navigate new work environments with new faculty mentors and new patients. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to determine if resident stress could be improved by using a handbook to disseminate key rotation-specific data during quarterly rotation transition periods.MethodsA comprehensive electronic handbook was created by residents to describe each rotation in our orthopaedic training program in terms of: (1) faculty and staff contact data, (2) daily clinic and surgery schedules, (3) resident responsibilities and faculty expectations, and (4) key resources and documents. At rotation transition, a session in the academic schedule was dedicated for outgoing residents to update the handbook and to sign-out to incoming residents. Pre- and post-handbook questionnaires were administered to assess resident perceptions of stress or anxiety, preparedness, and confidence before commencing the new rotation. Nonparametric data derived from the surveys were analyzed using the sign test choosing p < 0.05 for a two-tailed test as the level of statistical significance.ResultsMost residents perceived improvements in stress/anxiety, preparedness, and confidence understanding rotation expectations after the handbook was implemented. Changes in these three outcome parameters were statistically significant.ConclusionsThis rotation transition QI initiative consisting of a resident-authored, rotation-specific electronic handbook and dedicated verbal sign-out session enhanced resident wellness by decreasing stress, increasing preparedness, and improving confidence among residents starting a new rotation. Similar online resources may be useful for trainees in other specialties.

Developing the Next Iteration of Radiation Oncology Milestones: How to Make Assessment More Useful for Both Residents and Faculty

Purpose Radiation Oncology Milestones 1.0 was developed in 2011 using the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) 6 core competencies to standardize the competency-based assessment of radiation oncology medical residents conducted by Clinical Competency Committees biannually. Critiques of Milestones 1.0 included the lack of clear progression between levels of the subcompetencies, and the complex language made it difficult to interpret by residents and faculty. The development of Milestones 2.0 aimed to simplify the language, clarify the expected progression of residents' competence, and provide supplemental resources for implementation. Methods The ACGME assembled a 9-member working group (academic radiation oncologists, residents, community members) to compose Milestones 2.0 for Radiation Oncology using a modified Delphi method consisting of multiple asynchronous small-group meetings interspersed with four web-based whole-group meetings until consensus was reached for each competency. Results Milestones 2.0 replaced disease-specific Patient Care subcompetencies (e.g., Lymphoma, Genitourinary) with those that emphasize the care delivery pathway (e.g., Consult, Simulation, Contouring and Target Delineation, Treatment Planning and Plan Evaluation, Treatment Delivery, Follow-up), restructured the Medical Knowledge competency, revised all subcompetency descriptions to chart a clear progression between levels, removed research from level 5 criteria, and provided a supplemental guide to aid implementation. Patient Care subcompetencies in Milestones 1.0 limited direct assessment of residents to specific rotations while revised subcompetencies in Milestones 2.0 can be assessed on every rotation. Level 5 in each subcompetency now reflects skills exhibited by the top 10% of residents and includes items such as "leads the multidisciplinary care team" under Consult. Previously, Medical Knowledge was an assessment of Medical Physics and Radiation/Cancer Biology. This has been modified to include Applied Sciences and Evidence-Based Foundations of Radiation Oncology with specific constructs to guide assessment. The supplemental guide gives real-life examples for each level within the subcompetencies to promote consistency in the implementation of Milestones 2.0 across residencies. The guide is designed as a living document to be tailored by programs to align with individual practices and allow for a shared mental model for faculty expectations. Discussion Milestones 2.0 builds on the foundation laid by Milestones 1.0 by aligning subcompetencies with clinical practice and represents a comprehensive approach to assessing core competencies necessary to succeed as a competent clinical radiation oncologist. The new framework will be put into practice in July 2022. Real-time feedback and additions to the supplemental guide will continue to refine and improve assessment of radiation oncology residents' clinical competence. Radiation Oncology Milestones 1.0 was developed in 2011 using the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) 6 core competencies to standardize the competency-based assessment of radiation oncology medical residents conducted by Clinical Competency Committees biannually. Critiques of Milestones 1.0 included the lack of clear progression between levels of the subcompetencies, and the complex language made it difficult to interpret by residents and faculty. The development of Milestones 2.0 aimed to simplify the language, clarify the expected progression of residents' competence, and provide supplemental resources for implementation. The ACGME assembled a 9-member working group (academic radiation oncologists, residents, community members) to compose Milestones 2.0 for Radiation Oncology using a modified Delphi method consisting of multiple asynchronous small-group meetings interspersed with four web-based whole-group meetings until consensus was reached for each competency. Milestones 2.0 replaced disease-specific Patient Care subcompetencies (e.g., Lymphoma, Genitourinary) with those that emphasize the care delivery pathway (e.g., Consult, Simulation, Contouring and Target Delineation, Treatment Planning and Plan Evaluation, Treatment Delivery, Follow-up), restructured the Medical Knowledge competency, revised all subcompetency descriptions to chart a clear progression between levels, removed research from level 5 criteria, and provided a supplemental guide to aid implementation. Patient Care subcompetencies in Milestones 1.0 limited direct assessment of residents to specific rotations while revised subcompetencies in Milestones 2.0 can be assessed on every rotation. Level 5 in each subcompetency now reflects skills exhibited by the top 10% of residents and includes items such as "leads the multidisciplinary care team" under Consult. Previously, Medical Knowledge was an assessment of Medical Physics and Radiation/Cancer Biology. This has been modified to include Applied Sciences and Evidence-Based Foundations of Radiation Oncology with specific constructs to guide assessment. The supplemental guide gives real-life examples for each level within the subcompetencies to promote consistency in the implementation of Milestones 2.0 across residencies. The guide is designed as a living document to be tailored by programs to align with individual practices and allow for a shared mental model for faculty expectations. Milestones 2.0 builds on the foundation laid by Milestones 1.0 by aligning subcompetencies with clinical practice and represents a comprehensive approach to assessing core competencies necessary to succeed as a competent clinical radiation oncologist. The new framework will be put into practice in July 2022. Real-time feedback and additions to the supplemental guide will continue to refine and improve assessment of radiation oncology residents' clinical competence.

A Guide for Implementing Surgeon Resilience Initiatives: An Example of Surgical Peer Support.

A Guide for Implementing Surgeon Resilience Initiatives: An Example of Surgical Peer Support.

Faculty Motivation in Service-Learning Based on Expectancy x Value Theory

Background: Research has established that service-learning is a high-impact practice with significant consequences for student learning. Research in this area can provide greater understanding and recognition of the value faculty bring to the service-learning experience. Purpose: Examining faculty members’ memorable experiences in service-learning pedagogy through the Expectancy x Value theory of motivation will help colleges and universities more effectively support and retain faculty who teach service-learning courses. Methodology/Approach: Twenty-two faculty from a medium-sized liberal arts institution each participated in a 24-min interview and described memorable service-learning experiences with students. Inductive analysis and the Expectancy x Value theory of motivation were used to analyze the data. Findings/Conclusions: The study found that faculty members highlighted themes of faculty fostering student and community connections, valuing the service-learning work, and assisting students in learning from their discomfort during service-learning experiences. Faculty's expectations of success centered on their own self-efficacy and view of ability. Faculty valued the relationships that were established, benefits that were gained, and risks that were taken. Implications: Through the Expectancy x Value theory, this research provides a foundation for understanding what motivates faculty to continue teaching service-learning courses, which can help institutions more effectively support faculty members.

Student and advisor gender identity in STEM doctoral programs: Examining longitudinal and mediating effects with latent growth models

AbstractWhile previous research documents that women in STEM doctoral programs tend to fare better when their advisor shares their gender identity, this study provides new insights into the role of student–advisor gender identity congruence, relying on a longitudinal sample of doctoral students in biology and using structural equation and latent growth curve modeling. Findings show that advisor gender played an inconsistent and typically indirect role in predicting student outcomes. Further, all students, regardless of gender, tended to report higher quality advising when their advisor was a woman, pointing to potential gender inequities in advising expectations of faculty. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Recommended Sports Medicine Fellowship Scholarly Activity Curriculum.

Scholarly activity requirements for primary care sports medicine fellowship programs are increasing and the current Accreditation Council for Graduate Medicine Education (ACGME) expectations for fellows and core faculty are more demanding than those found in medicine residencies. A review of existing literature fails to identify any published guidelines on how to pursue scholarly activity within the sports medicine fellowship year. Such a deficiency may be critical for fellowship programs that are struggling to produce scholarship with a 1-year timeframe. This document intends to be a resource for all sports medicine fellowship programs by defining acceptable pieces of scholarly activity, delineating how a project may be completed during fellowship, and outlining avenues to educate others in the topic of choice. Adoption of this curriculum will guide fellows to meet ACGME-mandated scholarship requirements while assisting core faculty in meeting academic promotion criteria.

Poor Queer Studies: Confronting Elitism in the University

Poor Queer Studies: Confronting Elitism in the University

Faculty perceptions on academic entitlement in graduate health professional students

Objective: This descriptive study evaluates faculty perceptions of academic entitlement (AE) in graduate health professional students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used. Demographic data and faculty perceptions on the prevalence of AE in physician assistant students using two validated surveys were collected. One survey assessed AE as a unidimensional construct, and the second used a two-factor scale to assess entitled expectations (EE) and externalized responsibility (ER). The EE subscale assessed student expectations of faculty, and the ER subscale pertained to student expectations of the educational system. Faculty were recruited via email. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: One hundred sixty-eight faculty participated in the survey. On the Academic Entitlement Questionnaire and EE subscale score, faculty perceived high AE. They did not agree as strongly with items on the ER subscale. The highest AE perceptions were related to grades, professor roles, course delivery format, exam preparation, exam accommodations, and student responsibility to make up missed work. Faculty reported lower AE levels related to group work, university resources availability, consumerism, and professor knowledge. Conclusions: The sample population was well representative of graduate health faculty based on gender, ethnicity, race, age, years of experience, and tenure in education. Faculty reported high levels of AE in physician assistant students. Understanding faculty perception of students’ AE is essential because it can influence educators’ ability to create an environment for effective learning. Faculty should self-reflect and establish teaching strategies to mitigate AE and promote student learning.

Supporting Holistic Student Development Through Online Community Building

Faculty members abruptly transitioned to online course delivery during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Unfortunately, the isolation of learning online had the potential to damage students’ well-being during an already stressful pandemic. Furthermore, many faculty members had little experience with online modes of instruction and few effective strategies for building community online. This exploratory sequential mixed methods study uses data from 37 individual interviews with faculty across diverse disciplines, course evaluations from 13 of the 37 interview participants, and survey data from 347 faculty to answer the following research question: How did faculty foster a sense of community online to support students’ holistic well-being during the COVID pandemic? What strategies can faculty use to create community and foster well-being in online courses? Results show that successful strategies centered around intentional and purposeful course design, establishing clear expectations for faculty and students, and fostering supportive and trustworthy online learning environments.

Anti-Critical Race Theory Movement in Postsecondary Education: Faculty Expectations Confronting Emotionalities of Whiteness

Anti-Critical Race Theory Movement in Postsecondary Education: Faculty Expectations Confronting Emotionalities of Whiteness

P and/or E: That Is (Still) the Question (Or Is It?)

While the question of whether to choose the print and/or electronic format of a given title is certainly not new, the circumstances in which we are making such decisions have changed, prompting many of us to reconsider collection development priorities. Three librarians share their observations in answering three interrelated questions: (1) How did limited access to print collections affect student research behavior and faculty expectations in the course of the pandemic? (2) What strategies have libraries adopted to provide access to print-exclusive content? and (3) What criteria do they use in determining whether print or digital format is more suitable for a given title? While electronic resources certainly offer advantages, those who make and/or inform collection development decisions would do well to consider potential pedagogical implications of format as well as the ways in which providing access to electronic format exclusively may affect our ability to serve library patrons beyond the seminary community, including alumni and local clergy.

P.178 Neurosurgical Faculty Expectations of Entrustable Professional Activities Evaluations

Background: Competence by Design (CBD), a new outcomes-based approach to medical education, has been recently introduced into neurosurgical programs across Canada. A cornerstone of this educational paradigm shift requires evaluation of residents’ performances of entrustable professional activities (EPAs). This study aimed to define Faculty expectations and markers of competence for resident EPA performances. Methods: Canada-wide survey of neurosurgical Faculty (NSF) with a 55-item online questionnaire referencing 15/45 available core neurosurgery EPAs. Results: Of the 52 respondents, majority believed that being able to perform safely (98%), effectively (92%) and independently (90%) and being able to adapt to contextual complexities of the case (88%) and unexpected events (88%) represented necessary qualities for demonstrating competence achievement of an EPA. Performing efficiently, without supervision and responding to rare events were all considered less important. On average, NSF believed that at least five separate assessments involving two or more different assessors were necessary for documenting competence achievement of each EPA. Proportion believing EPAs were representative of general neurosurgery competences varied significantly across all EPAs (p&lt;0.00001) with &gt;25% believing 5/15 EPAs required fellowship training. Conclusions: This study defined expectations and indicators of competent surgical performance and revealed a significant debate regarding perceived appropriateness of current EPAs for general neurosurgical training.

A Distance-Learning Approach to Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training (ADAPT): A Multi-Institutional Educational Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education. Medical schools and residency programs placed restrictions on bedside teaching and clinical scanning as part of risk mitigation. In response, POCUS faculty from 15 institutions nationwide collaborated on an alternative model of ultrasound education, A Distance-learning Approach to POCUS Training (ADAPT). ADAPT was repeated monthly from April 1 through June 30, 2020. It accommodated 70 learners, who included 1- to 4-week rotators and asynchronous learners. The curriculum included assigned prework and learning objectives covering 20 core POCUS topics. A rotating group of 30 faculty and fellows delivered daily virtual teaching sessions that included gamification to increase learner engagement and hands-on instruction through teleguidance. After participation, faculty and learners completed anonymous surveys. Educators reported a significant decrease in preparatory time (6.2 vs 3.1 hours per week, P < .001) dedicated to ultrasound education after implementing ADAPT. The majority of 29 learners who completed surveys felt "somewhat confident" or "very confident" in their ability to acquire (n = 25, 86.2%) and interpret (n = 27, 93.1%) ultrasound images after the intervention; the majority of 22 educators completing surveys rated the program "somewhat effective" or "very effective" at contributing to learner's ability to acquire (n = 13, 59.1%) and interpret (n = 20, 90.9%) images. Most learners (n = 28, 96.6%) and all educators (n = 22, 100%) were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with ADAPT as a whole, and the large majority of educators were "very likely" (n = 18, 81.8%) to recommend continued use of this program. A virtual curriculum that pools the efforts of multiple institutions nationwide was implemented rapidly and effectively while satisfying educational expectations of both learners and faculty. This collaborative framework can be replicated and may be generalizable to other educational objectives.

Faculty perceptions of the exercise science student learning experience during the coronavirus pandemic.

Significant disruptions in higher education course delivery occurred during the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) offered exercise science faculty a safe method to continue educating students in courses generally taught face-to-face. The purpose of this investigation was to explore faculty perceptions of their ERT efforts with respect to student successes, challenges, and faculty expectations. Through an electronic survey, participants (n = 112) from higher education institutions in 31 states and three Canadian provinces provided feedback on their perceptions of the student experience across 315 fall 2020 courses. Data analysis included a thematic analysis to identify themes and trends in participant responses. Faculty identified student adaptability, increased autonomy of learning, and maintenance of learning as successes. Also noted was the increased flexibility of alternative pedagogy methods. Participants perceived student challenges related to technology, time management, and well-being. Faculty perceived students expected increased accommodations and instructor responsiveness during fall 2020. While faculty and students were challenged to adapt during the global pandemic, the perceived ERT experiences during COVID-19 highlight the resiliency of higher education students and underscores changes needed by educational institutions to provide resources and training upon return to traditional education or in response to a future crisis.

Teaching and Training Surgeons in Robotic Colorectal Surgery.

Robotic surgery is becoming more popular among practicing physicians as a new modality with improved visualization and mobility (1-2). As patients also desire minimally invasive procedures with quicker recoveries, there is a desire for new surgical residents and fellows to pursue robotic techniques in training (3-4). To develop a new colorectal robotics training program, an institution needs a well-formulated plan for the trainees and mentors with realistic expectations. The development of a robotics training program has potential obstacles, including increased initial cost, longer operative times, and overcoming learning curves. We have devised a four-phase training protocol for residents in colorectal surgical fellowship. Each of these phases attempts to create a curricular framework that outlines logical progression and sets expectations for trainees, Program Directors, and residency faculty. Phase zero begins prior to fellowship and is preparatory. Phase one focuses on an introduction to robotics with learning bedside console troubleshooting and simulation exercises. Phase Two prioritizes operative experience and safety while completing steps independently in a progressive fashion. Phase Three polishes the resident prior to graduation for future practice. We recommend frequent evaluation and open-mindedness while establishing a focused robotics program. The end goal is to graduate fellows with an equivalency certificate who can continue to practice colorectal robotic surgery.