Featured Resource: Alliance for Clinical Education's Faculty Development Series

2-3 Minutes

Author: Julpohng “JP” Vilai, MD, FAAP

Faculty development in medical education has been variably defined on a spectrum from narrow—activities to improve the teaching skills of medical faculty—to broader strokes—the process of educating and assisting medical faculty to improve teaching performance, leadership skills, and opportunities for career development.(1-3) Some even argue that meaningful faculty development must be created in partnership with learners to anticipate the needs of future health professionals.(4) An educator’s focus should be on providing the most effective teaching to ensure student learning. Newer medical schools may offer fewer formal resources than well-established institutions, yet, for most of us, the reality likely falls somewhere in the middle.

Alliance for Clinical Education – Clinical Faculty Development Series

In order to bridge these gaps, the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE), a multidisciplinary group created to foster collaboration between specialties toward enhancing clinical education of medical students, developed the Clinical Faculty Development Series.(5) While not intended to supersede other available resources, this series is presented by distinguished faculty across a wide range of expertise and geography and can serve as a starting point or supplement for educational and career development. Importantly, it may be helpful to appreciate paradigms and pedagogy that differ from the familiar, helping us avoid the “this is how we have always done it” syndrome and strengthening our professional toolbox. Additionally, although the series was initially based on material published in The Guidebook for Clerkship Directors, content is easily translatable to graduate medical education.

We would like to highlight a few modules that may be of particular interest to clinical educators: 1. Faculty Development: Planning for Success (link opens Youtube video), 2. Isn’t it Obvious: Application of Foundational Sciences in the Clinical Phase, and 3. Assessment and Grading.

For those like me who have not had a robust exposure to professional development topics, I found this resource to be highly informative and applicable to my clinical practice. We invite you to explore the entirety of the ACE Clinical Faculty Development Series and advocate for meaningful faculty development programming at your institutions. Teaching is not easy, but, whether the goal is academic promotion or simply being a better clinician educator, resources such as these can offer helpful information not only toward improving how education is delivered but also for career advancement.

2024 Clinical Faculty Development Topics

ACE holds the Clinical Faculty Development Series on Thursdays from 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET, and plans on offering the following sessions in 2024.

February 15, 2024 - Legal Issues in Clinical Medical Student Education (Judy Hanrahan, JD, MA)

February 29, 2024 - Lifelong Learning (Chad Miller, MD)

March 14, 2024 - Accreditation (Barbara Barzansky, PhD., MHPE)

April 11, 2024 - Acting Internship (L. Chad Hood, MD)

May 9, 2024 - Career Devleopment (Joseph Safidieh, MD)

June 2024 - Educational Scholarship (Christopher Mooney, PhD, MPH)■

References

(1) McLean M, Cilliers F, Van Wyk JM. Faculty development: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Med Teach. 2008;30(6):555-84.

(2) Steinert Y, Mann K, Anderson B, et al. A systematic review of faculty development initiatives designed to enhance teaching effectiveness: a 10-year update: BEME Guide No. 40. Med Teach. 2016;38(8):769-86.

(3) Leslie K, Baker L, Egan-Lee E, Esdaile M, Reeves S. Advancing faculty development in medical education: a systematic review. Acad Med. 2013;88(7):1038-45.

(4) Tun S, Wellbery C, Teherani A. Faculty development and partnership with students to integrate sustainable healthcare into health professions education. Med Teach. 2020;42(10):1112–8.

(5) Alliance for Clinical Education. Clinical Faculty Development Series. Accessed at: http://allianceforclinicaleducation.org/webinar/.