Creating a Cadre of Fellowship-Trained Medical Educators: A Qualitative Study of Faculty Development Program Leaders' Perspectives and Advice

Development of entrustable professional activities for emergency medicine medical education fellowships: A modified Delphi study

Background

It is essential that medical education (MedEd) fellows achieve desired outcomes prior to graduation. Despite the increase in postgraduate MedEd fellowships in emergency medicine (EM), there is no consistently applied competency framework. We sought to develop entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for EM MedEd fellows.

Methods

From 2021 to 2022, we used a modified Delphi method to achieve consensus for EPAs. EM education experts generated an initial list of 173 EPAs after literature review. In each Delphi round, panelists were asked to make a binary choice of whether to include the EPA. We determined an inclusion threshold of 70% agreement a priori. After the first round, given the large number of EPAs meeting inclusion threshold, panelists were instructed to vote whether each EPA should be included in the "20 most important" EPAs for a MedEd fellowship. Modifications were made between rounds based on expert feedback. We calculated descriptive statistics.

Results

Seventeen experts completed four Delphi rounds each with 100% response. After Round 1, 87 EPAs were eliminated and two were combined. Following Round 2, 46 EPAs were eliminated, seven were combined, and three were included in the final list. After the third round, one EPA was eliminated and 13 were included. After the fourth round, 11 EPAs were eliminated. The final list consisted of 16 EPAs in domains of career development, education theory and methods, research and scholarship, and educational program administration.

Conclusions

We developed a list of 16 EPAs for EM MedEd fellowships, the first step in implementing competency-based MedEd.

Resident Physicians as Clinical Educators in Anesthesiology: A Narrative Review

The importance of resident physicians as clinical educators is widely acknowledged in many clinical specialties and by national accreditation organizations for medical education. Within anesthesiology training programs, there is growing attention to the role of trainees as clinical educators. This narrative review describes the theoretical and demonstrated benefits of clinical teaching by residents in anesthesiology and other medical fields, summarizes current efforts to support and promote residents as educators, and suggests ways in which anesthesiology training programs can further assess and develop the role of residents as clinical educators.

Is it worth it? A qualitative analysis of the impact of medical education fellowships on careers

Objectives

Medical education fellowships provide training in teaching, assessment, educational program administration, and scholarship. The longitudinal impact of this training is unknown. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of medical education fellowships on the careers of graduates.

Methods

The authors performed a qualitative study with a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm using semistructured interviews in 2021. The authors used a purposeful randomized stratified sampling strategy of graduates to ensure diversity of representation (gender, region, fellowship duration, and career stage). Two researchers independently analyzed interview transcriptions using a modified grounded theory approach.

Results

The authors interviewed 10 graduates and identified three overarching concepts: motivations for pursuing fellowship, benefits of training, and drivers of career development. Graduates sought training because of their desire for growth and career preparation and at the advice of mentors. Fellowships provided knowledge and skills in a structured learning environment, supported by mentors and a collaborative community. Fellowship training shaped the careers of graduates by increasing their self-efficacy, enhancing their outcome expectations, refining their goals, and influencing their professional identity formation. They acquired expertise that prepared them for jobs, developed credibility, felt competitive in the job market, anticipated successful promotion, reached for greater goals, broadened their educational worldview, and evolved their professional identity as a result of fellowship training.

Conclusions

Fellowship training in medical education provides knowledge and skills, a structured learning environment, and important relationships that shape the careers of graduates by impacting their self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goal creation, and professional identity formation.

Faculty Development for Academic Emergency Physicians: A Focus Group Analysis

Objectives: The objective is to explore academic emergency medicine physicians’ exposure to and needs regarding faculty development.

Methods: We conducted a prospective qualitative study of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine members in 2018 using focus groups selected by convenience and snowball sampling. One facilitator ensured representative engagement and responses were transcribed in real-time by an assistant after obtaining verbal consent. Results were analyzed using a grounded theory approach with a constructivist perspective. Thematic analysis was refined using the constant comparative method.

Results: Sixteen physicians participated in the focus groups, representing a diverse group of perspectives. Six themes emerged about unmet needs in faculty development: knowledge and skills, relationships, specific programs or resources, and professional benefits.

Conclusions: Members of a national academic society identified three areas of focus important to developing academicians in emergency medicine: content for faculty developers, relationship-building among members, and support from the organization as a “professional home.” Academic societies can use this to guide future programming.

Elevating Radiology Education Research Through a Dedicated Research Fellowship: Adding Professional Identity as Essential for Success

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Education research has been undervalued in radiology, with few radiology journals having dedicated space for such research and barriers to production including dedicated time, resources, grant funding, and mentorship. As radiologists, we have an opportunity to study education in our unique learning environments and create more effective ways to teach that are grounded in established education theory, solid assessment methodologies, and a focus on merit as well as worth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The growth of education research in our field requires a two-pronged approach; We must cultivate leaders in education research from within our specialty, and continue to submit high quality work to radiology journals to increase exposure of the reviewers and readership to education methodologies.

RESULTS

We have created the first radiology education research fellowship to this end. This manuscript details the fellowship creation process, the first education research fellow experience, and in-depth analysis of the inaugural year via a qualitative program review.

CONCLUSION

We were successful in supporting an inaugural fellow in attaining the knowledge and skills to become a productive education researcher. Beyond this, the fellowship experience was a catalyst in developing her unique professional identity as an education master which will further raise the status of education research in pediatric radiology.

Beyond the CLAIM: A comprehensive needs assessment strategy for creating an Advanced Medical Education Research Training Program (ARMED-MedEd)

BACKGROUND

The health professions education (HPE) landscape has shifted substantively with increasing professionalization of research and scholarship. Clinician educators seeking to become competitive in this domain often pursue fellowships and master's degrees in HPE, but there are few resources for the continuing professional development (CPD) of those who seek to continue developing their scholarly practice within HPE. Acknowledging the multiple players in this landscape, the authors sought to design a new "beyond beginners" HPE research program using a novel needs assessment planning process.

METHODS

The authors developed and conducted a new three-phase, five-step process that sets forth a programmatic approach to conducting a needs assessment for a CPD course in HPE research. The five steps of the CLAIM method are: Competitive analysis, Literature review with thematic analysis, Ask stakeholders, Internal review by experts, and Mapping of a curriculum. These steps are organized into three phases (Discovery, Convergence, and Synthesis).

RESULTS

Over a 12-month period, the authors completed a comprehensive needs assessment. The CLAIM process revealed that longitudinal digital connection, diverse and in depth exposure to HPE research methods, skills around scholarly publishing, and leadership and management of research would be beneficial to our design.

CONCLUSIONS

The CLAIM method provided scaffolding to help the authors create a robust curriculum that adopts a scholarly approach for developing a HPE research course. This needs assessment methodology may be useful in other CPD contexts.

W. Post-residency medical education fellowships: a scoping review

The authors conducted a scoping review to investigate the structure, content, and potential impact of post-residency medical education fellowships. The authors searched eight databases to identify English-language articles describing longitudinal, post-residency medical fellowships that both focused on medical education and described the structure and content of the curriculum. The authors summarized the findings of each article and, for those articles that included a program evaluation, assessed the potential impact of the program via the Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Training Evaluation Model and the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument. Nine articles, describing a total of ten post-residency medical education fellowships, met inclusion criteria. Half of the programs were dedicated medical education fellowships and half were medical education tracks within a subspecialty fellowship. The content and educational strategies varied, with no two programs having the same curriculum. Most programs most focused on teaching skills, adult learning theory, curricular development, and medical education research/scholarship. Most programs used project-based learning, workshops, and faculty mentorship as educational strategies. Six of the articles included an evaluation of their program(s), all of which suggested positive changes, at least at the level of fellow behavior (Kirkpatrick level 3), and designs limited the strength of any conclusions drawn. This scoping review highlights the variation among medical education fellowships and the need for common curricular components, as well as program evaluation, across and within these fellowships. Additional assessment at higher levels of trainee outcomes will help guide the creation and revision of medical education fellowships, and inform the development of a core curriculum shared across programs. Such a core curriculum could then serve as the foundation for a certification program, by which a medical educator's expertise could be recognized, thus elevating medical education to the stature it deserves within the academic mission.

Outcome assessment of medical education fellowships in emergency medicine

OBJECTIVES

Medical education fellowships in emergency medicine (EM) provide training in teaching, assessment, educational program administration, and scholarship. The longitudinal impact of this training is unknown. Our objective was to characterize the career outcomes of medical education fellowship graduates.

METHODS

We solicited curriculum vitae (CV) from graduates of U.S. EM education fellowships by email. We abstracted data from CVs with a standard instrument that included program characteristics, employment history, leadership positions, awards, and scholarly productivity. We calculated and reported descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 71 of 91 (78%) graduates participated. Thirty-three completed a 1-year fellowship and 38 completed a 2-year fellowship. Nineteen (27%) completed an advanced degree during fellowship. Median (range) graduation year was 2016 (1997-2020). The majority, 63 of 71 (89%), work in an academic setting. Graduates held leadership positions in continuing medical education, graduate medical education, and undergraduate medical education. Forty-eight (68%) served on national medical education committees. The mean ± SD number of national medical education awards was 1.27 ± 2.03. The mean ± SD number of national medical education presentations was 7.63 ± 10.83. Graduates authored a mean ± SD of 3.63 ± 5.81 book chapters and a mean ± SD of 4.99 ± 6.17 peer-reviewed medical education research publications. Ten (14%) served on journal editorial boards, 34 (48%) were journal reviewers, and 31 (44%) had received a medical education grant.

CONCLUSION

EM medical education fellowship graduates are academically productive and hold education leadership positions.

How to Launch and Continually Enhance an Effective Medical Campus Faculty Development Program: Steps for Implementation and Lessons Learned

Purpose

Drawing on the decade of experience of Boston University Medical Campus' Faculty Development Office, this paper reports strategies used to launch and continually improve faculty development programming within an academic health sciences campus.

Patients and Methods

The authors explain the steps that Boston University Medical Campus took to institute their set of faculty development programs, including an overview of resources on how to periodically conduct needs assessments, engage key institutional stakeholders, design and evaluate an array of programming to meet the needs of a diverse faculty, and institute real-time program modifications.

Results

In a step-by-step guide, and by highlighting vital lessons learned, the authors describe a process by which biomedical educators can create and sustain a robust faculty development office within their own institutions.

Conclusion

This paper identifies steps to launch and improve faculty development program. Faculty development programs should be expanded to support faculty in academic medical centers.

The Impact of a Medical Education Research Faculty Development Program on Career Development, Through the Lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory

OBJECTIVES

The Medical Education Research Certificate at the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (MERC at CORD), a specialized adaptation of the Association of American Medical Colleges MERC program, provides faculty development in education research in emergency medicine. However, its long-term influence on career development remains unknown. Our study explored the impact of MERC at CORD on career development through the lens of social cognitive career (SCC) theory.

METHODS

This was a prospective qualitative study using a constructivist/interpretivist paradigm to assess long-term career development outcomes. A purposeful randomized stratified sampling strategy of MERC at CORD graduates (2011-2014) ensured diversity of representation (sex, region, number of research publications, and project group leadership). Subjects were invited by e-mail to participate in semistructured phone interviews. Thematic analysis by two independent reviewers followed an iterative process until saturation was reached.

RESULTS

Twelve graduates were interviewed. All engaged with MERC at CORD early in their careers with minimal previous education research experience. Currently, all hold medical education leadership positions. Graduates had a mean of 19.3 publications (range = 9-43). Themes explaining reasons for participating in MERC at CORD include: desire for education research skills, recommendation of mentors/colleagues, and accessibility. Themes citing the program's value to career development include networking/collaboration, mentorship, informational framework to build upon, and the application of theoretical knowledge through experiential learning. MERC at CORD impacted career development aligning with the core domains of SCC theory including self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goals.

CONCLUSION

MERC at CORD enhanced the long-term career development of participants by providing a core knowledge framework in a mentored, experiential learning environment. Participants identified themes aligned with SCC theory as influential in their long-term career advancement in medical education including the development of education research skills, successful completion of education research, career acceleration, promotion, niche development, and formulation of professional goals.

Emergency Medicine Education Research Since the 2012 Consensus Conference: How Far Have We Come and What's Next?

In 2012, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine convened a consensus conference on the state of medical education research with goals of defining and advancing a future research agenda. Since that time, emergency medicine (EM) education research has grown significantly. A task force of EM education experts was assembled and sought to understand the current state of EM education research and future directions. Among the advances are increases in medical education fellowships, advanced degree and certification programs, faculty development programs, publication venues, and funding. These findings are discussed in light of the prior objectives from the 2012 consensus conference, and recommendations for future directions are provided.

Developing Residents as Medical Educators via the McMaster Multidisciplinary Academic Day Planning Committee

Background

Residents are being asked to perform educator roles such as curriculum design and learner assessment with minimal professional development in leadership or medical education. The Multidisciplinary Academic Day (MAD) planning committee is a resident-led initiative responsible for delivering combined educational half-day sessions and workshops for all residents at McMaster University.

Objective

We sought to determine the impact participation in MAD planning committee had on residents' professional development and career goals. 

Methods

We conducted a program evaluation survey of 19 of 30 (63.3%) current and former committee members to determine how the MAD planning committee’s alumni perceived its usefulness, and how participation affected their professional development. 

Results

Residents cited a desire to gain medical education experience, learn about event planning and management, and improve resident education as reasons for joining the committee; 89.5% of respondents felt they had met these goals. Experience on the committee included skills related to curriculum design, developing needs assessments and programmatic evaluation. Many residents felt it helped them acquire leadership skills such as decision-making, idea generation, delegation, and public speaking. Several noted that it had sparked an interest in medical education as part of an academic career, and one former member subsequently pursued a Master’s of Education. The majority of the respondents (78.9%) felt it was helpful for their careers and 94.7% would recommend this experience to others interested in leadership and medical education. 

Conclusion

Involvement in the MAD planning committee is a highly useful way for residents to acquire leadership skills, develop an interest in medical education and work in a multidisciplinary team. 

The ALiEM Faculty Incubator: A Novel Online Approach to Faculty Development in Education Scholarship

PROBLEM

Early- and midcareer clinician educators often lack a local discipline-specific community of practice (CoP) that encourages scholarly activity. As a result, these faculty members may feel disconnected from other scholars.

APPROACH

Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) piloted the Faculty Incubator. This longitudinal, asynchronous, online curriculum focused on developing a virtual CoP among 30 early- to midcareer medical educators (the "incubatees"), 8 core faculty mentors, and 10 guest mentors. The yearlong curriculum included 12 monthly modules focusing on core concepts in medical education scholarship. The initiative connected the incubatees with a virtual community of peers and mentors, with whom they completed multiple scholarly projects, sought mentorship, and engaged professionally. The authors used an online, closed, social media platform (Slack) to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

OUTCOMES

In the inaugural year (March 2016-February 2017), the mentorship team facilitated exceptional levels of online engagement among incubatees. All participants (incubatees, core mentors, and guest mentors) shared 1,081 files and exchanged a total of 22,665 messages (approximately 62 per day). Of these, 3,036 (13.4%) were via open channels, 5,483 (24.2%) via small groups, and 14,146 (62.4%) via direct messages.

NEXT STEPS

The ALiEM Faculty Incubator represents a proof of concept, and initial outcomes show that it is possible to engage an international group of early- to midcareer medical educators to create a vibrant online CoP. The Faculty Incubator leaders plan to determine whether this engaged group of health professions educators will increase their scholarly output as a result of this initiative.

Assessing the Impact of a Professional Development Program for Physician Assistant Program Directors

PURPOSE

The growth of physician assistant (PA) programs nationally has stretched the available capacity of experienced PA program directors. To address this need, a professional developmental program was designed to provide new program directors with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to succeed in the role. This study sought to characterize the impact of program attendance over time. Data were collected from individuals representing 5 cohorts that participated in the annual Physician Assistant Education Association New Program Directors Retreat between 2011 and 2015.

METHODS

An electronic survey was developed and sent to all 5 cohorts (n = 139). Anonymous responses were collected and quantitative data were analyzed in the aggregate and also by year of participation. Qualitative data were analyzed, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Results were compared with baseline data collected during the program registration process and with published national data on program director characteristics.

RESULTS

Seventy-five program participants completed the survey, for a response rate of 57%. Program director stability, educational achievement, and involvement in leadership and service activities were found to be positive outcomes for individuals who had participated in the professional development program.

CONCLUSION

Survey respondents reported positive outcomes after attending a professional development program; these outcomes are consistent with research on similar programs published in the literature. Our findings suggest that new program directors who participated in this professional development program not only derived career-stabilizing benefits but also succeeded in creating supportive peer networks while gaining greater confidence in their new academic role.

Intensive Care Unit Educators: A Multicenter Evaluation of Behaviors Residents Value in Attending Physicians

RATIONALE

It is important for attending physicians to know which behaviors influence learner perceptions. To date, two studies focusing on general medicine attending physicians have been published addressing internal medicine residents' perceptions of attending physicians; there are no data on intensive care unit (ICU) attending physicians.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to expand the evidence regarding this topic through a multicenter study at four geographically diverse academic medical centers. Our study focused on identifying the teaching behaviors of ICU physicians that learners observe in attending physicians who they value as effective educators.

METHODS

The study was conducted at Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), University of California-San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), and University of Washington (Seattle, WA). Internal medicine residents completed an anonymous online survey rating the importance of behaviors of ICU attending physician role models. We created a 37-item questionnaire derived from prior studies and from the Clinician Teaching Program from the Stanford Faculty Development Center for Medical Teachers. This questionnaire included behaviors, current and past, that residents observed in their ICU attending physicians.

RESULTS

A total of 260 of 605 residents responded to the survey (overall response rate of 43%). The five behaviors of attending physicians most commonly rated as "very important" to residents were: (1) enjoyment of teaching; (2) demonstrating empathy and compassion to patients and families; (3) ability to explain clinical reasoning and differential diagnoses; (4) treating nonphysician staff members respectfully; and (5) enthusiasm on rounds. Behaviors that trainees rated as less important were having numerous research publications, having served as chief resident, sharing personal life with residents, and organizing end-of-rotation social events.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study provides new information to attending physicians striving to influence resident education. Although prior data demonstrated that learners valued attending physicians having served as chief resident and sharing personal information with learners, our study did not replicate this. We confirmed that learners appreciated teachers who are perceived to enjoy teaching. We discovered that behaviors, such as expression of empathy, explanation of clinical reasoning, and qualities of professionalism, were commonly seen in esteemed teaching attending physicians. Our study was limited by lack of correlation to objective performance metrics and a low response rate. Future work may include assessing the impact of faculty development on identified behaviors.

The View From the Top: Academic Emergency Department Chairs' Perspectives on Education Scholarship

Education scholarship continues to grow within emergency medicine (EM) and in academic medicine in general. Despite a growing interest, would-be education scholars often struggle to find adequate mentorship, research training, funding, and protected time to produce rigorous scholarship. The ways in which individual academic EM departments can support this mission remains an area in need of description.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to describe academic EM department chairs' perceptions of education scholarship and facilitators and barriers to producing high-quality education scholarship.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study using a grounded theory-derived approach. Participants were solicited directly, and semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analyzed by three study investigators using a coding matrix. Discrepancies in coding were resolved via in depth discussion.

RESULTS

We interviewed seven EM chairs from academic departments throughout North America (six in geographically diverse regions of the United States and one in western Canada). Chairs described education scholarship as lacking clearly defined and measurable outcomes, as well as methodologic rigor. They identified that education faculty within their departments need training and incentives to pursue scholarly work in a system that primarily expects teaching from educators. Chairs acknowledged a lack of access to education research expertise and mentorship within their own departments, but identified potential resources within their local medical schools and universities. They also voiced willingness to support career development opportunities and scholarly work among faculty seeking to perform education research.

CONCLUSIONS

Academic EM chairs endorse a need for methodologic training, mentorship, and access to expertise specific to education scholarship. While such resources are often rare within academic EM departments, they may exist within local universities and schools of medicine. Academic EM chairs described themselves as willing and able to support faculty who wish to pursue this type of work.

Process-oriented evaluation of an international faculty development program for Asian developing countries: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Non-English-speaking developing countries in Southeast Asia have been provided only limited opportunities for faculty development in the education of health professions. Although there exist a few programs that have been shown to be effective, they are frequently presented with few explanations on how and why the programs work due to their outcome-oriented nature. This study explores the process of the Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship for Health Professional Education, an international faculty development program designed for capacity building of educators of health professions in Southeast Asian developing countries.

METHODS

Fellows were from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. Qualitative data were collected from two types of semi-structured interviews - group and individual. Thematic analysis was conducted to explore the factors related to the effectiveness of the program, framed by four components of faculty development, which included context, facilitators, program, and participants.

RESULTS

From the thematic analysis, the authors identified a total of 12 themes in the four components of faculty development. In the context domain, the resource-poor setting, a culture that puts emphasis on hierarchy and seniority, and educational environment depending on individual commitment rather than broad consensus emerged as key factors. In the facilitators domain, their teaching methods and materials, mutual understanding between teacher and learner, and collaboration between facilitators mainly influenced the learning during the fellowship. In the program domain, the key advantages of the fellowship program were its applicability to the workplace of the fellows and enough allowed time for practice and reflection. Finally, in the participants domain, Fellows valued their heterogeneity of composition and recognized cognitive as well as non-cognitive attributes of the participants as essential.

CONCLUSIONS

This process-oriented evaluation reveals the diverse factors that contributed to achieving the intended outcomes of the fellowship. Although much evidence from best practices in faculty development are still valid, the findings suggest that the selection strategies, learning environment, and English communication should be given more consideration when organizing a program targeting these people and cultures. A comprehensive understanding of the process would contribute to developing tailored strategies for educators of health professions in developing countries in similar settings.

Simulation of a Novel Schedule for Intensivist Staffing to Improve Continuity of Patient Care and Reduce Physician Burnout

OBJECTIVE

Despite widespread adoption of in-house call for ICU attendings, there is a paucity of research on optimal scheduling of intensivists to provide continuous on-site coverage. Overnight call duties have traditionally been added onto 7 days of continuous daytime clinical service. We designed an alternative ICU staffing model to increase continuity of attending physician care for patients while also decreasing interruptions to attendings' nonclinical weeks.

DESIGN

Computer-based simulation of a 1-year schedule.

SETTING

A simulated ICU divided into two daytime teams each covered by a different attending and both covered by one overnight on-call attending.

SUBJECTS

Simulated patients were randomly admitted on different service days to assess continuity of care.

INTERVENTIONS

A "shared service schedule" was compared to a standard "7 days on schedule." For the 7 days on schedule, an attending covered a team for 7 consecutive days and off-service attendings cross-covered each night. For the shared schedule, four attendings shared the majority of daytime and nighttime service for two teams over 2 weeks, with recovery periods built into the scheduled service time.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Continuity of care as measured by the Continuity of Attending Physician Index increased by 9% with the shared schedule. Annually, the shared service schedule was predicted to increase free weekends by 3.4 full weekends and 1.3 weekends with either Saturday or Sunday off. Full weeks without clinical obligations increased by 4 weeks. Mean time between clinical obligations increased by 5.8 days.

CONCLUSIONS

A shared service schedule is predicted to improve continuity of care while increasing free weekends and continuity of uninterrupted nonclinical weeks for attendings. Computer-based simulation allows assessment of benefits and tradeoffs of the alternative schedule without disturbing existing clinical systems.

Creating a Cadre of Fellowship-Trained Medical Educators, Part II: A Formal Needs Assessment to Structure Postgraduate Fellowships in Medical Education Scholarship and Leadership

PURPOSE

Education leaders at the 2012 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference on education research proposed that dedicated postgraduate education scholarship fellowships (ESFs) might provide an effective model for developing future faculty as scholars. A formal needs assessment was performed to understand the training gap and inform the development of ESFs.

METHOD

A mixed-methods needs assessment was conducted of four emergency medicine national stakeholder groups in 2013: department chairs; faculty education/research leaders; existing education fellowship directors; and current education fellows/graduates. Descriptive statistics were reported for quantitative data. Qualitative data from semistructured interviews and free-text responses were analyzed using a thematic approach.

RESULTS

Participants were 11/15 (73%) education fellowship directors, 13/20 (65%) fellows/graduates, 106/239 (44%) faculty education/research leaders, and a convenience sample of 26 department chairs. Department chairs expected new education faculty to design didactics (85%) and teach clinically (96%). Faculty education/research leaders thought new faculty were inadequately prepared for job tasks (83.7%) and that ESFs would improve the overall quality of education research (91.1%). Fellowship directors noted that ESFs provide skills, mentorship, and protected time for graduates to become productive academicians. Current fellows/graduates reported pursing an ESF to develop skills in teaching and research methodology.

CONCLUSIONS

Stakeholder groups uniformly perceived a need for training in education theory, clinical teaching, and education research. These findings support dedicated, deliberate training in these areas. Establishment of a structure for scholarly pursuits prior to assuming a full-time position will effectively prepare new faculty. These findings may inform the development, implementation, and curricula of ESFs.