The clinician educator

Promotion as a clinician educator in academic radiology departments: guidelines at three major institutions

Faculty promotion within an academic department of radiology may place emphasis on scientific research, administrative contributions, educational contributions, or a combination of all endeavors that enrich the department and further its academic mission. For those departments considering the establishment of a promotion pathway that emphasizes teaching talents and education-oriented research, the authors provide examples of three different clinician-educator faculty appointment and promotion schemes. Faculty development and defining scholarly work as a clinician-educator, as well as documentation of academic productivity within this pathway, are discussed.

Identification of facilitators and barriers to the role of a mentor in the clinical setting

Clinical mentors are integral to the education of health care professionals. In Northeastern Ontario, Canada, clinical mentors can take a variety of forms. Examples include preceptors who are employees in a clinical setting working with an individual student for a specific period of time, clinical educators, individuals contracted to take a group of students in acute care settings, and faculty advisors, who facilitate students' community placements. An internet survey exploring the preparation and support of clinical mentors was delivered to clinical mentors from a variety of health disciplines. Part of the survey was based on the concept of self-efficacy which assessed participants' confidence levels with the various aspects of the clinical mentor role. Participants also reported on supports and barriers to their role as clinical mentors. Findings indicate that clinical mentors across all the health disciplines are not always confident in the delivery of clinical education, most specifically with adapting teaching style and assisting the student to apply research to practice. Consistency of results of the survey speaks to the potential value for a collaborative, interprofessional approach to the orientation and support of clinical mentors in a variety of health discipline education programs.

Excellence in physician assistant training through faculty development

Once again, experts predict a shortage of health care providers by 2020. The physician assistant (PA) profession was created in the 1960s to address a similar need. Currently, there are 141 accredited PA training programs in the United States, 75 of them established in the 10 years between 1993 and 2002. Historically, PA education and practice models have been responsive to the ever-changing landscape of health care. It may be the profession's flexibility and adaptability that has enabled it to survive and flourish in a competitive service environment. The growth of new PA programs mandates a need for continuing faculty development, as increasing numbers of educators hail primarily from clinical practice and come equipped with minimal teaching experience. PA faculty development addresses these new recruits' needs to develop model curricula, implement new courses, and enhance instruction-all with the goal of improving both access to and quality of health care.The author describes the impact of Health Resources and Service Administration Title VII, Section 747 (Title VII) contracts in addressing this need. Title VII-funded PA education projects, considered innovative at the time of implementation, included both faculty development workshops that promoted active learning of basic teaching and administrative skills and new curricula designed to enhance faculty teaching in genomics and practice management. These projects and others resulted in enduring professional resources that have not only strengthened the PA community but also enjoyed broad applicability within other health professions groups.This article is part of a theme issue of Academic Medicine on the Title VII health professions training programs.