Maurice A. Hitchcock

Professional Networks: The Influence of Colleagues on the Academic Success of Faculty

Background Successful higher education faculty, those who get promoted and tenured, who get recognized for contributions, who produce more and significant research, frequently consult colleagues. This article summarizes what is known about colleague relationships with the hope of stimulating further research to extend current conclusions to medical school faculty. Method In the spring of 1992, a systematic literature review was conducted using database searches and author review of 137 selected books and articles using a standard protocol; preference was given to articles that were data-oriented, used quality designs, and related directly to the topic. Results Forty-seven “best” sources, published between 1963 and 1991, were included in the review of (1) types and configurations of colleague relationships, (2) forming and maintaining colleague relationships, (3) colleague effects on faculty success, (4) functions of colleague relationships, (5) changes in colleague relationships over a career, and (6) effects on methods, size, and configuration of colleague relationships. Conclusion Among the conclusions reached are that (1) there are a variety of types or configurations of colleague relationships, all with different functions and effects on faculty performance; (2) dyadic conceptions of colleague relationships are insufficient to explain the functions of colleague relationships; and (3) the most important source for developing colleague relationships is professional associations, while the least important source is ones own institution.ABSTRACTBackgroundAlthough national figures for medical student withdrawal and extended leave have long been reported, similar data have not been available for residents in training.MethodData for this study came from the American Medical Association survey of the 1991–92 residency year, in which pr

Dealing with dysfunctional tutorial groups

Background: The popularization of problem‐based learning has introduced management of small groups as a critical skill for medical faculty. Some faculty have found themselves in dysfunctional groups without the skills necessary to correct the learning climate. Purpose: This study was conducted to generate strategies faculty can use to deal with difficult tutorial groups. Methods: Twenty‐three experienced tutors were arranged into 5 groups, then rotated through 5 training stations. Each station consisted of 5 students trained to behave according to a dysfunctional scenario. Tutor groups assessed the problem of each station group, planned an intervention, and intervened via one of the groups tutors. Results: Assessments of the difficulties in each group varied according to the particular station group scenario being observed. Interventions were tailored to the specific assessments tending from less invasive (i.e., asking questions while the case is being discussed to influence the direction of discussion) ...

Teaching Faculty To Conduct Problem-based Learning.

Purpose: This article is aimed at those who undertake a transition to problem-based learning (PBL) and focuses on 3 questions that seem most pertinent to the effort: (a) what is known from past research about training faculty in the skills of PBL?, (b) what skills are important to teach faculty and how does one teach them?, and (c) what options are available for training faculty in PBL? Summary: The success of any PBL curricular initiative requires the assistance of faculty skilled in PBL. The development of faculty with such skills must be a primary and ongoing concern of programs or schools launching such efforts. This article describes the research associated with training faculty to conduct PBL, the skills to be taught, and the training options available. Conclusions: Few studies document the impact of PBL faculty development strategies. Many faculty experience a difficult transition when retraining to PBL. Training faculty for PBL is often taken to mean training them to be tutors, but there are more skills involved in implementing PBL. Finally, there is an implied sequence to training faculty to implement PBL.

Reliability and validity of an objective structured teaching examination for generalist resident teachers.

For more than a decade, medical educators have employed standardized students and objective structured teaching examinations (OSTEs) to evaluate the clinical teaching skills of medical faculty. Recent studies have set more rigorous standards of validity and reliability for these performance-based assessments. Some have begun using OSTEs for resident physicians, whom the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) and others increasingly recognize as critically important teachers for medical students and peers. OSTEs hold great promise for rapid and rigorous evaluation of clinical teaching skills and of new approaches to teacher training. For resident teachers and clinician–educators, it may require years to accumulate sufficient numbers of ‘‘real life’’ teaching evaluations for reliable teaching assessments. OSTEs can truncate this timeline to produce meaningful, prompt teaching assessments for important decisions such as resident evaluations or faculty promotions. OSTEs also facilitate outcomes-based educational research, as well as program evaluation of novel initiatives to improve teaching skills. A major challenge in OSTE practice lies in developing accurate rating scale or checklist instruments appropriate for carefully assessing teaching performance on OSTE stations. Although earlier research has delineated characteristics of exemplary clinical teachers, it remains a challenge to translate this body of knowledge into sensitive and specific assessment instruments. Educational researchers have developed and studied numerous instruments, some tailored to evaluating residents’ teaching skills. The SFDP-26, a 26-item rating scale based on the seven teaching constructs of the Stanford Faculty Development Program (SFDP), is one of the best-validated rating scales available to evaluate clinical teachers. The emerging OSTE literature has yet to address definitively the issue of selecting between dichotomously scored checklists and multi-point rating scales for best assessment of teaching performance. Research offers clearer support for using standardized students portrayed by senior medical students, who in non-OSTE studies have shown themselves to be capable evaluators of teaching. The related literature on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) sheds light on some of these issues. Senior medical students who act as standardized patient examiners for learners may benefit by improving their own communication skills, suggesting that standardized students may improve their own teaching skills. The OSCE literature manifests more controversy over the choice between checklists and rating scales, with a minority of OSCEs featuring multi-point rating scales, although both formats can be used successfully. The purpose of our study was to develop and assess reliability and validity for an eight-station OSTE with case-specific, behaviorally-anchored rating scales, all developed specifically for resident teachers. This OSTE is the primary outcome measure for Bringing Education & Service Together (BEST), an ongoing randomized, controlled trial of a longitudinal residents-as-teachers curriculum at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). We hypothesized that our OSTE would demonstrate acceptable reliability and validity when used to evaluate generalist residents’ clinical teaching skills before and after a pilot administration of the BEST curriculum. Method

Faculty development fellowship programs in family medicine

A new format for training medical school faculty members was begun in 1978 when the federal government and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation simultaneously began funding separate faculty development programs for family medicine faculty members. The goals of these two programs were to recruit and prepare new physician faculty members for family medicine educational programs. In the present study, the authors assessed the impact of these programs by a review of grant proposals and a survey of alumni for each program. They found that very different fellowship programs developed under these two funding sources. Consequently, the two programs produced participants who went to different academic settings and became involved in quite different activities, especially in the area of scholarly work. However, regardless of the program the participants chose, common factors were found to characterize those who were active in scholarly areas and those who were less active. Based on these findings, recommendations are offered to future planners and funders of faculty development programs for preparing new physician faculty members.

Introducing Professional Educators into Academic Medicine: Stories of Exemplars

This article describes an oral history project aimed at documenting the history and contributions of the innovation of hiring professional educators in medical schools to improve the education of medical students, residents, and fellows. Six professional educators who spent their careers in medical schools were chosen as Exemplars: Stephen Abrahamson, Ph.D.; Charles Dohner, Ph.D.; Arthur Elstein, Ph.D.; Hilliard Jason, M.D., Ph.D.; Christine McGuire, M.A.; and Frank Stritter, Ph.D. Pairs of senior professional educators currently working in medical schools interviewed the six Exemplars using a standardized protocol. Articles describing each Exemplar appear consecutively in this and subsequent issues of Advances in Health Professions Education. The series culminates with an article that presents the consensus conclusions of the series authors, based on the five study questions that guided the study and interview protocol.

Longitudinal outcomes of an executive-model program for faculty development.

Increasing numbers of faculty members in medicine seek training to enhance their academic careers. There is a need for faculty development programs that are tailored to teaching in health settings; have track records of graduating outstanding teachers, educational scholars, and leaders; offer degrees to produce credibility for those who choose teaching as a career focus; and are organized so that faculty can participate while continuing to work. Despite a 20-year history of faculty development programs, few programs meet these criteria. This study reports the outcomes of one such program. The faculty development fellowship program assessed here was launched in the fall of 1998 at a private urban medical school and relied heavy on two new approaches. Classes were moved, over the course of two years, to 12 intensive weekend sessions modeled upon the executive-training model used by business schools. Between weekend sessions, distance learning was used. Participants received assignments online, exchanged drafts of projects, and developed group presentations online or through e-mail. This enabled the participants to complete the program while continuing their academic duties. Topics such as curriculum design, research project development, small-group teaching, and learner evaluation were included. The executive model also attracted participants nationwide who traveled to California for the intensive sessions and then returned to their ongoing faculty duties. The two-year program leads to a master’s degree. The focus of year one is on teaching and learning, while the focus of year two is on educational leadership. Outcomes of the first-year teaching and learning fellowship are examined here.

Advance Organizers in a Gross Anatomy Dissection Course and Their Effects on Academic Achievement

We presented two kinds of advance organizers (AOs), video clips and prosection, for a gross anatomy dissection course and compared their effects on academic achievement and student perception of the learning experience. In total, 141 students at Chonnam National University Medical School were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 (n = 70) was provided with video clips AO, whereas Group 2 (n = 71) was provided with prosection AO, the use of cadaveric specimens dissected by the course instructor. Student self‐assessment scores regarding the learning objectives of upper limb anatomy improved significantly in both groups. Academic achievement scores in Group 2 were significantly higher than those in Group 1, although the self‐assessment scores were not significantly different between the groups. Additionally, students in Group 2 responded significantly more positively to the statements about perception of the learning experience such as helping them understand the course content and concepts, decreasing anxiety about the dissection course, and participating actively in the dissection. It would seem that the application of prosection as an AO improved academic achievement and increased student engagement and satisfaction. This study will contribute to designing effective AOs and developing a teaching and learning strategy for a gross anatomy dissection course. Clin. Anat. 2013.

Aligning teaching practices with an understanding of quality teaching: A faculty development agenda

Background: To guide the future faculty development practices in a better manner, it is important to determine how clinical teachers perceive their own skill development. Aim: The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which clinical teachers aligned their teaching practices, as measured with a self-rating instrument, with their understanding of what constitutes good clinical teaching. Method: A sample of 1523 residents and 737 faculty members completed the clinical teaching perception inventory (CTPI) online and ranked 28 single-word descriptors that characterized clinical teachers along a seven-point scale in two measures, “My Ideal Teacher” and “Myself as a Teacher.” Results: Faculty and residents showed strikingly similar discrepancies, in both their magnitudes and directions, between their ratings of “My Ideal Teacher” and those of “Myself as a Teacher.” Both residents and faculty found it most difficult to develop the stimulating, well-read, and innovative nature to meet their own standards. Conclusions: Data did not support our hypothesis that faculty would demonstrate stronger congruence between “My Ideal Teacher” and “Myself as a Teacher” than residents. Medical faculty would benefit from future faculty development practices that are designed to assist them in becoming stimulating, well-read, and innovative teachers, while using less control and caution in their teaching.

On whose shoulders we stand: lessons from Exemplar medical educators.

The hiring of educators in medical schools (faculty who study the educational process and prepare others to become educators) has been one of the most successful educational innovations ever. Starting in 1954, through a collaboration between the Schools of Medicine and Education at the University of Buffalo, the innovation has spread to over half of the medical schools in the United States and to medical schools in several other countries. Practically every medical school and specialty now hires educators to conduct faculty development, evaluate learners, and develop or revise curricula. This article focuses on lessons learned by six-first-generation educators hired in medical education. These individuals made unique contributions that improved the process of educating and evaluating future physicians. Among their most important contributions have been the use of standardized patients, faculty development to improve instruction, and the use of clinical decision making theory. In addition, these professional educators created a home and career path for other professionals and nurtured protégés to continue the work they started. Ten lessons are reported from structured interviews using a standardized protocol. These lessons will hopefully inform current and future medical educators to help them sustain the effective collaboration between medical schools and educators.