Faculty development: From rubies to oak

Abstract

Introduction: Faculty development has played a significant role in health professions education over the last 40 years. The goal of this perspective is to present a portrait of faculty development in Medical Teacher since its inception and to highlight emerging trends moving forward.

Method: All issues of Medical Teacher were reviewed, using the search terms faculty development, staff development, professional development, or in-service training for faculty. The search yielded 286 results of which 145 focused specifically on faculty development initiatives, reviews, or frameworks.

Findings: This review demonstrated a significant growth in publications related to faculty development in Medical Teacher over the last 40 years, with a primary focus on teaching improvement and traditional approaches to faculty development, including workshops, short courses and other structured, group activities. The international nature of faculty development was also highlighted.

Recommendations: Moving forward, it is suggested that we: broaden the scope of faculty development from teaching to academic development; expand our approaches to faculty development, to include peer coaching, workplace learning and communities of practice; utilize a competency-based framework to guide the development of faculty development curricula; support teachers’ professional identities through faculty development; focus on organizational development and change; and rigorously promote research and scholarship in faculty development.

Acknowledgements

I would like to gratefully acknowledge Genevieve Gore, Health Sciences Librarian at McGill University, for her invaluable assistance with the literature search, and Dr. Sara Mortaz Hejri, Assistant Professor in the Educational Development Center and Department of Medical Education, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, for her helpful feedback on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yvonne Steinert

Yvonne Steinert, Ph.D., is a professor of Family Medicine and Health Sciences Education; director of the Institute of Health Sciences Education; and the Richard and Sylvia Cruess Chair in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.