Integrating teaching skills and clinical content in a faculty development workshop

J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Jun;18(6):468-74. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20933.x.

Abstract

Incorporating clinical content into medical education faculty development programs has been proposed as a strategy to consolidate faculty continuing medical education time and enhance learning. We developed a faculty development program for ambulatory internal medicine preceptors that integrated primary care genetics with ambulatory precepting. The instructional strategies addressed both areas simultaneously and included facilitated discussions, mini-lectures, trigger tapes, and role plays. To evaluate the program, we conducted a pre-post trial. Skills were measured by retrospective pre-post self-reported ratings and behaviors by self-reported implementation of commitment to change (CTC) statements. Participants' (N = 26) ambulatory precepting and primary care genetics skill ratings improved after the intervention. They listed an average of 2.4 clinical teaching CTC statements and 2.0 clinical practice CTC statements. By 3 months after the workshop, preceptors, as a group, fully implemented 32 (38%), partially implemented 35 (41%), and failed to implement 18 (21%) CTC statements. The most common barrier to clinical teaching change was insufficient skills (8 of 25; 32%) and to clinical practice change was lack of a suitable patient (15 of 25; 60%). Integrating clinical content with clinical teaching in a faculty development workshop is feasible, can improve clinical and teaching skills, and can facilitate behavior change.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Curriculum
  • Education
  • Education, Medical / organization & administration*
  • Faculty, Medical*
  • Humans
  • Internal Medicine / education*
  • Models, Educational
  • Preceptorship*
  • Program Evaluation
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Teaching*