Chair's Message
Our first newsletter of the new academic year seems a good time to highlight the importance of faculty development for all clinical teachers in our department.
Faculty development has been described as a tool for improving the educational vitality of academic institutions through attention to the competencies needed by individual teachers.1
This is exactly the approach that has been taken by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, where a working group on Faculty Development has developed a new guide to teaching in family medicine. This is available on their website under the Section of Teachers link. The Fundamental Teaching Activities in Family Medicine Framework2 describes teaching in three domains, the Clinical Preceptor, The Teacher Outside the Clinical Setting, and the Educational Leader. The Framework goes on to list the tasks and competencies required in each domain and shows how these can change over the course of a teaching career.
This is excellent material for clinical teachers at all stages of their careers. I am encouraging all of our teachers to look at this document and use it to understand what your faculty development needs are as an individual. What faculty development do you need to develop or enhance the teaching competencies required for your job? It behooves us all as teachers in family medicine to improve our teaching skills for the benefit of our many learners.
Steinert et al. reviewed the literature to look at the effectiveness of faculty development for clinical teachers. The findings included:
- Positive changes in attitudes towards faculty development and teaching.
- Increased knowledge of educational principles and gains in teaching skills.
- Changes in teaching behavior which were also detected by students.3
Let us all use this new academic year as a time to improve our teaching skills. I encourage each of you to seek out faculty development opportunities in your setting or elsewhere that will help you make the most of your teaching experience.
As always I welcome your feedback at Stephen.Wetmore@schulich.uwo.ca.
1 Wilkerson L, Irby DM. Strategies for improving teaching practices: a comprehensive approach to faculty development. Acad Med 1998; 73(4):
3 Steinert Y, et al. A systematic review of faculty development initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness in medical education. Medical Teacher 2006; 28(6): 497-526
