The SACME Academy of Fellows is delighted to announce its new and exciting series on important faculty development topics with distinguished speakers. Each topic and workshop has been carefully curated to provide value-packed information. All webinars will be offered online. Registration is free for SACME members and just $30 to non-members. To register, go to: www.sacme.org/SACME-Events-Calendar
Upcoming webinars in this series….
Demystifying Coaching
Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 12 Noon EST
Jane Tippings, MADEd, MCC,
Educational Consultant
University of Toronto
Anne Matlow, MSC, MD,
Professor of Medicine and Paediatrics
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
University of Toronto
The demands of the academic milieu reach far beyond the practice of clinical medicine. As COVID has underscored how complexities and uncertainties within healthcare challenge the academic setting as being simultaneously a place of learning and a place of work. Academic physicians assume responsibility for educating the physicians and specialists needed for sustainability of the healthcare system, all while working hard to fulfill their own clinical and scholarly goals. Coaching as an antidote can function as a partnership to foster resilience, navigate relationships, and support the achievement of personal and professional goals. Coaching within the health professions has picked up “traction” in recent years and yet a lack of clarity as to what it is, the role it can play and how it can be effectively integrated still exists. This 60-minute presentation aims to bring clarity to these issues.
Promoting Competencies for CPD Providers
Monday, February 12, 2024, 1:00 pm EST
Suzan Schneeweiss, MD, MEd, FRCPC, CPC(HC), Professor, Department of Paediatrics; Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
CPD providers play a crucial role in developing and delivering impactful CPD activities. To achieve this, they require specialized knowledge and skills to design, develop, and implement CPD programs. Through interactive discussions and shared experiences, participants of this 60-minute workshop will gain insights into core CPD provider competencies required to promote effective programming.
Use the Clinician Educator Milestones to Generate Lifelong Learning
Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 1:00 pm EST
Gary A. Smith, PhD, Associate Dean of Continuous Professional Learning, Office for Continuous Professional Learning, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
The Clinician Educator Milestones (ACGME-ACCME-AAMC-AACOM, 2022) are a framework for medical school faculty to self-direct and self-assess learning and growth. In this interactive sixty-minute session, guided small and large-group discussions will explore how these competencies and milestones are and can be supported by CPD programs. Discussion will include the potential for collaborations with other institutional professional development offices (for example, faculty development, faculty affairs, wellness, DEI). Attendance will be limited to 40 people.
Raising the Bar on the Quality of Teaching: Focus on the Educator
By Robert Dantuono, CE News Staff Reporter
Moderator & Speaker:
- Nels L. Carlson, MD
Assistant Dean, Continuing Professional Development
Oregon Health & Science University
Panelists:
- Matt Orr, PhD
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia—Prisma Health Midlands - Christine Flores, MPH
Oregon Health & Science University - Amy Miller Juve, EdD, MEd
Oregon Health & Science University - Nels Carlson, MD
Oregon Health & Science University - Jessica Walter, EdD
Oregon Health & Science University - Patrick O. Smith, PhD, ABPP
University of Mississippi Medical Center - Lisa Coplit, MD
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University - Gary Smith, PhD
School of Medicine, University of New Mexico
The new SACME Faculty Development Seminar Series kicked off with an exciting webinar this past October 26th on the topic of Raising the Bar on the Quality of Teaching: Focus on the Educator, with Nels Carlson, MD as speaker and panel moderator. In this initial one-hour webinar, a panel provided case studies of faculty development activities that represent collaborations between CPD and other offices (GME, UME, Faculty Development) within the organization or that are integrated into CPD offices. The discussion highlighted how these collaborations and activities engage, develop, and/or recognize the educator.
After introductions, the first panelist, Matt Orr, PhD, from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia-Prisma Health (USC), presented a case study of CPD and GME office collaborations. At USC, the collaboration focused on faculty engagement with their educational responsibilities as faculty of the School of Medicine, while serving as employees of the health system. It was felt that the educational role and academic milieu required an orientation and reinforcement which was not emphasized during the health system onboarding of faculty physicians. To address this issue, a workshop was developed jointly by the CPD and GME staff as part of the orientation process for all new full and part-time faculty. Its purpose is to: create a foundational CPD experience designed to cultivate the new faculty member’s identity as an educator.
The focus of the program involves an introduction for new faculty to the mission and vision of the medical school in addition to the ACGME Clinician Educator Milestones, which provide a framework for assessment of educational skills of faculty members who teach residents and fellows. Faculty members can use these milestones for their own self-assessment as educators, or with a trusted peer to provide feedback and assessment. The ultimate goal of these milestones is to provide faculty members with tools to help them map out and monitor their professional development and lifelong growth plans as educators. Other areas of the program address professionalism (e.g., modeling; leadership, goal setting), and “next steps” in their development as faculty. The workshop is limited to 8-12 participants, is 4 hours long, and is delivered in a blended format consisting of didactic, reflection and discussion. There is often pre-work and follow-up with learners.
A second case study of CPD-GME collaborations presented by Dr. Amy Miller Juve and Christine Flores on behalf of the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU)., also focused on educating faculty in alignment with the competency-based goals of the Clinician Educator Milestones. OHSU, the University of Washington and the ACGME have jointly sponsored a collaborative regional, 2.5 day conference using the CE Milestones as the curriculum to teach faculty competencies in self-assessment and professional improvement. Dr. Miller called attention to the fact that the GME office staff had the content knowledge and the CPD office staff were well positioned to support the conference planning and delivery, evaluation and logistical components. As a team, the conference became a reality.
In another OHSU example, Dr. Nels Carlson, presented on the urgent need for CPD to address the necessary skills required to fill the demanding roles of faculty, clinicians, educators and scientists. He stressed that all academic institutions must strive to create pathways and facilitate the on-boarding process of new faculty. With a goal to align CPD priorities with institutional priorities (i.e., eliminate fragmented CPD), the collaboration has set out to structure learning activities into discrete pathways, by grouping activities into tracks: a clinician track; an educator track; and a scientist track. Certain competencies are offered in each track as a “thread”, such as, professionalism, communications, etc. At OHSU, the CPD office has established a faculty dashboard (prototype currently available) whereby learning activities are mapped to each competency and individual learning plans are tracked. Faculty are able to earn badges for the successful completion of the established CPD pathways for each competency. The Milestones are the checkpoints which serve to track progress toward meeting specific professional development and/or academic goals. Go to http://pdtracks.simbdev.com/ for more detailed information on the OHSU faculty dashboard.
Dr. Jessica Walter concluded the three-part presentation by OHSU staff by emphasizing how CPD and GME can collaborate to improve the quality of education via traditional CME and MOC activities. She stated that faculty serve as both instructors and learners. In the CME-Maintenance of Certification (MOC) world, what you teach as a clinical instructor often can provide opportunities for more faculty scholarship. As a learner, your reflection can provide a guided path to more faculty engagement, perhaps, specifically in MOC-Part IV projects.
Dr. Patrick Smith from the University of Mississippi shared a variety of unique activities which focus on faculty and the teams in which they work. One program is the Annual Faculty Appreciation Week. Its stated goal is to provide a day of “fun, gratitude and learning” for clinical employees. Activities of the day include multi-disciplinary “cart rounds” where the clinical teams meet and play various types of learning games on their hospital units.
Dr. Lisa Coplit from the Quinnipiac University addressed why Podcasting in Faculty Development was an important consideration for the modern CPD office. Also known as Open Distance E-Learning (ODe-L), this micro-activity has beena useful instructional format for her institution, especially for those multi-institutional system-wide educational initiatives which are of interest to a geographically-dispersed group of faculty learners. Ode-L is defined as a format to reduce transactional distance through quality educational opportunities and access to information through any digital device. This presentation highlighted the benefits of podcasting which have been found to: improve flexibility of learning; increase accessibility to expertise and educational resources; enhance the learner’s experience; and promote the effective use of the technology in the interest of faculty development.
Dr. Coplit stressed a podcast should be organized to have an introduction of the topic; an explanation of the topic; practical applications; and a mention of “what’s next”. They have decided to offer these podcasts once per month (with each no more than 30 minutes in length), CME accredited and designed for a clinical faculty audience. This presentation shared a glimpse into the development process and reviewed th technical requirements for podcasting which include: microphone; headphones; software for recording and editing, sound quality, music, a logo, a brand name, release timing and marketing. If done well, the benefits will out weigh the time and production costs of podcasting. Some background reading may be helpful if podcasting is in your future: Wolpaw JT, Harvey J. How to podcast: a great learning tool made simple. Clin Teach. 2020 Apr;17(2):131-135.
The final presentation by Dr. Gary Smith, University of New Mexico (UNM), focused on an organizational structure to promote the intersection of faculty development and CPD. At UNM, faculty development is CME.In July of 2019, UNM combined the separate offices of Faculty Development and CPD/CME into one, integrated Office of Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) which seek to do the following:
- support the full range of educator and healthcare-provider professional development
- integrate lifelong learning for faculty roles as physician and educator
- align with the Clinician Educator Milestones
Dr. Smith stressed that the new structure is widely supported and has successfully introduced a new paradigm in educational development and curriculum innovation. The CPL’s portfolio includes: workshops, online enduring materials, faculty learning communities, training in Peer Observation in Support of Effective Teaching (POSET) and medical education certificates linked to promotional requirements.. The CPL also collaborates with the Office of Professional Well-being and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for targeted educational programs in these areas.
We know that the LCME and the ACGME have requirements for Faculty Development. While not specifically stated in the ACCME or Joint Accreditation (JA) accreditation requirements, the CPD/CE community shares a common goal of building faculty skill sets and competencies to enhance program development, improve learners’ experience, and boost their faculty’s teaching effectiveness.
The mix of presentations shared in this kick-off session of SACME’s Faculty Development webinar series displayed an interesting blend of approaches and examples from both a macro and micro perspective. The examples highlighted collaborative efforts to help build faculty competencies, to strengthen connections to the Clinical Educator Milestones and, ultimately, to systematically contribute to the quality and alignment of their institution’s educational priorities and initiatives.
