Effect of a teaching skills program on faculty skills and confidence.

Background: Although education is a central mission of medical schools, effectiveness of faculty as teachers is variable, with many faculty lacking formal training. Therefore, a series of sessions around teaching skills was developed.

Objective: To improve the skill, confidence, and comfort levels of faculty who teach general pediatrics.

Method: A faculty development program consisting of nine 1-hour sessions on a variety of topics and a 3-hour workshop on Feedback and Evaluation was provided to all faculty members in a single academic division. The program was evaluated with a needs assessment and a quantitative postprogram self-assessment. A qualitative e-mail survey was performed 3 years after completion to assess durability.

Results: The 13 full-time faculty members (10 women) in the Community and General Pediatrics Division attended a mean of 6.5 sessions each (range 4-10). All 13 participants completed the 22-item postprogram survey regarding comfort with and knowledge of teaching techniques. Statistically significant change was seen for all items. Comments from the open-response section reflected specific improvement in the area of feedback and the need for increased time to focus on teaching. Responses to the follow-up survey (46% response rate) were positive about the program in general and about the continued use of the skills that were learned in the program.

Conclusions: Busy general pediatric faculty attended a majority of sessions in a faculty development program on teaching. Skill and comfort levels significantly improved in many of the areas covered, and the skills were still being used 3 years later.