Implementation of Faculty Learning Communities to Support Medical Education Scholarship in a Regional Campus System

Komal Kochhar

Indiana University School of Medicine

Krista Longtin

Indiana University School of Medicine

Shawn Wilson

Indiana University School of Medicine

Monling Ho

Indiana University School of Medicine

James Brokaw

Indiana University School of Medicine

Paul Wallach

Indiana University School of Medicine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jrmc.v6i2.4886

Keywords: Regional Medical Campuses, Faculty Development, Faculty Learning Communities, Educational Scholarship, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, SOTL


Abstract

Introduction: Medical educators need targeted faculty development programs to give them the skills necessary to produce educational scholarship for promotion and tenure.  At the Indiana University School of Medicine, which encompasses a large regional campus system, we implemented Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) to provide a platform for medical educators to engage in a collaborative, year-long educational research project facilitated by a faculty member well-versed in educational research.  Methods: 18 faculty participants were assigned to one of 4 FLC groups, which met monthly from 2019 to 2020.  The participants also attended a series of one-hour monthly educational seminars designed to build foundational skills in educational research.  To assess program effectiveness, participants were surveyed at 6 months and 18 months after the start of the program.  Results: 94% of participants completed the 6-month survey and 56% completed the 18-month survey.  A majority of respondents at both time-points (88% and 60%, respectively) agreed or strongly agreed that the FLC process met their professional development needs to help move their educational scholarship forward.  At the time of the 18-month survey, 50% of respondents had submitted their work for presentation at a regional or national conference or for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, with the remainder intending to do so.  Discussion: The inaugural offering of this FLC program has established a successful and sustainable model for developing medical educators.  By employing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle for process improvement, several changes to the program have already been instituted that should further bolster the scholarly productivity of our medical educators.

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