An Approach to Faculty Development for Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine.

OBJECTIVES: The diversity of the US physician workforce lags significantly behind the population, and the disparities in academic medicine are even greater, with underrepresented in medicine (URM) physicians accounting for only 6.8% of all US medical school faculty. We describe a "for URM by URM" pilot approach to faculty development for junior URM Family Medicine physicians that targets unique challenges faced by URM faculty. METHODS: A year-long fellowship was created for junior URM academic clinician faculty with funding through the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Project Fund. Seven junior faculty applied and were accepted to participate in the fellowship, which included conference calls and an in-person workshop covering topics related to writing and career advancement. RESULTS: The workshop included a mix of prepared programming on how to move from idea to project to manuscript, as well as time for spontaneous mentorship and manuscript collaboration. Key themes that emerged included how to address the high cost of the minority tax, the need for individual passion as a pathway to success, and how to overcome imposter syndrome as a hindrance to writing. CONCLUSIONS: The "for URM by URM" approach for faculty development to promote writing skills and scholarship for junior URM Family Medicine physicians can address challenges faced by URM faculty. By using a framework that includes the mentors' lived experiences and creates a psychological safe space, we can address concerns often overlooked in traditional skills-based faculty development programs.

Creating a Model for Mindfulness in Nursing Professional Development Using Concept Analysis.

Mindfulness has many benefits, but its mechanisms of action are not universally understood. This analysis explores mindfulness and informs a model for its practical applications in health care and professional development. A mindful nursing professional development practitioner can use metacognitive thought processes to enhance interpersonal connections and create better learning environments to facilitate practice change. The literature supports the testing of this model in nursing professional development.

Informing the Nursing Professional Development Scope and Standards: Exploring Current and Future Nursing Professional Development Practice Through a World Café Methodology.

A two-phase research study was conducted to inform the upcoming fourth edition of Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice. This column describes Phase 1, which used a virtual world café methodology to gather qualitative data from 32 nursing professional development experts. Eighteen themes emerged from the data supporting the six responsibilities of the nursing professional development practitioner. Researchers found the virtual world café to be a useful technique for eliciting expert opinions.

Building Capacity of Health Professionals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Through Online Continuing Professional Development in Nutrition.

ABSTRACT: Continuing professional development (CPD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can build capacity of health professionals in infant and young child feeding (IYCF). However, travel to in-person workshops can be time-consuming and expensive. Thus, we developed a free online course to provide training in IYCF to health professionals globally; the course received overwhelmingly high numbers of registrations. Our aim was to conduct a program evaluation to assess course satisfaction, learning, and application using surveys administered postcourse and 9 months later. Response rates were 99% (n = 835) and 55% (n = 312), respectively. Among those who only partially completed the course, reasons for noncompletion were assessed (response rate 29%, n = 72). Data within a 1-year period were analyzed. Respondents worked in multiple settings and organizations worldwide. Nearly all (99%) reported postcourse that they learned "a lot" or "some" from all topics, and over 70% applied "a lot" of or "some" information 9 months later. In open-ended questions, respondents reported improved knowledge, skills, and competence to conduct their work; they also desired more similar training courses. Many who did not complete the course reported "not enough time" as the main reason (74%), and most (94%) wanted to continue it. The positive response to the course suggests there is an unmet need for CPD for health professionals in LMICs. Our evaluation found that online training was feasible, acceptable, and increased professionals' knowledge and application of IYCF concepts in nutrition programming. Increased use of online CPD offers the potential for global capacity-building in other health-related topics.

Leadership Development Projects: Bidirectional Impact on Faculty and Institutions.

INTRODUCTION: The Hedwig von Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program (ELAM) is a national professional development program for women that includes institutional action projects (IAPs). Although benefits of ELAM participation are well documented, the value of the IAPs has not been specifically evaluated. We explored the experience of ELAM Fellows and leaders from one institution to elucidate how institutional factors influence project implementation and outcomes. METHODS: Fellows and deans participated in semistructured interviews. We analyzed the transcripts qualitatively to develop themes and describe factors that influenced IAP implementation and outcomes. We used the New World Kirkpatrick Model, an updated version of the widely used Kirkpatrick model of educational program evaluation, as a framework to elucidate how participants applied their leadership learning through project work, and to analyze early results of projects that indicated institutional impact. RESULTS: Project work had bidirectional impact on the fellows in the program and on the institution itself. Project enablers included: focusing projects on institutional priorities, obtaining sustainable support, and navigating institutional complexity. Leading indicators of institutional outcomes included contributions to institutional leadership and culture, and mutual enhancement of the reputation of the fellow and of the institution. DISCUSSION: By examining enablers and barriers for institutionally based projects conducted in a national leadership development program, we identified the drivers that facilitated application of leadership learning. Leading indicators of project outcomes reflected bidirectional impact on fellows and the institution, demonstrating outcomes at the highest levels of the New World Kirkpatrick Model.

Resultados del Examen Estatal Práctico de Medicina General Integral en el municipio Niquero, 2019 / Results of Practical State Exam of Comprehensive General Medicine in Niquero municipality, 2019

Introducción: el examen estatal permite apreciar el desempeño del residente de Medicina General Integral en la Atención Primaria de Salud. Objetivo: describir los resultados del examen práctico estatal de los residentes evaluados en el municipio de Niquero, presentados a la primera convocatoria, curso académico 2018-2019, de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Granma. Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal, sobrelos resultados del examen referido en el objetivo. El universo lo constituyeron 21residentes. Se emplearon métodos teóricos (revisión documental de las actas de exámenes) y estadísticos (frecuencia absoluta y porcientos). Resultados: se obtuvo un 100 por ciento de promoción. Por rublos, pocos residentes obtuvieron la nota máxima, siendo la Actividad Grupal la de más alta cuantía, 42,9 por ciento. La nota entre 18-19 puntos fue la predominante en todos los acápites del examen. El mayor porciento de errores estuvo en: Discusión del Problema de Salud en 20 residentes (95,2 por ciento), Consulta en 19 residentes (90,5 por ciento), Visita a la Familia en 17 médicos (80,9 por ciento) y Análisis de la Situación de Salud en 16 residentes (76,1 por ciento). Conclusiones: el examen estatal práctico para la especialidad de Medicina General Integral tuvo una buena promoción, aunque se evidenciaron deficiencias cognoscitivas sobre Discusión del Problema de Salud, Consulta, Visita a la Familia y Análisis de la Situación de Salud, por lo que se hace necesario para las próximas convocatorias elevar la preparación de los residentes(AU)

Introduction: State Exam allow the evaluation of teaching-learning results and its quality in residents of Comprehensive General Medicine inPrimary Health Care. Objective: to describe the results of the State Practical Exam of residents in the Family Medicine in Niquero municipality in the Academic Course 2018-2019, first call, at the University of Medical Sciences of Granma. Methods: a cross-sectional, observational descriptive study was carried out with the teaching-learningresults of the State Exam declared in the objective. The universe was formed by 21 residents. Empirical methods and statistical processing were used along with documentary analysis of exam records. All variables were given an absolute frequency distribution andpercentage. Results: 100 percent of the residents were approved in the first calls from 2018 to 2019. A few residents got the highest marks. The highest results obtained in all the exam questions ranged between 18-19 points. Group Activity was the most outstanding mark (42,9 percent). Nevertheless, the answers with the lowest results belonged to the topics on Discussion of Problem of Health (20 residents, 95,2 percent), Doctors Consulting (19 residents, 90,5 percent), Family Home Visiting (17 doctor, 80,9 percent) and Analysis of the Health Situation (16 residents, 76,1 percent). Conclusions: the total of the residents passed the State Practical Exam to obtain the degree of specialists in Family Medicine though some cognitive deficiencies were found on Discussion of Problem of Health, Doctors Consulting, Family Home Visitingand Analysis of the Health Situation. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the preparation of residents and their professional competences(EU)

It's Great up North: maximising the learning and development opportunities provided by organising and attending a regional event.

In 2019 Health Education England supported health care library knowledge service staff in the Northern region to organise a two-day event to share knowledge and expertise, and to develop their networks. The article describes how the event was organised, emphasising the advance planning and development opportunities provided for participants, such as webinars, and randomised coffee trial meetings between participants. Of the 100 participants, 60 delivered a poster, workshop or presentation. Reflective evaluation of the event by the organising committee indicated that networking was actively encouraged, and that a higher proportion of library assistants participated than usual. Concludes that the virtual aspects of the event worked well, and that future events could include a mix of face to face and virtual sessions. D.I.

Behavior Change Techniques in Continuing Professional Development.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is a widely used and evolving set of complex interventions that seeks to update and improve the knowledge, skills, and performance of health care professionals to ultimately improve patient care and outcomes. While synthesized evidence shows CPD in general to be effective, effects vary, in part due to variation in CPD interventions and limited understanding of CPD mechanisms of action. We introduce two behavioral science tools-the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy version 1 and the Theoretical Domains Framework-that can be used to characterize the content of CPD interventions and the determinants of behaviour potentially targeted by the interventions, respectively. We provide a worked example of the use of these tools in coding the educational content of 43 diabetes quality improvement trials containing clinician education as part of their multicomponent intervention. Fourteen (of a possible 93; 15%) behavior change techniques were identified in the clinician education content of the quality improvement trials, suggesting a focus of addressing the behavioral determinants beliefs about consequences, knowledge, skills, and social influences, of diabetes care providers' behavior. We believe that the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy version 1 and Theoretical Domains Framework offer a novel lens to analyze the CPD content of existing evidence and inform the design and evaluation of future CPD interventions.

Learning With Patients, Students, and Peers: Continuing Professional Development in the Solo Practitioner Workplace.

Conceptualizations of workplace learning have moved from knowledge acquisition to learning as participation in the practices and cultures of the workplace environment. Along with this has come an appreciation of applicability of sociocultural learning theories, which frame learning as occurring within "communities of practice" or learning being "situated" within a workplace environment where collaboration and social interaction are fundamental to the learning process. These conceptualizations of workplace learning are ideally suited to health professions where learners are supervised in clinical work environments and then continue to work in team-based environments as graduates. However, what happens to workplace learning for novice practitioners who have limited periods of clinical supervision and then graduate into solo or small group practices (which may also be in rural or remote locations) and embark on long working careers without supervision? This paper argues workplace learning needs to be scaffolded and supported to reach its full potential in these environments. Drawing on workplace-based learning theory, we highlight the ubiquitous nature of learning in the workplace, the importance of active engagement, reflection, and individual meaning making. Through this reframing of traditional notions of continuing professional development, we emphasize the importance of patients, students, and other practitioners as partners in workplace learning for solo practitioners. We also focus on the role of educators, professional associations, and regulators in helping solo practitioners recognize, access, and maximize the learning opportunities inherent in relatively isolated practice environments.

Faculty Development Initiatives at the College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.

Faculty development is necessary to improve and update teaching and learning methodologies. As such, a variety of learning activities have been designed to improve teaching competencies of individual teachers. The College of Medicine & Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, recognised the need for teacher training in order to bring faculty up-to-date in teaching and assessment methodologies. A programme of regular and one-time interventions consisting of short courses, workshops and a series of lectures was offered. Feedback from the participants and facilitators led to programme expansion and enhancement. This special contribution discusses the impact of the programme on faculty and the college.