Deborah S. Richardson, Christie L. Palladino, and Andria M. ThomasEducation Discovery Institute

Medical College of Georgia at GHSU, Augusta, GA

.

Evaluating an Innovative Medical Education Research Fellowship

Background

• Goals and objectives of the Fellowship program are linked to specific outcomes that are assessed in the evaluation plan:

(1) post-graduation interview with Fellows -- designed to assess Fellows’ perceptions of their own professional development during the period of the Fellowship as well as their evaluation of the strengths and challenges of the program;

(2) post-graduation research and mentoring plan -- includes development of a timeline and identification of projects for continuing medical education research;

(3) survey assessment of the mentoring experience from the perspective of mentor and mentee;

(4) Fellow self-report of confidence and comfort with medical education research;

(5) Fellowship portfolio (including weekly reflections on research methodology in general or with regard to fellow’s project) -- provides ongoing assessment of the development of research skills and will undergo systematic review by external evaluators.

• Barriers to faculty production of educational scholarship include lack of knowledge of research methodology, lack of access to support staff, and time.1

• Faculty who participate in faculty development fellowship programs are more likely to publish and to achieve senior academic rank. This productivity is positively correlated with the length of research training.2,3

• The year-long Educational Research Fellowship at the Education Discovery Institute (EDI) at GHSU/MCG provides time, support staff, and research training through weekly meetings and individual- and group-level mentorship on an educational research project.

Preliminary Evidence

Projects

Program Evaluation

1. Goldszmidt MA, Zibrowski EM, Weston WW. Education scholarship: it’s not just a question of ‘degree.’ Med Teach 2008, 30: 34-39.

2. Taylor JS, Friedman RH, Speckman JL, et al. Fellowship training and career outcomes for primary care physician-faculty. Acad Med 2001; 76(4):366-72

3. Anderson WA, Stritter FT, Mygdal WK, et al. Outcomes of three part-time faculty development fellowship programs. Fam Med 1997; 29(3):204-8.

• Development and Evaluation of a Staged Breast-feeding Curriculum for Pediatric Residents (Kathryn McLeod): • Compares self-reported resident confidence/comfort, resident interactions

with standardized patients, and patient perceptions of resident behavior before and after a breastfeeding curriculum

• 3 conference presentations; 2 funded grants• Development and Validation of a Tool for Goal Setting among Medical Students

(Leila Stallworth): • Qualitatively examines self-directed learning goals set by students before

and after participation in goal-setting training• 2 conference presentations, one manuscript submitted; one grant funded

• 2011 planned projects will address validation of a tool for evaluating the quality of handovers, evaluation of a virtual patient for training physicians to diagnose mental health problems, and relationship of learning styles to medical student classroom participation and attendance.

• Faculty scholarly productivity and career development can be aided by participation in a fellowship that supports development of research skills and individual mentoring.

• The human and capital resources required for such a program suggest a need for a careful evaluation plan.

References

Presented at Southern Group on Educational Affairs, Houston, TX April 2011

• The first cohort of Fellows has so far produced five small grant proposals, several conference presentations, and one manuscript under review.

• Interviews with the first cohort of Fellows and our self-evaluation revealed several strengths of the program and led to some modifications and specification of program goals and activities.

Program Goals

1. Fellows will develop educational research skills (e.g., literature review, research design, writing)

2. Fellow career development • Identity as educational researcher• Promotion and/or tenure• Scholarly productivity

3. Fellows will develop collaborative relationships• Participation in medical education

organizations• Continuing relationship with

mentors4. Improve medical education

Conclusions