UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

School of Medicine

Columbia, South Carolina

Team Contact/Coordinator: Elizabeth G. Baxley, M.D.

E-mail: ebaxley@richmed.medpark.sc.edu

Phone: 803/434-4308

Fax: 803/434-4288

The newly-commissioned Office of CME and Faculty Development at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine has been changed in a recent strategic plan to implement a faculty development program at the school. We are applying to become a pilot site in order to receive consultation on our planned needs assessment process and subsequent program planning for comprehensive medical school faculty development.

Preliminary Needs Assessment Plan

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine is a community-based medical school which opened in 1977 in response to the need for more primary care physicians in the state of South Carolina. The school has maintained its focus on primary care education with over two-thirds of its graduates entering primary care training programs, and over half subsequently remaining in primary care practice, since its inception. Original clinical faculty within the School of Medicine were predominantly comprised of local/regional practicing physicians who were interested in teaching. Though the school size has intentionally remained small, it has subsequently been successful in recruiting outside faculty from other medical schools, fellowship programs, and community residency programs.

The School of Medicine participates in a consortium with the local community teaching hospital. These two institutions combine resources and work together in the development of capability in the clinical departments and in the development of research, particularly through joint Centers of Research Excellence (COREs). Together the two institutions recognize the need to provide effective faculty development, and have put that recognition into practice through the establishment of a joint "Office of Continuing Medical Education and Faculty Development." This office began addressing faculty development issues this past year through a strategic planning process.

Historically, faculty development activities within the School of Medicine have originated from the school's faculty development committee which first began meeting in 1992, and includes faculty from both the basic science and clinical faculty. This committee has sponsored periodic workshops on teaching and research topics, started an internal small grant program for education innovation, and developed an annual awards program to recognize teaching and research excellence by individual faculty. Within the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, A HRSA-sponsored statewide initiative has been providing program-specific faculty development to the seven family practice residency programs in the state of South Carolina since 1995, and has continued funding through 2001. Some of the needs assessment and curricular planning processes that are being suggested for the Office of the CME and Faculty Development are based on the work of this Initiative. This collaboration, along with additional input and assistance from other departments' faculty development programs, will enhance the capacity for this office to carry out the needs assessment, planning, and implementation that is ultimately derived from the pilot project.

The School of Medicine's recently revised strategic plan includes a specific objective to "Implement a faculty development program in the School of Medicine." An Assistant Dean of CME and Faculty Development was appointed and start-up resources were made available to the office. Last month, the Project Director for the South Carolina Faculty Development Initiative in Family Medicine was added to the office staff at 40% time, specifically to assist with developing a comprehensive faculty development program within the School. This office has begun providing faculty skill-building for the initiation of a Problem-Based Learning in the medical school curriculum; however, the initiation of a comprehensive faculty development plan is to begin in mid-1999 based on findings from a needs assessment planned for the 1998-1999 academic year.

Faculty and staff from the Office of CME and Faculty Development and the Faculty Development Committee are in the process of developing a needs assessment plan. Current plans are to utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods to assess both individual faculty and organizational needs. This office will be responsible for providing faculty skill building for full-time faculty in both basic and clinical science departments, as well as part-time and clinical faculty within the community. Not only do these faculty possess varied needs and learning issues, they also represent varied levels of experience and prior faculty development training. Eventually, the office desires to provide faculty development opportunities based on the unique needs of new faculty, faculty leaders (department chairs, committee chairs, etc.), individual departments, faculty of different academic ranks and responsibilities, and those faculty involved in new curricular initiatives (e.g., PBL, telemedicine).

Based on this, the current needs assessment plan includes focus group interviews with faculty leaders, young/new faculty, individual departmental faculty, and volunteer community faculty as well as students and residents who are the principal stakeholders in the educational process. Existing data from course and clerkship evaluations will be reviewed for trends suggesting specific needs. The School has an established peer evaluation program; data from this program regarding individual faculty evaluation and needs will be analyzed for applicable information. Needs of specific departments and divisions will be assessed through the review of Internal Review and Accreditation summary files. The multi-stakeholder needs assessment utilized by the South Carolina Faculty Development Initiative in Family Medicine will also be adapted for use to assess departmental-specific faculty development needs. The School's Curriculum Committee will be asked to work closely with the Faculty Development Office to assess needs based on new educational programs. A paper-and-pencil survey is being developed for individual faculty response, and suggestions will be sought via access through the School's web page. Throughout the process, the institutional mission of the SOM will be considered and needs assessment plans will be measured against this yardstick.

We are applying for the "pilot team" program offered as a part of the Models that Work conference. We are specifically interested in consultation regarding design and implementation of an appropriate needs assessment plan, and subsequently, the design and implementation of a comprehensive faculty development curriculum that addresses these individual and organizational needs. We anticipate that the resulting faculty development program would include topic-based workshops on teaching, research, and administration; departmental faculty skill building activities; new faculty orientation and training; a department chairs series; and programs for volunteer community preceptors. The commitment from the medical school and affiliated hospital to this effort is substantial and is reflected in their support given for the Office of CME and Faculty Development. The capacity to accomplish this is enhanced by employment of a faculty member with extensive experience in faculty development needs assessment and implementation in the discipline of family medicine.