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Evaluation of an Educational Scholarship Fellowship Program for Health Professions Educators

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Abstract

Introduction

Historically, the requirement to produce scholarship for advancement has challenged health professions educators heavily engaged in teaching. As biomedical scientists or healthcare practitioners, few are trained in educational scholarship, and related faculty development varies in scope and quality across institutions. Currently, there is a need for faculty development and mentoring programs to support the development of these skills.

Methods

The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) established the Medical Educator Fellowship (MEF) Program to foster health professions educational scholarship. MEF addresses the following: curriculum design, teaching methods and strategies, assessment, educational scholarship, and leadership. Participants receive mentorship and faculty development, and complete an educational scholarship project. Using a logic model, we conducted a retrospective program evaluation with data from Program records, database searches, graduate surveys, and focus groups.

Results

Over 14 years, MEF graduated 61 participants with diverse terminal degrees from five continents and six academic program areas. Graduate survey responses indicated enhanced post-Program skills in all focus areas, that the majority would recommend MEF to a colleague, and that mentorship, networking, and professional development were strengths. Focus group outcomes indicated professional growth, increased confidence, and increased sense of community.

Conclusion

MEF addresses health professions educators’ need for faculty development and mentorship in educational scholarship. Evaluation outcomes suggest that MEF effectively enhanced perceived skills across focus areas. Similar programs are essential to support faculty who dedicate significant time to teaching. Organizations like IAMSE can demonstrate the value of educational scholarship and positively impact health professions educator careers by supporting such programs.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA

    Amber J. Heck

  2. Avalon University School of Medicine, Willemstad, Curaçao

    Sateesh Arja

  3. Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI, USA

    Laura D. Bauler

  4. Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lillington, NC, USA

    Khalil Eldeeb

  5. Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Kathryn N. Huggett

  6. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Alana D. Newell

  7. University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, SC, USA

    Kelly M. Quesnelle

  8. Touro University Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Henderson, NV, USA

    Amina Sadik

  9. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Norma Saks

  10. Edinburgh Medical School at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Paula J. W. Smith

  11. Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan J. Wisco

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  1. Amber J. Heck
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Correspondence to Amber J. Heck.

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Heck, A.J., Arja, S., Bauler, L.D. et al. Evaluation of an Educational Scholarship Fellowship Program for Health Professions Educators. Med.Sci.Educ. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02036-6

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