Abstract
Volunteer clinical faculty in private practice provide important clinical teaching and mentorship to dermatology residency programs. Motivations for serving as volunteer clinical faculty in specialties such as obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and family medicine have been identified; however, there is limited data on what drives private practice physicians to volunteer to teach in dermatology residency training programs. This study examined motivators, facilitators, and barriers to serving as volunteer clinical faculty using an anonymous survey of dermatologists, Mohs surgeons, and dermatopathologists affiliated with Emory University’s dermatology residency program. Among the 38 invited participants, 26 (68%) completed the survey. The types of practices represented include general dermatology (71%), Mohs surgery (23%), cosmetic dermatology (58%), and dermatopathology (27%). Traditional lectures and impromptu teaching sessions were the most utilized teaching modalities, with 14 (54%) and 11 (42%) of respondents reporting usage, respectively. Most respondents ranked altruistic statements such as “opportunity to be helpful to others” (26, 100%), “providing service to the field of dermatology” (25, 96%), and “enjoyment of teaching” (25, 96%) as important motivations. In contrast, extrinsic rewards such as career advancement and increased income were rated as least important. Significant barriers included limited time for travel and teaching and credentialing. Proposed facilitators included promoting schedule flexibility, increasing teaching supplies, and streamlining credentialing. This single-center study may have limited generalizability to other residency programs with varying characteristics. The motivators, facilitators, and barriers identified by this survey can inform dermatology residency programs on how to maximize volunteer clinical faculty recruitment, retention, and engagement, thus strengthening clinical teaching and mentorship offered.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. FD, SI, JBM, and HY performed material preparation and data collection. The first draft of the manuscript was written by FD, SI, JBM, and HY, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Dr. Yeung is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases under award numbers L30AR076081 and K23AR075888. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or US Department of Veterans Affairs. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.
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Delgado, F., Immaneni, S., MacKelfresh, J.B. et al. Teaching motivators, facilitators, and barriers among dermatology volunteer clinical faculty. Arch Dermatol Res 315, 2995–2998 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-023-02727-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-023-02727-x