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A Ten-Month Program in Curriculum Development for Medical Educators: 16 Years of Experience

  • Innovations in Education
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Abstract

BACKGROUND

Despite increased demand for new curricula in medical education, most academic medical centers have few faculty with training in curriculum development.

OBJECTIVE

To describe and evaluate a longitudinal mentored faculty development program in curriculum development.

DESIGN

A 10-month curriculum development program operating one half-day per week of each academic year from 1987 through 2003. The program was designed to provide participants with the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and experience to design, implement, evaluate, and disseminate curricula in medical education using a 6-step model.

PARTICIPANTS

One-hundred thirty-eight faculty and fellows from Johns Hopkins and other institutions and 63 matched nonparticipants.

MEASUREMENTS

Pre- and post-surveys from participants and nonparticipants assessed skills in curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation, as well as enjoyment in curriculum development and evaluation. Participants rated program quality, educational methods, and facilitation in a post-program survey.

RESULTS

Sixty-four curricula were produced addressing gaps in undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate medical education. At least 54 curricula (84%) were implemented. Participant self-reported skills in curricular development, implementation, and evaluation improved from baseline (p < .0001), whereas no improvement occurred in the comparison group. In multivariable analyses, participants rated their skills and enjoyment at the end of the program significantly higher than nonparticipants (all p < .05). Eighty percent of participants felt that they would use the 6-step model again, and 80% would recommend the program highly to others.

CONCLUSIONS

This model for training in curriculum development has long-term sustainability and is associated with participant satisfaction, improvement in self-rated skills, and implementation of curricula on important topics.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ken Kolodner, Sc.D., for critically reviewing the statistical methodology used in the paper.

Dr. Windish was a General Internal Medicine Fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, at the time of project initiation, whereas Dr. Howard is currently retired and was previously affiliated with the Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest

None disclosed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Donna M. Windish MD, MPH

  2. Yale Primary Care Residency Program, 64 Robbins Street, Waterbury, CT, 06721, USA

    Donna M. Windish MD, MPH

  3. Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Aysegul Gozu MD, MPH, Eric B. Bass MD, MPH, Patricia A. Thomas MD, Stephen D. Sisson MD, Donna M. Howard DrPH & David E. Kern MD, MPH

Authors
  1. Donna M. Windish MD, MPH
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  2. Aysegul Gozu MD, MPH
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  3. Eric B. Bass MD, MPH
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  4. Patricia A. Thomas MD
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  5. Stephen D. Sisson MD
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  6. Donna M. Howard DrPH
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  7. David E. Kern MD, MPH
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donna M. Windish MD, MPH.

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Windish, D.M., Gozu, A., Bass, E.B. et al. A Ten-Month Program in Curriculum Development for Medical Educators: 16 Years of Experience. J GEN INTERN MED 22, 655–661 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-007-0103-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-007-0103-x

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