The medical education environment is rapidly reshaping due to advances in medical technology, shifting educational paradigms, and increasing societal demands, creating a growing need to improve the quality of medical education. While education has tra...
The medical education environment is rapidly reshaping due to advances in medical technology, shifting educational paradigms, and increasing societal demands, creating a growing need to improve the quality of medical education. While education has traditionally been considered a lower priority in medical schools compared to research and clinical care, recent emphasis on the role of faculty as educators has led to a renewed focus on the importance of professional development in education.
Faculty development in Korean medical schools is often implemented primarily as a means to fulfill Medical School Accreditation and promotion requirements and does not fully reflect the diverse needs of individual faculty members, including their career, role, duties, and institutional characteristics. In addition, there is a lack of systematic programs and frameworks that are appropriate to the Korean context.
The purpose of this study was to design a faculty development model by exploring the components that should be considered in medical school faculty development and the relationships among them, and to design a faculty development program suitable for medical education settings by analyzing the perceptions of medical school professors’ responsibilities and education duties as educators. Furthermore, we aimed to propose customized strategies to effectively apply the designed faculty development model and program in each medical school and institution.
The design of this study was based on a multiphase mixed methods research design and centered on the Analysis and Design phases of the ADDIE model. The research process consisted of five main steps, and the development, implementation, and evaluation phases were replaced by proposals for application. In step 1, semi-structured interviews and a Delphi survey were used to identify and validate the key components of the faculty development model and their interrelationships. In step 2, worksheets and interviews were used to identify perceptions of faculty responsibilities and educator roles. In step 3, we defined and categorized the education duties through in-depth interviews and validated their content validity. In step 4, we designed the specific content and implementation strategy of the faculty development program based on the previous findings and created a course profile. In step 5, we synthesized the research results and proposed a customized implementation strategy. A total of three iterations of the mixed-methods research were applied from step 1 to step 3, and qualitative and quantitative approaches were integrated in each step.
The study population was medical school faculty. Participants included eight medical education and faculty development specialists, 178 new faculty members, and eight junior and senior faculty members. Data were collected through worksheets and semi-structured interviews, with the worksheets used to capture broad opinions and the interviews used to capture in-depth experiences and interpretations. Qualitative analysis was based on coding by semantic units and applied conventional, directed, and summative content analysis methods depending on the nature of the data. For quantitative analysis, frequency analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized, and part of the DACUM technique was applied to job analysis. A mixed method matrix was also used to analyze the results in an integrated manner. The Delphi survey yielded a content validity ratio for the faculty development model, and the content validation of the educational duties description yielded a content validity index.
The findings of the study were as follows. First, the components of the medical school faculty development model were identified as five core components and 17 sub-components. The core components were divided into the following: faculty development program, faculty developer, faculty learner, medical education context, and faculty development support system. Each component interacts with the others, particularly the dynamic relationship between the program, faculty developer, and learner, and the environmental influence of the context and support system. A key assumption of the model was that the design of faculty development programs should consider the educator role and teaching duties of the learner, the medical school professor. The final model was organized into three superordinate categories: educator, faculty development, and system.
Second, the perception of faculty responsibilities was lower for education than for research and clinical care, but after reaching mid-career, they gradually recognized its importance and were willing to balance their various responsibilities. Educator roles varied by career stage and major. Clinical medicine professors preferred to be clinical teacher, mentor, and role model, while basic medicine professors perceived their role as lecturers. Mid- to senior-level faculty were shifting from information providers to facilitators, with companion and learner roles also mentioned. Specialists emphasized various roles, including professional, leader, and curriculum evaluator.
Second, the perception of faculty responsibilities was lower for education than for research and clinical care, but after reaching mid-career, they gradually recognized its importance and were willing to balance their various responsibilities. Educator roles varied by career stage and major. Clinical medicine professors preferred to be clinical teacher, mentor, and role model, while basic medicine professors perceived their role as lecturers. Mid- to senior-level faculty were shifting from information providers to facilitators, with companion and learner roles also mentioned. Specialists emphasized various roles, including professional, leader, and curriculum evaluator.
Third, the educational duties of medical school professors were defined as "a set of activities involving designing instruction, including lectures and labs, instructing and evaluating learners, and sharing medical expertise by serving as role models.” Learners were defined as medical students, graduate students, interns, and residents, and the scope of the job encompassed all educational activities for these learners, including selection, faculty development, educational administration, and external education activities. The description also included the interconnectedness of the job with research, clinical care, and service. Nine major duties were identified: teaching medical students, teaching graduate students, teaching interns and residents, student guiding, counseling and mentoring, curriculum, course and educational program development and evaluation, selection, educational administration, external educational activities and faculty development. Thirty-seven tasks were identified. Because of the content validity test, most of the items met the criteria, and only "educating the public” was excluded because it did not meet the criteria of.
Fourth, as a result of the design of the faculty development program at the medical school, the program content was derived for each eduaction duty, and the operational strategies were variously derived to make use of the characteristics of the faculty development program. The teaching method was selected based on adult learning theory, and it was concluded that the teaching method should be appropriate to the content and learner-centered. As for the evaluation method, it was suggested that systematic evaluation indicators should be prepared based on the Kirkpatrick model, and different evaluation methods should be introduced for each program. Based on the identified program contents and methods, a program of 11 courses and 34 modules was designed. The program structure was designed based on the role of educators, education duties, and course overviews, and the recommended major fields, timing of completion, and applicable position information were presented.
Fifth, we propose a hamburger strategy to help each medical school or institution customize the faculty development model and faculty development program. The hamburger strategy illustrates the various components and characteristics of faculty development using the analogy of a hamburger. The three overarching categories of the faculty development model are organized like the three tiers of a hamburger, with the educator category as the top bun and sauce, the faculty development category as the meat and vegetable toppings, and the medical education system as the cheese and bottom bun. The faculty development program was named using the initials of the word "hamburger.”
In this study, we designed a faculty development model and a faculty development program that can be used in Korean medical schools and proposed a hamburger strategy for each institution to apply it well. The model designed in this study is conceptualized as an integrated process that goes beyond the program level and includes various components such as the support system and context. It is also significant that each sub-element and its details are defined, and the importance and interrelation between the components are further presented.
It was also clear that the faculty development programs played the most important role in faculty development. This reflects the practical importance of the program and the need to continue to emphasize its role in future faculty development policies. Teaching methods should be learner-centered and based on pedagogical and adult learning theories, and assessment methods should use the Kirkpatrick assessment model, individual interviews, mentoring, and coaching.
The faculty development models and programs in this study are not meant to be applied one-size-fits-all, but should be tailored to each institution’s context. While the core components are considered, the sub-components can be selectively applied or combined according to the characteristics of each institution and the purpose of the program. In addition, we recognize education, research, and practice as a complementary triangle and requires a systematic approach like the concept of academic medicine to faculty professional development that builds multidisciplinary rather than single-disciplinary capacity.
We found that medical faculty development is a complex, long-term process that involves more than just acquiring skills, but also shaping the identity as educators, strengthening professionalism, and changing the organizational culture. Education is a core responsibility that must be prioritized by medical school faculty, and there needs to be a deeper discussion about how to increase faculty engagement in teaching, particularly among clinical faculty, and how to continue to support faculty who are committed to teaching. Such an approach will strengthen faculty teaching capacity, develop a culture of faculty development, and make a positive difference in improving the quality of medical education and training future physicians.
This study is limited by the fact that it is based on a small sample of university professors, and the effectiveness of the proposed model and program has not been empirically verified. Future research involving a wider range of universities and faculty groups and analysis of real-world applications will further enhance the effectiveness of the models and programs in this study. Furthermore, an in-depth exploration of the sustainability and educational outcomes of faculty development from a long-term perspective is needed.
Furthermore, an in-depth exploration of the sustainability and educational outcomes of faculty development from a long-term perspective is needed. Such follow-up studies are expected to contribute significantly to the qualitative growth and field application of faculty development in medical schools.