Can brief workshops improve clinical instruction?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Faculty Development
• Clinical Instruction

Background:

• The impact of faculty development on clinical instructors' teaching skills is understudied.
• A mandatory basic clinical instructional skills workshop has been in place since 2003.
• The long-term effects of this workshop remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a brief workshop on clinical instructors' teaching performance.
• To identify specific dimensions of teaching performance improved by the workshop.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-test design was employed.
• 149 faculty members attended a basic instructional skills workshop.
• Student feedback was collected one year post-workshop, with a comparison group of 121 faculty.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in student ratings for 5 dimensions of clinical instruction were observed in the workshop group.
• The comparison group showed no significant changes in student ratings.
• The most notable improvement was in instructor availability to students.

Conclusions:

• Participation in a brief workshop leads to sustained improvement in clinical instructional skills.
• The workshop's focus on learner-centered approaches and feedback enhances instructor availability.
• Findings support the long-term value of faculty development in clinical education.