Faculty development in Canada: a national survey of family medicine departments

The authors surveyed 16 Canadian Family Medicine Departments to ascertain the availability and content of faculty development activities. The majority of Departments sponsored some faculty development; they were limited, however, by financial constraints, a lack of available manpower, and time restrictions. Few departments had a specified plan for faculty development. No comprehensive orientation activities were available for new faculty, and little attention was paid to established part-time faculty. Although teaching workshops were the most popular faculty-development activity, most programs were planned on an ad hoc basis. A number of effective local programs were not shared nationally. The authors discuss the implications of these results and the need for greater national and regional co-ordination.