Model for Developing Educational Research Productivity: The Medical Education Research Group

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Faculty Development
• Scholarly Productivity

Background:

• Faculty in medical education often struggle to balance administrative duties with scholarly research.
• Disseminating new educational practices and achieving faculty promotion requires dedicated scholarship.
• A structured approach is needed to enhance educational research output.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a template for promoting scholarly productivity among medical education faculty.
• To overcome barriers to research faced by educators.
• To foster a culture of scholarship within an academic department.

Main Methods:

• Formation of a Medical Education Research Group (MERG) comprising education leaders and residents.
• Integration of scholarship into required educational activities, focusing on programmatic impact.
• Collaborative teamwork, monthly meetings for project development and skill-building, and utilization of graduate student support.

Main Results:

• Over three years, the MERG group achieved 102 abstract presentations and 46 journal publications.
• The group also produced 13 MedEd Portal publications and 35 national didactic presentations.
• Five faculty members received promotions, demonstrating the impact of enhanced scholarship.

Conclusions:

• Intentional focus on scholarship, facilitated by a collaborative group, significantly boosts scholarly output.
• Team productivity and integrated research efforts lead to successful faculty advancement.
• This model effectively disseminates educational innovations and promotes faculty growth.