Training the trainers: beyond providing a well-received course

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Family Medicine Training
• Faculty Development

Background:

• The Royal College of General Practitioners and the South African Academy of Family Physicians developed "Training the Trainers" courses to enhance clinical supervision for family medicine registrars.
• A funded project aimed to assess the long-term value of these courses for ongoing faculty development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of providing "Training the Trainers" courses on an ongoing basis.
• To develop and pilot a tool for post-course evaluation visits to assess the impact of faculty development on clinical supervision.

Main Methods:

• A pilot evaluation tool was developed for post-course visits.
• Five site visits were conducted with registrar trainers 12-24 months after completing the course, utilizing a pre-visit pack.
• The evaluation approach was iteratively refined through debriefings before and after each visit.

Main Results:

• Evaluation visits were positively received by trainers, who felt vulnerable but appreciated the process.
• The pilot tool facilitated the demonstration of behavior change by participants and feedback from colleagues and registrars on teaching practices and supervision.
• Optimizing the pre-visit pack and providing administrative support are crucial for successful implementation; trainers require support due to the novelty of these visits.

Conclusions:

• Post-course formative evaluation visits can effectively catalyze the impact of faculty development courses.
• The evaluation tool successfully captured evidence of behavior change and impact on teaching practices.
• Training family physicians to conduct these formative evaluation visits is essential for sustained program effectiveness.