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14 Years Later: A Follow-Up Case-Study Analysis of 8 Health Professions Education Scholarship Units
Susan Humphrey-Murto1, Bridget O'Brien, David M Irby
1S. Humphrey-Murto is associate professor of medicine, Department of Medicine and Department of Innovation in Medical Education (DIME), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. B. O'Brien is professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California. D.M. Irby is professor emeritus of medicine and education scientist, Center for Faculty Educators, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California. C. van der Vleuten is professor of education, Department of Educational Development and Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. O. ten Cate is professor, scientific director of education, and senior scientist, Center for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands. S. Durning is professor and director of graduate programs in health professions education, and vice chair, Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. L. Gruppen is professor, and faculty director of the Masters in Health Professions Education program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. S.J. Hamstra is vice president, Milestones Research and Evaluation, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Chicago, Illinois, adjunct professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and adjunct professor, Department of Medical Education, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois W. Hu is chair and professor of medical education, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. L. Varpio is professor of medicine and associate director of research for programs in health professions education, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
Purpose:
Internationally, health professions education scholarship units (HPESUs) are often developed to promote engagement in educational scholarship, yet little is known about how HPESUs change over time or what factors support their longevity. In hopes of helping HPESUs thrive, this study explored factors that shaped the evolution of 8 HPESUs over the past 14 years.
Method:
This study involved retrospective case-study analysis of the 8 American, Canadian, and Dutch HPESUs profiled in a 2004 publication. First, the research team summarized key elements of HPESUs from the 2004 articles, then conducted semistructured interviews with the current unit directors. In the first set of questions, directors were asked to reflect on how the unit had changed over time, what successes the unit enjoyed, what enabled these successes, what challenges the unit encountered, and how these challenges were managed. In the second set of questions, questions were tailored to each unit, following up on unique elements from the original article. The team used Braun and Clarke's 6-phase approach to thematic analysis to identify, analyze, and report themes.
Results:
The histories of the units varied widely-some had grown by following their original mandates, some had significant mission shifts, and others had nearly disappeared. Current HPESU directors identified 3 key factors that shaped their HPESU's longitudinal development: the people working within and overseeing the HPESU (the need for a critical mass of scholars, a pipeline for developing scholars, and effective leadership), institutional structures (issues of centralization, unit priorities, and clear messaging), and funding (the need for multiple funding sources).
Conclusions:
Study findings offer insights that may help current HPESU directors to strategically plan for their unit's continued development. Tactically harnessing the factors identified could help directors ensure their HPESU's growth and contend with the challenges that threaten the unit's success.
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