Informal faculty development in health professions education: Identifying opportunities in everyday practice.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Academic Development
• Workplace Learning

Background:

• Formal faculty development (FD) is well-documented in health professions education (HPE).
• However, informal FD mechanisms and their utilization remain underexplored.
• This study investigates informal FD opportunities and constraints within the academic setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify opportunities for informal faculty development among health professions educators.
• To understand the constraints influencing engagement with informal FD.
• To explore how educators engage with informal FD opportunities in their academic roles.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory study conducted in an Australian university.
• Qualitative data collected through interviews and focus groups with educators, mid-level leaders, and senior leaders.
• Thematic analysis applied, informed by situated cognition theory.

Main Results:

• Three key practices facilitate informal FD: applying evidence to educational practice, evaluating educational practice, and sharing educational practice.
• Engagement with these opportunities is influenced by individual motivation (effectivities) and organizational factors (constraints).
• Individual proactivity and supportive organizational culture are crucial for leveraging informal FD.

Conclusions:

• Everyday educational practices offer valuable contexts for informal faculty development.
• Recognizing and utilizing 'in situ' FD opportunities is essential for educators.
• Fostering a continuous learning culture requires supporting educators and organizations in leveraging informal FD.