Development and Implementation of a Hospitalist Faculty Development Program in a University- and Community-Based...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Hospital Medicine
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Hospital medicine is a new specialty with limited mentorship infrastructure.
• Establishing and evaluating faculty development programs requires clear strategies and metrics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a faculty development program in a University Division of Hospital Medicine.
• To support hospitalist faculty in achieving professional goals in quality improvement, leadership, education, and clinical skills.

Main Methods:

• Created a faculty development program with roles, offerings, and mentorship structures.
• Implemented professional development awards, lectures, and mentorship opportunities.
• Evaluated program success through faculty engagement, participation, retention, and scholarly production.

Main Results:

• The program demonstrated successful implementation with high faculty engagement and participation.
• Faculty retention remained stable, and scholarly production increased post-implementation.
• The number of associate professors/professors significantly grew from 2 to 19.

Conclusions:

• Faculty development programs are crucial for supporting and advancing faculty in hospital medicine.
• Key success factors include needs assessment, leadership commitment, steering committee involvement, and recognition strategies.
• This program's model can guide other institutions in establishing effective faculty development initiatives.