Restorative Community Building Practices: A Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Medical Students, Staff, and Faculty

Restorative practices (RPs) are part of an emerging field that examines ways to build, strengthen, and manage relationships in organizations and communities, an approach that is gaining traction in the medical field. We describe the design and implementation of a day-long training for RPs focused on community-building at an academic medical institution that can be adapted at institutions interested in establishing a core of practitioners.

We developed a day-long workshop to teach community-building practices to medical and physician assistant students, residents, staff, and faculty. The workshop included lectures, interactive activities, and group discussions. Participants completed pre- and postworkshop surveys and a 3-month follow-up survey to assess their understanding and application of RPs. Quantitative data were analyzed using a two-sample t test, and qualitative data were analyzed via content analysis.

The workshop had 25 attendees, with 92% and 88% response rates for pre- and postworkshop surveys, respectively. Participants reported significant improvements in their ability to define RPs, describe their applications, and design RP activities (all p < .01). Qualitative feedback highlighted benefits such as enhanced feelings of connectedness and trust. Three months later, feedback suggested that participants maintained positive perceptions of RPs and had increased confidence in applying them.

The workshop effectively developed RP capacity among participants, with positive indicators of sustained confidence in acquired skills. Limitations include the lack of longitudinal training for ongoing skill development and regular practice. Future work should explore longitudinal training models, advanced RP applications, and long-term follow-up to assess efficacy.