Trends in MedEdPORTAL Faculty Development Resources for Clinician Educators

Background Faculty development (FD) is essential for acquiring skills needed to excel as a clinician educator (CE). The availability of FD resources through MedEdPORTAL, a comprehensive, peer-reviewed, free, online source, is currently unknown. Objective This study reviews MedEdPORTAL to identify trends in FD publications to highlight current gaps and areas of scholarship potential for educators. Methods A comprehensive search on MedEdPORTAL using the terms "faculty" or "development" from January 2005 through December 2022 was performed. Inclusion criteria were curricula for CEs across all medical specialties in the United States. Publications where the primary learners were nonphysicians were excluded. Key factors reviewed included FD domains, medical specialty, and target audience. Results Of 2133 initial articles, 275 met inclusion criteria. FD-specific publications ranged from a low of 5 in 2008 to a high of 42 in 2014. The teaching and learning domain was the most represented (38.2%, 105 of 275), while scholarly activity (12.4%, 34 of 275) was the least represented. Most (67.3%, 185 of 275) publications were not specifically targeted to one specialty, with pediatrics (17.1%, 47 of 275) and internal medicine (10.5%, 29 of 275) having the most resources. Graduate medical education (GME) residency educators formed the largest specified target audience (28.4%, 78 of 275) with GME fellowship educators least represented (8.4%, 23 of 275). Conclusions This review highlights data about domain distribution, specialties, and target audience with most resources focused on pediatrics and internal medicine. Most represented domains are teaching and learning, and assessment, evaluation, and feedback, while the fewest FD resources are available for scholarly activity.