Faculty Perceptions of Individualized Learning Plans in Medical Education

Individualized learning plans (ILPs) enable learners to establish and track their personal educational goals, aiding their progression as master adaptive learners. Despite their significance, little research focuses on the content of ILPs. Our study aimed to detail the perceived content and implementation of ILPs within various residency and fellowship specialties across a large multihospital system.

We conducted an observational cross-sectional survey among faculty between July 27 and August 27, 2024. The survey was developed de novo following a thorough literature review and was piloted by experts to ensure its effectiveness. We aimed to evaluate the perceived content and execution of ILPs, with associations explored using descriptive statistics and χ² tests.

The survey had a response rate of 49.6% (112/226), with 60.7% (68/112) of respondents having an active role in ILP development and monitoring. Of those involved with ILPs, 60.3% (41/68) of responding faculty belonged to diagnostic specialties and 39.7% (27/68) to procedural specialties. Our analysis found no significant differences in the frequency of ILP reviews among different specialties. Procedural specialties placed a greater emphasis on career planning (P=.02, 5% vs 2%) and scholarly activity (P=.0019, 5% vs 1%), while diagnostic specialties prioritized medical knowledge (P=.0376, 16% vs 21%) and practice-based learning (P=.0021, 0% vs 3%).

We identified notable differences in the faculty perceptions of ILP content between procedural and diagnostic specialties. These insights may help guide resource allocation tailored to the specific needs of procedural and diagnostic program faculty.