Survey of faculty development in four Israeli medical schools: clinical faculty development is inadequate and clinical teaching is undervalued in Israeli faculties of medicine

Abstract

Background Teaching medical students is a central part of being a doctor, and is essential for the training of the next generation of physicians and for maintaining the quality of medicine. Our research reviews the training that physicians in Israel receive as teachers of clinical clerkships, and their thoughts regarding teaching students. The importance of faculty development cannot be overstated, for securing quality medicine and physician empowerment. Methods This study was based on a survey conducted among physicians teaching at Israeli medical schools. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire sent to clinical teachers according to lists received from the teaching units of the faculties, department heads, and other clinical teachers. Participation in the study was anonymous. Findings Of 433 invited physicians, 245 (56%) from three departments (internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology) of four faculties of medicine in Israel, out of five total, completed the questionnaire. Only 35% of the physicians reported having received training for their role as teachers, most of these participated in a short course of up to 2 days. There were significant differences between the Technion and the other schools. Technion teachers without academic appointment had higher rates of pedagogic training. The same was true in regard to Technion teachers, either residents or young specialist. Significant gaps were reported between the content covered in the training and the topics the doctors felt they would want to learn. The clinicians who participated in the survey expressed that clinical teaching was less valued and more poorly remunerated than research, and that improved compensation and perceived appreciation would likely improve the quality of clinical teaching. Conclusions Of the one-third of the physicians surveyed who had received some training in clinical teaching, the training was perceived as inadequate and not aligned with their needs. There was a significant difference in rates of pedagogic training between the Technion and other medical schools. In addition, most clinical teachers surveyed felt that teaching students is inadequately valued. Due to its focus on just three disciplines, and higher relative number participants from the Technion faculty of medicine, our survey may not fully represent the activities of the faculties of medicine in Israel. Nevertheless, given the importance of clinical teaching of medical students, our findings argue for increasing faculty development and educational training of physicians in clinical settings, for recognizing the importance of teaching in academic and professional promotion processes.

Training medical educators to teach: bridging the gap between perception and reality

“…This gap between being trained to teach yet being confident in one’s teaching abilities is consistent with the results of the current study, which demonstrated that respondents felt their medical education training was inadequate, yet rated themselves as highly in confidence in most domains of medical education [ 1 ]. Other studies have also revealed that in general physicians rate themselves highly with regard to their teaching abilities, while residents and medical students rate those same physicians lower with regard to teaching skills [ 3 – 5 ].…”

“…While there is growing recognition that acquiring the knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become an effective medical educator requires specific training, it remains unclear what are the optimal strategies to assess physicians’ medical education skills and their success (or opportunities for improvement) as medical educators or teaching physicians. In this context, Nothman and colleagues identify that teaching physicians lack adequate, specialized training, and respondents perceive that medical education is also seen as inferior to research by hospital leadership and promotion committees [ 1 ].…”

“…The factors rated as most important by respondents regarding motivation to teach were understanding that teaching improves the physician’s learning, the physician’s desire to contribute to the next generation of healthcare professionals, and understanding that teaching is integral to the physician’s core identity. In response to an open-ended question regarding the most important aspects for training physicians to teach in the clinical environment, three broad themes emerged: systemic factors, reward and recognition, and plans with clear goals and objectives [ 1 ]. While not clearly defined by Nothman and colleagues, the phrase ‘systemic factors’ indicates resources and support from the physician’s organization, institution, and/or environment, things that are not directly under the individual physician’s control.…”

“…In a recent issue of the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, Simon Nothman and colleagues describe an important study demonstrating that formal training for teaching physicians is perceived to be inadequate [ 1 ]. The authors surveyed teaching physicians in the departments of internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology, asking them to respond to questions assessing their perceptions of and training in medical education for teaching medical students in the clinical setting.…”

The MECOR program: almost three decades inspiring and improving respiratory clinical research in Brazil and across the globe

“…1 However, our formal training in medical school and residency is largely focused on clinical skills, while the necessary skills to design and conduct research or to teach residents and medical students is usually learned on the go, by imitation, leading to less than ideal performance and contributing to burnout and low self-confidence. 2 …”