See one, do one, then what? Faculty development in postgraduate medical education.

Abstract

Interest in the development of medical educators working in the postgraduate sector is running high. Driven by three interlinked trends--the professionalization of medical education, increasing accountability, and the pursuit of educational excellence--there is a growing need for high quality and sustained faculty development programmes across the network of education providers. Postgraduate medical education has a number of unique features that set it apart from undergraduate medicine, to which faculty development programmes need to cater. The key issue for the future will be how to engage the service in the business of education. Widespread cultural change is required and this will require effective and sympathetic leadership from postgraduate training institutions, hospitals and health authorities.