Enhancing educator skills through National Family Medicine faculty development workshop: A descriptive study of the faculty experience.

Abstract

The National Health Policy (2017) recommended strengthening postgraduate training in Family Medicine to enhance primary care skills nationwide. A significant need existed to bolster the faculty involved. The Family Medicine Department of a renowned teaching institution in South India collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners and conducted the National Family Medicine Faculty Development Workshop (FDW) in October 2022. We document the self-reported impact of the workshop on the knowledge and attitude of the participants, as well as the changes in their teaching role. The FDW covered various fundamental medical education topics. The immediate feedback and evaluation done after 16 weeks of the workshop were analyzed. Four participants were interviewed to explore the change after 16 weeks. Overall, 27 members participated. Immediate feedback included being sensitized to implementing the curriculum (63%), providing constructive feedback (44%), and contemplating to try new education methods (44%), like bedside clinics and 1-minute preceptor, with the most preferred assessments mentioned as Objective Structured Clinical Examination and Multiple Choice Questions (81%). After 16 weeks, only a third responded, of which the majority reported implementing skills like OSCE, workplace-based assessment, and providing feedback. One participant became faculty for FDW next in the series, and another planned to organize a workshop for unreached trainers in the country. A structured faculty development workshop is recommended to standardize family medicine postgraduate training nationwide. The need for repeated workshops was identified to enhance the existing educators and also to nurture the newer faculty.