An Association Between Paying Physician-teachers for their Teaching Efforts and an Improved Educational Experience for Learners

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Medical schools often rely on faculty volunteerism to address clinical teaching needs for students. Increasing time pressures on physicians has made it difficult to secure commitments for clinical instruction. In the 2005-2006 academic year, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU-SOM) launched the Colleges Program, recruiting 24 salary-supported physician-faculty to serve as advisors to students as well as teachers of the second year course, 'clinical skills'. We hypothesized that compensating physician educators would have a measurable positive impact on the students' experiences in this course. RESULTS: Fifty-eight preceptors taught clinical skills over the 3-year study period. The overall response rate for preceptor evaluations by medical learners was 77% (277/359). CF, more likely than volunteer preceptors to have a full-time academic appointment (100 vs 63%, p<.01), have an additional advanced degree (48 vs 15%, p<.01) and prior faculty development training (52 vs 17%, p<.01). Scores for all six evaluation domains were higher for CF compared to those from the two previous years combined (all p<.001). In the fully adjusted regression model, only CF status was independently associated with high preceptor evaluation scores (Odds Ratio 4.3, 95% CI 1.01-18.20). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CONCLUSIONS:Salary support for teaching efforts in the time-intensive CS course coupled with the prestige of being appointed to the CF was associated with higher student evaluations.

Patient and preceptor attitudes towards teaching medical students in General Practice

“…As can also be seen in Table 1, the presence of a student requires additional time of the preceptor. Similar results have been reported in other studies [12-15]. For example, time at work increased by 52 minutes per day and between 2 and 20 minutes per patient.…”

Effects of assessing the productivity of faculty in academic medical centres: a systematic review

“…1 Furthermore, clinical productivity is essential for the survival of academic departments given the economic realities in medicine. 2 Strategies for productivity assessment help in identifying highly productive faculty, determining areas for faculty and departmental improvement, 3 and implementing processes for promotion and tenure. 4 When coupled with reward schemes, these strategies may improve productivity and compensation at both individual and departmental levels.…”

Laying the foundation of surgical skills for trainees (Residents)

“…Suturing delicate specialized tissues: bowel, artery, ureter 15 Coelomic entry (laparotomy) and closure 16 Extensile exposure and tendon repair 17…”

“…Competitive selection and funding of physician teachers improves the quality of teaching compared to that delivered by volunteers. 15 The current RACS 'Accreditation of Hospitals and Posts for Surgical Education and Training' policy falls short of requiring this level of commitment to training from hospital management. 16 3.…”