The Components of the Development of Faculty Members at Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran and the World: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Context: In order to fulfill its tasks and goals, higher education systems need qualified and competent faculty members. The need for faculty development programs is currently obvious. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the components of faculty development at universities of medical sciences in Iran and across the world, in which, the concepts and dimensions of development, the evolution process and the programs for faculty development of universities of medical sciences were investigated up until now, in Iran and other countries. Data Sources: To obtain the required resources, data were collected through a systematic search in Google Scholar, Medline, Web of Sciences, AIR, ERIC and Springer, ProQuest, and Elsevier databases and from published articles in the Iranian journals available at the SID and IranDoc databases. The articles were selected in accordance with the inclusion criterion of addressing the components of faculty development from different perspectives. Finally, 40 articles carried out in Iran and some other countries and published between 1966 and 2017 were found. Results: In this study, four dimensions of individual, professional, educational, and organizational development were identified. However, most studies were concerned with educational development and most of the given theories were about training faculty members via scientific workshops and seminars. Furthermore, evaluations were often conducted in the same vein, and in most studies, an organizational perspective was adopted and the focus was on organizational goals. Conclusions: Considering that the requirements and conditions of faculty members vary across different universities, disciplines and conditions, the development programs should be designed to target specific subgroups and cover a wide range of skills, not just education.

Current Status of Faculty Development of Medical Sciences Universities in Iran: A Qualitative Study

“…In universities of medical sciences, most faculty members do not have a specific educational experience and they have not been trained for that purpose during their studies, which is why it seems more important (7).…”

“…Research development is about a set of abilities and skills related to the research mission and the research role of the faculty members (14). Some researchers have separately stated research dimension as one of the aspects of faculty development (3,4,7,14,15,24). However, other researchers have placed the research dimension in the professional dimension (17,19,25).…”

“…Furthermore, faculty members in universities of medical sciences have multifaceted roles and specific challenges, and they have no educational experience for their role as faculty members (6). In universities of medical sciences, educational development centers (EDCs) and educational development offices (EDO) have been established to enhance education and other scientific activities of faculty members (7)(8)(9).…”