The impact and the challenges of implementing a faculty development program on health professions education in a Brazilian Medical School: a case study with mixed methods

(2023) 23:784 Cintra et al. BMC Medical Education https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04754-8 BMC Medical Education Open Access RESEARCH The impact and the challenges of implementing a faculty development program on health professions education in a Brazilian Medical School: a case study with mixed methods Karine Angélica Cintra1 , Marcos Carvalho Borges2 , Maria Paula Panúncio‑Pinto3 , Luiz Ernesto de Almeida Troncon2   and Valdes Roberto Bollela2*    Abstract Purpose Faculty development in health professions education is still challenging in developing countries like Bra‑ zil. Work overload and the lack of financial support hinder faculty members’ participation. Ribeirão Preto Medical School founded its Center for Faculty Development in 2016. Since then, an essential skills module (ESMo) on health professions education (HPE) has been offered regularly to faculty members and preceptors of seven undergraduate programs. This case study aims to evaluate the impact of this Essential Skills Module on the educational practices of participants two years after attending the module and the challenges faced during the process. Method The study used a mixed-method approach with a description of the demographic and professional profile data of the ESMo participants. Immediate post-ESMo perceptions (satisfaction and learning) of the participants were determined with structured instruments. Two years later, a semi-structured interview was conducted and recorded to determine the long-term effects (application of learning and behavior changing as an educator). NVIVO® software was used to store and systematize the thematic discourse analysis with a socio-constructivist theoretical framework interpretation. Results One hundred forty-six participants were included: 86 (59%) tenured faculty members, 49 (33,5%) clini‑ cal preceptors, and 11 (7,5%) invited teachers. Most were female (66%), and 56% had teaching experience shorter than ten years. 52 (69%) out of 75 eligible participants were interviewed. The immediate reaction to participating in the module was quite positive and 80% have already implemented an educational intervention in their daily activi‑ ties. Discourses thematic analysis showed five emerging themes appearing in different frequencies: Changes in teach‑ ing activities (98%); Lack of previous pedagogical training (92.3%); Commitment and enthusiasm towards teaching (46.15%); Overlapping functions inside the institution (34.6%) and Challenges for student assessment (23%). Conclusion This first in-depth evaluation of the long-term effects of a faculty development intervention in a Brazilian Health Profession Education school showed that participation positively changed participants’ teaching & learning *Correspondence: Valdes Roberto Bollela Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2023. 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The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecom‑ mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Cintra et al. BMC Medical Education (2023) 23:784 Page 2 of 9 practices. These interventions consistently fostered a community of practice and valued faculty development pro‑ cesses in local and national scenarios. Keywords Faculty development, Teaching–learning, Teaching training, Program evaluation Background Since 2011, Steinert (2011) has been challenging us to see Faculty Development (FD) more broadly, considering that faculty members’ roles have been changing significantly and FD has become an increasingly important component of medical education [1]. FD in health professions education (HPE) remains a challenge for universities and higher education institutions in developing countries, especially in Brazil [2–4]. In 2014, the Ministry of Education published the Brazilian Curricular Guidelines (BCG) for undergraduate medical programs. It stated that schools should “maintain permanent FD programs to promote and value undergraduate teaching and learning committed with the medical school transformation” [5]. Despite this recommendation, subsequent changes in the past eight years were limited. Work overload affecting teachers and health professionals, adverse cultural contexts, and the lack of financial investment have been significant obstacles [6, 7], thus contributing to low advancement in this field and negligible scientific production in Brazil [8]. Although mandatory in Brazilian Medical schools, FD programs are still limited in number and actions. In the past two and half decades, the Brazilian Regional Institute for Health Professions Education [8], supported by the Ministry of Health and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) from Philadelphia, USA, contributed to enhancing the FD scenario in Brazil. FAIMER Brazil has positively affected many HPE institutions and faculty members, supporting them in developing skills in leadership, educational management, teaching methodologies, student assessment, and program evaluation [9]. However, the influence of these initiatives was restricted to a few institutions. Ribeirão Preto Medical School at the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) was founded in 1952 with the support of the USA Rockefeller Foundation [10]. FMRP-USP currently has seven undergraduate courses (Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Biomedical Informatics, and Occupational Therapy), 16 departments with 330 Faculty members, and over 1,000 clinical preceptors working in different areas and clinical scenarios. FD initiatives had always been isolated and occasional at FMRP-USP [11, 12]. In 2016, a Center for Faculty Development (CFD) in HPE was founded at FMRP-USP. The primary CFD activity is a structured basic training program entitled Essentials Skills Module (ESMo), which is guided by the best evidence and practices in the HPE field and offered regularly to the faculty community. This case study aims to evaluate the impact of this ESMo on the educational practices of attending Faculty memb (...truncated)