About Faculty Development

Definition/Description of Faculty Development

Faculty development is a process by which medical school faculty, including preceptors teaching in the clinical setting, work systematically to improve their skills in the following areas: (1) educational skills, (2) leadership skills, (3) skills necessary to engage in scholarly activities, (4) personal development, and (5) skills in designing and implementing a professional development plan.  Faculty development activities are successful when individuals' goals in these five areas are being met and when simultaneously the goals of the organization are being met.

Domains/Areas of Faculty Development

• Teaching
• Instructional Design and Curriculum Development
• Scholarly Activity including writing, conducting research, presenting at conferences, etc.
• Leadership, Administration, and Organizational Development
• Personal and Professional Development

Mission of Faculty Development

Our mission is to facilitate the development of faculty skills in the domains listed above and to help foster an organizational environment in which faculty feel empowered to continually work toward improved educational scholarship. This mission relates directly to the ultimate goal of optimizing education at all levels of training throughout the continuum of medical education at FSUCOM.  This will maximize every student's potential to provide excellent and compassionate patient care which is our ultimate purpose.

Types of Faculty Development Programs/Services

• Workshops and Seminars (examples below)

• Writing Meaningful Learning Objectives
• Writing Test Items to Measure Learning Objectives
• Making Your Presentations Interactive
• Designing Effective Instruction
• The Myers Briggs Type Indicator Applied to Teaching
• 7 Habits Applied to Teaching
• Developing a Teaching Portfolio
• Computing / Medical Informatics Skills

• Book Discussion Groups
• Observation and Feedback
• Individual Consultations
• Peer Coaching
• CDs on Clinical Teaching
• Monthly Educational Publications
• Web Based Faculty Development Materials
• Notification to Faculty of Faculty Development Programs Offered by Main Campus

Principles On Which the Faculty Development Program Is Based

• Strong administrative support
• Reward structures for participation in faculty development programs
• Teaching viewed as a scholarly activity
• Systematic skills development
• Based on principles of adult learning
• Sensitive to identified needs
• Participants learn from each other
• Atmosphere of caring and trust
• Based on collaboration, teamwork, and shared vision
• Celebration of successes