Learning how to “teach one”: A needs assessment of the state of faculty development within the Consortium of the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes

Background Developing faculty competencies in curriculum development, teaching, and assessment using simulation is critical for the success of the Consortium of the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes program. The state of and needs for faculty development in the Accredited Education Institute community are unknown currently. The Faculty Development Committee of the Consortium of the Accredited Education Institutes conducted a survey of Accredited Education Institutes to ascertain what types of practices are used currently, with what frequency, and what needs are perceived for further programs and courses to guide the plan of action for the Faculty Development Committee. Methods The Faculty Development Committee created a 20-question survey with quantitative and qualitative items aimed at gathering data about practices of faculty development and needs within the Consortium of Accredited Education Institutes. The survey was sent to all 83 Accredited Education Institutes program leaders via Survey Monkey in January 2015 with 2 follow-up reminders. Quantitative data were compiled and analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were interpreted for common themes. Results Fifty-four out of the 83 programs (65%) responded to the survey. Two-thirds of the programs had from 1 to 30 faculty teaching at their Accredited Education Institutes. More than three-quarters of the programs taught general surgery, emergency medicine, or obstetrics/gynecology. More than 60% of programs had some form of faculty development, but 91% reported a need to expand their offerings for faculty development with “extreme value” for debriefing skills (70%), assessment (47%), feedback (40%), and curriculum development (40%). Accredited Education Institutes felt that the Consortium could assist with faculty development through such activities as the provision of online resources, sharing of best practices, provision of a blueprint for development of a faculty curriculum and information related to available, credible master programs of faculty development and health professions education. Conclusion Many Accredited Education Institutes programs are engaged in faculty development activities, but almost all see great needs in faculty development related to debriefing, assessment, and curricular development. These results should help to guide the action and decision-making of the Consortium Faculty Development Committee to improve teaching within the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes.