Medical school professors take on many roles, including teaching, research, service, and practice, and are expected to evolve through their work and activities both on and off campus. At the same time, they are expected to gradually develop essential competencies as educators through faculty development (FD). However, FD does not yet cover the entire spectrum of faculty roles and does not adequately address the diverse characteristics of medical school faculty. In light of the recent interest in FD in Korean medical schools and an increasing number of articles on FD, I here review the history of and recent articles about FD in Korea. I also suggest seven short- and long-term strategies to overcome the major challenges facing FD, with the aim of helping to revitalize and advance FD in Korean medical schools and FD institutions.
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Purpose Current faculty development (FD) programs are mostly limited to medical education and often lack a comprehensive and systematic structure. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the current status and needs of FD programs in medical schools to provide a basis for establishing FD strategies.
Methods We conducted an online survey of medical school FD staff and professors regarding FD. Frequency, regression, and qualitative content analyses were conducted. FD programs were categorized into the classification frameworks.
Results A total of 17 FD staff and 256 professors at 37 medical schools participated. There are gaps between the internal and external FD programs offered by medical schools and their needs, and there are gaps between the programs the professors participated in and their needs. Recent internal and external FD programs in medical schools have focused on educational methods, student assessment, and education in general. Medical schools have a high need for leadership and self-development, and student assessment. Furthermore, professors have a high need for leadership and self-development, and research. The number of participants, topics, and needs of FD programs varied depending on the characteristics of individual professors.
Conclusion Medical schools should expand their FD programs to meet the needs of individuals and the changing demands of modern medical education. The focus should be on comprehensive and responsive programs that cover various topics, levels, and methods. Tailored programs that consider professors’ professional roles, career stages, and personal interests are essential for effective FD.
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Needs analysis of leadership education based on the medical leadership competency framework in Korean medical schools Ji Hyun Im, Hyoseon Choi, Wha Sun Kang, Eun Key Kim, Dong Hyeon Lee Korean Journal of Medical Education.2025; 37(3): 319. CrossRef
Current status and challenges of faculty development in Korean medical education and strategies for advancement Dong Hyeon Lee Korean Journal of Medical Education.2024; 36(4): 415. CrossRef
Purpose This study investigated medical educators’ readiness for online teaching by exploring their perceived ability and importance of online teaching competencies and identified the highest priority of their educational needs.
Methods In this study, 144 medical education faculty members from a university were invited to participate. The faculty online teaching readiness scale was virtually distributed at the end of the spring semester of 2020 and 38 faculty members responded for 2 weeks. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, Borich Needs Assessment, and the Locus for Focus model.
Results The overall average perceived ability was 2.76, while the overall average perceived importance was 3.36. The course design and the technical competency categories showed the highest and lowest educational needs, respectively. Five competencies were given the highest priority of educational needs.
Conclusion The results revealed that the medical educators are not ready for online teaching; thus, urgent educational needs for online teaching competencies exist.
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Purpose The Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences is the only national university in Mongolia and has produced more than 90% of health professionals in the country. Experts from Mongolia and Korea embarked on a collaborative effort to develop educational programs for faculty development based on the personal and professional needs of faculty members. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of those educational programs to determine whether this transnational collaboration was successful.
Methods A needs assessment survey was conducted among 325 faculty members. Based on the results of this survey, the joint expert team developed educational programs on seven core topics: clinical teaching, curriculum development, e-learning, item writing, medical research, organizational culture, and resident selection. Surveys evaluating the satisfaction and the attitudes of the participants were conducted for each program.
Results Throughout the 17-day program, 16 experts from Korea and 14 faculty members from Mongolia participated as instructors, and a total of 309 participants attended the program. The average satisfaction score was 7.15 out of 8.0, and the attitudes of the participants towards relevant competencies significantly improved after each educational program.
Conclusion The faculty development programs that were developed and implemented as part of this transnational collaboration between Mongolia and Korea are expected to contribute to the further improvement of health professions education in Mongolia. Future studies are needed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of these educational programs.
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Purpose This study conducted a needs assessment for developing teaching competencies of medical educators by assessing their perceived ability to perform teaching competencies as well as their perceived importance of these competencies. Additionally, this study examined whether there were any differences in needs assessments scores among three faculty groups.
Methods Hundred and eighteen professors from Dong-A University College of Medicine were surveyed, and the data from 44 professors who answered all the questions were analyzed using IBM SPSS 21. The needs assessment tool measured participants’ perceived ability to perform teaching competencies and perceived importance of these competencies. The Borich formula was used to calculate needs assessment scores.
Results The most urgent needs for faculty development were identified for the teaching competencies of “diagnosis and reflection,” followed by “test and feedback,” and “facilitation.” Additionally, two, out of 51, items with the highest needs assessment scores were “developing a thorough course syllabus” and “introducing students to the course syllabus on the first day of class.” The assistant professor group scored significantly higher on educational needs related to “facilitation,” “affection and concern for students,” and “respect for diversity” competencies than the professor group. Furthermore, the educational needs scores for all the teaching competencies except “diagnosis and reflection,” “global mindset,” and “instructional management” were higher for the assistant professor group than the other two faculty groups.
Conclusion Thus, the educational needs assessment scores obtained in this study can be used as criteria for designing and developing faculty development programs for medical educators.
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Purpose This study examined two overarching topics: to what extent do faculties acknowledge class readiness, execution of lessons, and evaluation of the session; and what core content should be strengthened in a medical school faculty development program?
Methods In November 2012, 37 faculties completed a detailed survey on the needs of medical school faculty development programs. The 14-item survey assessed the importance, operational frequency, difficulty in accomplishment, class readiness, execution of teaching, and evaluation of the session.
Results Faculties were aware of the importance of class readiness, execution of teaching, and evaluation of the session but had a low level of accomplishment with regard to execution of the instruction and evaluation of the session. Four subitems of session evaluation were considered very important but showed low operational frequency, high difficulty in accomplishment, and low accomplishment ability. The successful discussion class item had the lowest operational frequency and accomplishment ability. The core contents that should be strengthened in medical school faculty development programs are diagnose students' class readiness (prior knowledge) (35.5%) and providing class session with suitable level/content (32.3%).
Conclusion Before designing faculty development programs, a needs assessment is useful in providing more tailored content for the faculty.
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PURPOSE Countries that are less experienced with simulation-based healthcare education (SBHE) often import Western programs to initiate their efforts to deliver effective simulation training. Acknowledging cultural differences, we sought to determine whether faculty development program on SBHE in the United States could be transported successfully to train faculty members in Korea.
METHODS An international, collaborative, multi-professional program from a pre-existing Western model was adapted. The process focused on prioritization of curricular elements based on local needs, translation of course materials, and delivery of the program in small group facilitation exercises. Three types of evaluation data were collected: participants' simulation experience; participants' ratings of the course; and participant's self-assessment of the impact of the course on their knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) toward simulation teaching.
RESULTS Thirty faculty teachers participated in the course.
Eighty percent of the participants answered that they spent less than 25% of their time as simulation instructors. Time spent on planning, scenario development, delivering training, research, and administrative work ranged from 10% to 30%. Twenty-eight of 30 participants agreed or strongly agreed that the course was excellent and relevant to their needs. The participants' assessment of the impact of the course on their KSA toward simulation teaching improved significantly.
CONCLUSION Although there were many challenges to overcome, a systematic approach in the adaptation of a Western simulation faculty development course model was successfully implemented in Korea, and the program improves self-confidence and learning in participants.
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