Investigating Faculty Development for Competence by Design

Abstract

The launch of Competence by Design (CBD) in 2017 by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) ushered in a new era of residency education in Canada. For CBD to succeed, faculty responsible for training residents must undergo faculty development to attain the relevant knowledge and skills required to fulfil their new duties. This thesis examines the faculty development resources available to faculty, and the approaches taken by program directors to facilitate faculty development. This research was guided by two research questions: (1) What faculty development resources (e.g., online modules, websites, slide decks) are currently available for faculty members in CBD programs across Canada? (2) How do program directors facilitate faculty development within their specific program? Phase 1 of this study involved a document review of all English-speaking medical schools in Canada with a post graduate CBD program. In phase 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with program directors from the emergency medicine and psychiatry specialties. The document review found that Canadian universities hosted a range of informative websites, documents, newsletters, live sessions, and online modules to support faculty development efforts on a range of topics. During the interview phase, program directors identified live faculty development sessions, both in-person and online, were the most effective. They also expanded on their experience in the transition to CBD, some noting that their previous assessment models shared similarities with CBD, lessening the burden on faculty to change their teaching practice. Many expressed concerns over resource and time constraints on faculty development and the implementation of CBD as a whole.