NEW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM PROVIDES FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING FOR RESIDENCY FACULTY

STFM has launched an online certificate program to provide foundational training for residency faculty. Completion of the program requires approximately a 25-hour time commitment from participants, as well as a nominal time commitment from the participant’s program director and colleagues. The program covers:

• The structure and requirements of residency education

• How to be an effective and efficient faculty member

• The nuts and bolts of curriculum development and teaching

• Strategies for assessment, feedback, and remediation of residents

Objectives related to training faculty are woven throughout STFM’s strategic plan, the Family Medicine for America’s Health (FMAHealth) strategic plan, and STFM’s Faculty for Tomorrow initiative. In a 2013 STFM member survey, 70% of respondents expressed “some need” or “great need” for both online faculty development and resources for recruiting, training, and retaining faculty. The ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Family Medicine state “There must be a structured program of faculty development that involves regularly scheduled faculty development activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of teaching, administration, leadership, scholarship, clinical, and behavioral components of faculty members’ performance.”¹

The overall goals for Residency Faculty Fundamentals are to:

• Provide longitudinal training for new residency faculty

• Provide training to improve or enhance fundamental knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or abilities needed to be a family medicine faculty member

Each course has individual learning objectives. Topics include:

• ACGME Program Requirements

• Competencies, Milestones, and EPAs

• Structure and Funding of Residency Programs

• Billing and Documentation Requirements

• Recruiting and Interviewing Residents

• ABFM Rules and Requirements

• Scholarly Activity for Residency Faculty

• Writing for Academic Publication

• Curriculum Development

• Didactic Teaching Skills

• Clinical Teaching Skills

• Assessment and Evaluation

• Feedback

• Residents in Difficulty: Academic and Behavioral Problems

Courses include readings, videos, interactive modules, quizzes, and assignments. Some assignments require a significant time investment, including curriculum development, scholarly activity, and practicing feedback. A course instructor provides feedback on many of the assignments.

To graduate from the program, participants must complete all courses and assignments and pass a final exam within a 1-year timeframe. Those who graduate receive the certificate, up to 25 hours of CME credit (Application for CME credit has been filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians. Determination of credit is pending as of the writing of this article), a letter of congratulations noting the accomplishment, a letter to the graduate’s program director, and a press release to distribute locally.

The Residency Faculty Fundamentals Certificate Program was developed by the STFM Graduate Medical Education (GME) Committee, STFM staff, and subject matter experts over past 2 years. Input was also garnered from focus groups and the STFM Board of Directors. “This was a huge undertaking that members and staff have immersed themselves in over the last couple of years,” said Russell Maier, MD, chair of the GME Committee. “We dedicated our committee meetings and time between meetings to defining the course list, testing different delivery methods, writing and peer reviewing scripts, developing quiz questions, recording videos, and creating meaningful assignments. We’re really proud of the final product.”

The course is $995 for STFM members and $1,495 for non-members and is available through the STFM website, http://www.stfm.org.

• © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.