Sustained effects of faculty leadership development modules for clinical instructors of core competences education in Taiwan: a four-year explanatory case study

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies (CC) in general medicine-based primary care are essential for junior medical trainees. In this country, a regular faculty development (FD) program aimed at training faculty in instructing (teaching and assessing) these CC had operated. However, leadership was not emphasized. In a new intervention module, the roles and associated responsibilities of clinical instructors to conduct, design, and lead CC-based education were emphasis. AIMS: This follow-up explanatory case study compares the effectiveness of intervention module with that of the previous regular module. METHODS: The regular group (n = 28) comprised clinical instructors who participated in the FD module during the 2013–2014 year while the intervention group (n = 28) was composed of 2015–2016 participants. Prior to the formal (hands-on) training, participants in the intervention group were asked to study the online materials of the regular module. These participants then received a 30-h hands-on training in conducting, designing, and leading skills. Finally, they prepared a 10-h reflective end-of-module presentation of their real-world practices. RESULTS: Following the training, a higher degree improvement in participants self-reported familiarity with CC education, self-confidence in their ability to deliver CC education and sustained involve CC education were noted among the intervention FD group, compared with the regular FD group. In the intervention group, senior academicians (associate and full professor) are more substantially involved in designing and leading CC-based courses than junior academicians (lecturers and assistant professors). Among non-teaching award winners of in the intervention FD group, the follow-up degree of sustained involvement in delivering, designing and leading CC-based courses was significantly higher than that of the regular group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that leadership training in the intervention FD modules substantially motivated clinical instructors to become leaders in CC education.