Do the benefits continue? Long term impacts of the Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI) 2017

BACKGROUND: The Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI) was held in Bloomington, Indiana in July of 2017. Previous research has shown that AERI was successful in meeting Kirkpatrick’s first two levels of evaluation via positive initial reactions and learning gains identified at the end of AERI. This manuscript demonstrates continued success in Kirkpatrick levels two and three via six-month and thirty-month follow-up surveys and nine-month follow-up focus groups and interviews. METHODS: Quantitative analyses were completed using Microsoft Excel (2019) and SPSS version 26 while qualitative analyses were completed for both survey responses and focus groups/interviews using thematic analyses. RESULTS: Results demonstrate that the learning gains seen immediately post-AERI 2017 were sustained for all participants (accepted applicants and invited speakers). Qualitative results continued to demonstrate positive reactions to AERI 2017. Both quantitative and qualitative results demonstrated that the main obstacle to educational research for most participants is time, while collaboration, IRB, institutional roadblocks, and devaluing of educational research were also identified as obstacles. CONCLUSIONS: The research presented here indicates positive outcomes to Kirkpatrick Levels 1, 2, & 3 of evaluation following AERI 2017. However, substantial obstacles still exist for researchers in medical education. The need for a sustained community of practice for educational researchers was suggested as a potential buffer against these obstacles and multiple options for providing that community are discussed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03883-w.