Engaging Clinical Teachers through faculty development workshops

A key role of the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Office is to provide support to clinical teachers and program directors. In 2015-16, PGME struck a Best Practices in Evaluation and Assessment (BPEA) working group to provide advice about residency program evaluation and resident assessment for competency-based postgraduate medicine at the University of Toronto. Led by Dr. Linda Probyn, Director, Postgraduate Medical Education, Admissions and Evaluation, the group’s members include program directors, residents, MD and hospital representatives, and PGME staff. Using an assessment and evaluation framework, the group started by conducting literature reviews on learner and faculty role and responsibilities, the role of technology, change management, and residents in difficulty. These reviews were used to write a report that will support and guide postgraduate programs towards best practices in resident evaluation and assessment. The final report will be released in 2017.

Also in 2015-16, PGME focused on disseminating the Best Practices in Application and Selection (BPAS) working group’s recommendations. BPAS’ recommendations included 13 principles and 24 best practices designed to help local program directors make changes to their admissions processes. Using these recommendations, Dr. Glen Bandiera, Associate Dean, PGME, authored a paper published at the end of December in Academic Medicine entitled, “Identifying and Promoting Best Practices in Residency Application and Selection in a Complex Academic Health Network.” These recommendations also informed Dr. Probyn’s program-wide, faculty workshops on file reviews and interviews. In addition, Dr. Probyn visited individual programs to present the best practices and has worked one-one-one with program directors to help review their CaRMS program descriptions and assessment tools. Dr. Probyn and the PGME team will continue to reach out to faculty to help facilitate the process by which trainees transition from undergraduate medical education to postgraduate education.