Evaluation of a Faculty Fellows Program in Science Communication
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PROVIDER: S-EPMC10629883 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has a history of providing a wide range of faculty development opportunities. Recently, ASM developed the Science Teaching Fellows Program (STF) for early career biologists and postdoctoral students to explore student-centered teaching and develop the skills needed to succeed in positions that have a significant teaching component. Participants were selected to STF through a competitive application process. The STF program consisted of a series of six webinars. In preparation for each webinar, participants completed a pre-webinar assignment. After each webinar, fellows practiced what they learned by completing a post-webinar assignment. In a survey used to assess the impact of STF, participants reported greater knowledge of the webinar-based instructional topics and a sense of being part of an educational community and were more confident about varied teaching methods.
| S-EPMC5134936 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Graduate medical education (GME) has shifted its curricula from process-oriented approach to outcomes-oriented models. Program and faculty evaluation are methods by which educational curricula may adjust the teaching and learning environment to meet the needs and fills the gaps in GME. The measurement of educational outcomes is an essential for assessing teaching effectiveness in a shifting health care environment. In addition to trainee, program, and faculty evaluations, annual program review (APR) and evaluation and navigational changes made by the program education committee are essential to maintain effectiveness of an educational curriculum in a contemporary graduate medical training program.
| S-EPMC6145814 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Primarily funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Faculty Fellows Program is designed to strengthen the institutional capacity of universities in low- and middle-income countries to use and analyze DHS data. This article provides an overview of the program's evolution and its current form; presents successes and impacts; and discusses challenges, lessons learned, and potential further directions.Initiated in 2008, the Fellows Program underwent several rounds of improvement. The current model involves a competitive team application process, 2 intensive in-person workshops, completion of a working paper of publishable quality, and the transfer of analysis skills learned during the fellowship to students and colleagues at home universities, all completed over 1 year. Since 2011, the Fellows Program has trained 152 researchers from 45 universities in 25 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The program has not only strengthened individual skills in conducting research with data from large surveys but also substantially increased institutional capacity to analyze DHS data through fellows' capacity-building activities at their home universities. These successes have happened despite the many and continuing challenges related to fellows' diverse backgrounds, experience, skills, language barriers, logistical difficulties in organizing in-person workshops in fellows' countries, and sometimes fellows' varying levels of commitment.With continuous support from USAID, the program hopes to expand to more universities and countries, especially francophone countries. Overall, the DHS Faculty Fellows Program has proven to be highly successful and provides a model for other groups aiming to strengthen capacity for data use and research in low- and middle-income countries.
| S-EPMC8324205 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundFaculty development programs (FDPs) in health professions education (HPE) are instrumental in supporting, promoting, and improving HPE curricula and activities that target individual- and system-level capacity strengthening. FAIMER, a division of Intealth, has been offering FDPs for global health professions educators in HPE and leadership for over two decades through the International FAIMER Institute in the USA and FAIMER Regional Institutes located globally. This paper explores perceptions of former program participants (Fellows) of FAIMER global FDPs by eliciting their success stories.MethodsThe study utilized a modified Success Case Method approach. Study participants recruited were 14 FAIMER Fellows nominated as exemplars of success cases by program directors and faculty members from seven global sites, using extreme case sampling technique. Of the 14 Fellows, two were from Africa, nine from Asia and three from Latin America. In-depth interviews were conducted with each Fellow to understand their self-perceived success, and factors from both their local context and FAIMER's FDPs that have contributed to their success. Theoretical thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data.ResultsThe top three areas of success perceived by Fellows were career advancement & recognition, professional development, and advancement of HPE. Fellows identified both institutional-level factors and personal attributes as contributing to their success. They also reported that FAIMER global FDPs have substantially contributed to their success by expanding professional networks, fostering academic achievement, and enhancing interpersonal development and leadership skills.ConclusionsThe findings show that Fellows perceive that there are multiple pathways for them to succeed in advancing the field of HPE. The Fellows' stories highlight the continuing value of FAIMER global FDPs for HPE educators worldwide in professional development and leadership. The study also proposes recommendations for enhancing faculty development activities in HPE.
| S-EPMC11443623 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Purpose: The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, seeks to support academic physicians from historically disadvantaged backgrounds and serves as a model program for promoting faculty diversity and health equity. Our objective was to determine differences in scientific productivity, promotions and retentions, and leadership attainment among faculty applicants to this national minority faculty development program. Methods: Final-round interview applicants from 2003 to 2008 were selected. Differences in publications, grants, promotions/retentions, and leadership positions through 2013 were compared between funded scholars and unfunded nonscholars. Semistructured interviews were conducted to identify factors that facilitated and hindered academic success. Results: A total of 124 applicants (76 scholars and 48 nonscholars) who participated in final-round interviews from 2003 to 2008 were eligible. Scholars and nonscholars had similar number of publications. Scholars had greater number of grants and grant dollars, but differences were not significant after accounting for AMFDP program awards. Scholars were more likely to hold leadership positions (28% vs. 10%, p=0.02), but equally likely to be promoted (67% vs. 58%, p=0.32) and retained (84% vs. 75%, p=0.21). In interviews, all participants endorsed mentoring, funding, and nonscientific education to academic success, but scholars reported greater availability of leadership opportunities consequent to AMFDP. Conclusion: There were few differences in academic productivity attributable to a national faculty diversity program. However, program participants were more likely to endorse and attain leadership positions. Academic institutions should consider facilitating leadership development of minority faculty as a means of advancing health equity research and training.
| S-EPMC6071893 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionIn clinical practice, ethical dilemmas are frequently faced by pediatric endocrinologists. This initiative's objectives were to (a) determine if endocrine fellows and faculty perceived that an effective ethics curriculum existed and (b) evaluate whether case-based modules would be an effective tool for ethics education.MethodsParticipation was sought from eight large pediatric endocrine programs (home programs and affiliates of the Pediatric Endocrine Society's Ethics Committee members) after the distribution of eight case-based modules (geared mainly to fellows) and pre- and postsurveys. Questions examining self-reported knowledge (K) of the ethical pillars (beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice), attitudes (A) towards these, and the individual's likelihood of utilizing them in clinical practice (P), in addition to the need for/benefit of this curriculum, were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale.ResultsSix out of eight programs participated, with surveys completed by fellows (n = 29), faculty (n = 7), and advanced practitioners (n = 3). Of the respondents, only 20.3% believed an effective ethics curriculum was already in place. After module completion, KAP scores improved, with the greatest improvement seen in knowledge scores. Additionally, 94.9% of respondents strongly agreed (n = 26) or agreed (n = 11) that the curriculum would be a valuable addition to fellowship training. All faculty believed that the curriculum was helpful in imparting ethical principles of clinical practice.DiscussionThe findings suggest that this curriculum would be useful in knowledge advancement of ethical principles and could fulfill a long-standing need to provide clinical ethics education for faculty and fellows.
| S-EPMC6342438 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Purpose:This study examined the effectiveness of a formal postdoctoral education program designed to teach skills in clinical and translational science, using scholar publication rates as a measure of research productivity. Method:Participants included 70 clinical fellows who were admitted to a master's or certificate training program in clinical and translational science from 1999 to 2015 and 70 matched control peers. The primary outcomes were the number of publications 5 years post-fellowship matriculation and time to publishing 15 peer-reviewed manuscripts post-matriculation. Results:Clinical and translational science program graduates published significantly more peer-reviewed manuscripts at 5 years post-matriculation (median 8 vs 5, p=0.041) and had a faster time to publication of 15 peer-reviewed manuscripts (matched hazard ratio = 2.91, p=0.002). Additionally, program graduates' publications yielded a significantly higher average H-index (11 vs. 7, p=0.013). Conclusion:These findings support the effectiveness of formal training programs in clinical and translational science by increasing academic productivity.
| S-EPMC6390396 | biostudies-other
Project description:Natural scientists from Climate Central and social scientists from Carnegie Mellon University collaborated to develop science communications aimed at presenting personalized coastal flood risk information to the public. We encountered four main challenges: agreeing on goals; balancing complexity and simplicity; relying on data, not intuition; and negotiating external pressures. Each challenge demanded its own approach. We navigated agreement on goals through intensive internal communication early on in the project. We balanced complexity and simplicity through evaluation of communication materials for user understanding and scientific content. Early user test results that overturned some of our intuitions strengthened our commitment to testing communication elements whenever possible. Finally, we did our best to negotiate external pressures through regular internal communication and willingness to compromise.
| S-EPMC4183174 | biostudies-other
Project description:Scientific debates in modern societies often blur the lines between the science that is being debated and the political, moral, and legal implications that come with its societal applications. This manuscript traces the origins of this phenomenon to professional norms within the scientific discipline and to the nature and complexities of modern science and offers an expanded model of science communication that takes into account the political contexts in which science communication takes place. In a second step, it explores what we know from empirical work in political communication, public opinion research, and communication research about the dynamics that determine how issues are debated and attitudes are formed in political environments. Finally, it discusses how and why it will be increasingly important for science communicators to draw from these different literatures to ensure that the voice of the scientific community is heard in the broader societal debates surrounding science.
| S-EPMC4183176 | biostudies-other
Project description:Communicating scientific results with community partners is often lacking in intervention programs, thus eB4CAST was developed to facilitate impact sharing. This article investigated using the eB4CAST dissemination tool to communicate impact from a campus-based obesity prevention program. Data from Get Fruved RCT university sites collected at baseline were used to generate eB4CAST reports. Experts (n = 13) and RCT sites (n = 15) were asked to provide feedback on eB4CAST reports based on appeal, understanding, and clarity. On all Likert items, participants rated above 7 on each (out of 10). Positive responses from open-ended questions included eB4CAST reports being clear, visually appealing, and aid in program understanding. Overall, eB4CAST was successful in relaying data and information for the Get Fruved program, thus a means for science communication that could be used in interventions. Utilizing infographics to report data and information is a feasible way to disseminate and communicate in a cost-effective, timely manner.
| S-EPMC7223159 | biostudies-literature