Introduction

The University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) added a new teaching site at Humber River Health, an urban community-affiliated hospital in a high-needs area of Northwest Toronto. This new Family Medicine Teaching Unit will train 9 residents per year over two years (18 residents total). To prepare family physicians and those from other disciplines to train family medicine (FM) learners, an intensive interdisciplinary faculty development orientation was developed and delivered in Spring 2023. The sessions were adapted from a comprehensive new faculty orientation program called Basics for New Faculty which is delivered centrally by the DFCM Faculty Development (FD) Program. In this column, the authors will describe how this FD program was developed and summarize the topics that were delivered. To our knowledge, it is a unique opportunity for FD delivery, and this teaching site endeavors to continue the model.

Methods

A needs assessment was conducted in the Spring of 2023 to survey the new faculty at Humber River Health to understand what FD topics they were most interested in. The program was targeted to address both perceived needs (Learning about the new FM residency program, Assessment and Evaluation tools, How to be an Effective Teacher and connecting with colleagues) and unperceived needs. Unperceived needs were decided based on feedback from faculty development leads from other sites and the central Program Director, and also took into account various accreditation standards. Two in-person sessions of 2-2.5 hours each were designed and led by the new site education leads. Each session included an opportunity for small group work, discussion, and networking.  Forty-three attendees participated in the sessions, including 16 community family physicians and 26 hospital-based focused practice family physicians and specialists in other disciplines. Dinner was provided with some time built in for social interaction. Topics that were specifically presented were Assessment and Evaluation of residents in Family Medicine, Teaching Tips for new faculty, and an Orientation to the family medicine residency program. A program evaluation aimed to understand the most helpful elements and relevant take-home points, as well as areas for improvement, was conducted at the conclusion of the program. This was done through an online post-session survey. The responses were anonymous and presented as aggregate results.

Results:

The program evaluation was completed by 22 attendees (51% response rate). The evaluation showed that 91% of respondents felt the session provided an adequate opportunity for FM and other specialist colleagues to network. Furthermore, 95% of respondents reported that the session provided adequate information for preceptors to start teaching. Lastly, 95% reported that sessions provided sufficient information about the FM program.  From a program improvement perspective, qualitative comments were provided to consider hybrid or virtual options in the future.

Discussion

The interdisciplinary Faculty Development Sessions were well received by all attendees. For the DFCM at the University of Toronto, it was a novel format to deliver the sessions to FM and other specialists who would be teaching FM learners. For busy clinicians who are also teaching, it provides a unique opportunity to understand the shared goals of a FM residency and ensures that all who interact with the residents understand the goals of the program. The planning committee noted a high degree of engagement and satisfaction for both groups of teachers as they participated in the program with a common purpose. For many, it provided an opportunity to meet and socially interact with colleagues from other disciplines. The Humber River Hospital FM program continues to utilize this model into the second year with high levels of participation and engagement. To ensure that the planning committee incorporated feedback, the FD sessions in Spring 2024 were delivered in a hybrid format. Based on our experience, we propose that such shared learning promotes better collegial relationships, an improved understanding of teaching, and ultimately a healthier work environment for both faculty and FM learners.

References

1. Chauvin SW, Anderson W, Mylona E, Greenberg R, Yang T. New faculty orientation in North American medical schools. Teach Learn Med. 2013;25(3):185-190. doi:10.1080/10401334.2013.797345

2. Steinert Y, Lawn N, Handfield-Jones R, Nasmith L, Lussier D, Levitt C. Orientation for new teachers. Workshop on clinical teaching skills. Can Fam Physician. 1995;41:79-85.