Faculty Development and the Emergency Medicine Educator: A National Needs Assessment

Background: Faculty development (FD) encompasses structured programming that aims to enhance educator knowledge, skill, and behavior. No uniform framework for faculty development exists, and academic institutions vary in their faculty development programming, ability to overcome barriers, resource utilization, and achievement of consistent outcomes. Objective: The authors aimed to assess current FD needs among emergency medicine educators from six geographically and clinically distinct academic institutions to inform overall faculty development advancement in emergency medicine (EM). Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed FD needs among EM educators. A survey was developed, piloted, and distributed to faculty via each academic institution's internal e-mail listserv. Respondents were asked to rate their comfort level with and interest in several domains of FD. Respondents were also asked to identify their previous experience, satisfaction with the FD they have received, and barriers to receiving FD. Results: Across six sites, 136/471 faculty completed the survey in late 2020 (response rate of 29%): 69.1% of respondents reported being satisfied overall with the FD they have participated in, and 50.7% reported being satisfied with education FD specifically. Faculty report higher comfort levels and interest in several domains when satisfied with the education-specific FD they have received compared with those who report not being satisfied. Conclusions: EM faculty report generally high satisfaction with the overall faculty development they have received, although only half express satisfaction with their education-related faculty development. Faculty developers in EM may incorporate these results to inform future faculty development programs and frameworks.