Need faculty development? Use the structured, tiered, educational program model

Abstract

Lori Graham, Stacey Keller, Courtney West

The structured, tiered, educational program (STEP) Model was developed in an effort to create a sustainable, centralized, faculty development program at our institution in a timely fashion with limited resources. The STEP Model is a three-tiered model which provides a framework for building faculty development programs. This article describes the beginning of what has evolved into an ongoing plan to improve and sustain a pathway for our faculty to enhance their teaching. The process of developing our STEP Model included: (1) Investigating existing faculty development programs; (2) designing/conducting a needs assessment; (3) developing a structured, tiered educational program (Tier I-Basic; Tier II-Intermediate; Tier III-Advanced); (4) enlisting presenters and creating modules on identified topics (Tier I); (5) constructing programs for Tier II and Tier III; (6) Implementing to implementing so that capitalization is consistent (Tier II); and (7) inducting the Charter class of our Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators (Tier III); admitting our first cohort of Interdisciplinary Certificate (Tier II), and Master of Science (Tier III) participants for the Education for Healthcare Professionals program. Based on participation at all levels, in multiple types of offerings and feedback received from participants, the model appears to be effective, universal, and applicable to a variety of settings.