Creating enduring change: demonstrating the long-term impact of a faculty development program in palliative care.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Improved educational and evaluation methods are needed in continuing professional development programs.

OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the long-term impact of a faculty development program in palliative care education and practice.

DESIGN:
Longitudinal self-report surveys administered from April 2000 to April 2005.

PARTICIPANTS:
Physician and nurse educators from North America and Europe. All program graduates (n = 156) were invited to participate.

INTERVENTION:
Two-week program offered annually (2000 to 2003) with 2 on-site sessions and 6-month distance-learning period. Learner-centered training addressed teaching methods, clinical skill development, and organizational and professional development.

MEASURES:
Self-administered survey items assessing behaviors and attitudes related to palliative care teaching, clinical care, and organizational and professional development at pre-, postprogram, and long-term (6, 12, or 18 months) follow-up.

RESULTS:
Response rates:
96% (n = 149) preprogram, 73% (n = 114) follow-up. Participants reported increases in:
time spent in palliative care practice (38% preprogram, 47% follow-up, P < .01); use of learner-centered teaching approaches (sum of 8 approaches used "a lot":
preprogram 0.7 +/- 1.1, follow-up 3.1 +/- 2.0, P < .0001); and palliative care topics taught (sum of 11 topics taught "a lot":
preprogram 1.6 +/- 2.0, follow-up 4.9 +/- 2.9, P < .0001). Reported clinical practices in psychosocial dimensions of care improved (e.g., assessed psychosocial needs of patient who most recently died:
68% preprogram, 85% follow-up, P = .01). Nearly all (90%) reported launching palliative care initiatives, and attributed their success to program participation. Respondents reported major improvements in confidence, commitment to palliative care, and enthusiasm for teaching. Eighty-two percent reported the experience as "transformative."

CONCLUSIONS:
This evidence of enduring change provides support for the potential of this educational model to have measurable impact on practices and professional development of physician and nurse educators.

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Author information

Author/s: Sullivan, Amy M (AM); Lakoma, Matthew D (MD); Billings, J Andrew (JA); Peters, Antoinette S (AS); Block, Susan D (SD); PCEP Core Faculty;

Affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 01984, USA. amy_sullivan(-atsign-)dfci.harvard.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of general internal medicine : official journal of the Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine (J Gen Intern Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 21 (issue 9) : pp 907-14

Dates: Created 2006/08/21; Completed 2006/09/14; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 16918733, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Chi-Square Distribution
Education, Medical, Continuing - methods; standards
Education, Nursing, Continuing - methods; standards
Faculty, Medical
Faculty, Nursing
Female
Humans
Male

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