Evaluation of two longitudinal faculty leadership training programs: behavioral change and institutional impact
Journal of Health Organization and Management
ISSN: 1477-7266
Article publication date: 7 June 2022
Issue publication date: 31 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Building leadership skills among faculty in academic medicine is essential, yet professional development programs focused on leadership are not always attentive to the needs of faculty on diverse career pathways or at differing career stages—nor are they often rigorously assessed. Evaluations commonly focus on participant satisfaction and short-term learning but not behavior change and institutional impact, which are difficult to assess but arguably more meaningful. Given the substantial time and money invested in these programs, more rigorous evaluation is critical.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors evaluated an intensive, shared leadership-focused training program for early-career and mid-career faculty, offered by the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine over the course of a year. They administered a pre/post-program assessment of confidence in key skill areas, and conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 participants between 1–4 years after program completion.
Findings
Participants in both programs showed statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) on every item measured in the pre/post-test. Analysis of the interviews revealed indications of substantial behavior change as well as institutional impact. The evaluation also suggested particular benefits for female professionals.
Originality/value
The authors conducted a long-term assessment of leadership training focused on career pathway and career stage and found that it (a) prompted both positive behavioral change and institutional impact and (b) suggested benefits for female faculty in particular, which could potentially help to eliminate gender-based disparities in leadership in academic medical centers.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Rachel Wasilko for her assistance in conducting and transcribing the interviews, and for her assistance in coding the qualitative data.
Citation
Mayowski, C.A., Norman, M.K., Proulx, C.N., Hamm, M.E., Martin, M.K., Zellers, D.F., Rubio, D.M. and Levine, A.S. (2022), "Evaluation of two longitudinal faculty leadership training programs: behavioral change and institutional impact", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 36 No. 6, pp. 796-815. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-03-2022-0088
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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