Bridging the gap for future clinician-educators.

BACKGROUND: In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited. Resident-as-teacher programmes are typically insufficient to prepare trainees to be successful clinician-educators, but few pursue formal education degrees. We sought to assess the need for, and feasibility of, a training pathway for subspecialty fellows in a large Department of Medicine that would prepare our trainees to become effective educators.

METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Previous fellowship applicants and current programme directors were surveyed to determine the potential benefits of the programme. A pilot programme was conducted with fellows interested in education to determine the feasibility of the programme. Pilot participants were interviewed regarding the benefits that they gained from the pilot and the logistical challenges that they experienced. In contrast to the training required in the UK, opportunities for medical education training in the USA are limited RESULTS: Five highly ranked fellows would have scored our programmes higher if we offered this training pathway. Pilot participants and fellowship programme directors agreed that there is a compelling need for such a training pathway. A number of themes arose from the interviews that enabled us to build the framework for a strong programme.

DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that a clinician-educator training pathway that draws from multiple subspecialties has the potential to improve recruitment, provide needed career counselling and skills development to trainees, and to build a community of educators that will benefit the institution. Important insights from pilot participant interviews will inform the programme design, in order to keep trainees engaged and overcome logistical challenges.