AO Education Institute

Amongst its many responsibilities, the AO Education Institute also oversees faculty development for all four AO clinical divisions. Recognizing faculty as a core asset to the organization, the Institute helps by developing innovative concepts and solutions.

Explore the many offerings of the AO Education Institute

Read an interview with
Urs Rüetschi, Director AO Education Institute

Did you know…

Over 50 faculty development events will be held by AO around the world in 2014. Encompassing all four clinical divisions and all levels (faculty, chairpersons, educational leaders, and educational consultants), it is the highest annual number of educational events for faculty ever recorded in the 50-year history of the AO.

The AO Education Institute (AOEI) is the center of excellence that supports all AO clinical divisions in curriculum development, faculty development, assessment, and evaluation. This group also creates a wide range of educational resources, such as videos, books, AO surgery references, and faculty support media.

Internal educational research projects support strategic medical education developments at the AO Foundation level and within the clinical divisions.

The AO Foundation has always been among the leaders in the field of faculty development. Over time, the adoption of appropriate educational methods (for teaching and learning) has changed how faculty is supported. The educational approach is now outcome-based and involves practical experiences or simulations (eg, AO Skills Lab). Other “state of the art” initiatives are under development.

Alignment of faculty development programs

To improve the effectiveness and efficacy of faculty development, the AO Education Platform decided to align competencies and educational activities across all clinical divisions and for all different levels: faculty, chairpersons, educational leaders, and educational consultants. Due to the global nature of the AO Foundation, a systematic approach was required to capture the unique needs of all faculty and regions.

Alignment of faculty development programs is an ongoing project and will make delivery, resources, evaluation and assessment processes easier to measure and compare. Alignment will also facilitate the joint development of resources such as a pool of professional educators and an online faculty compendium by leveraging resources and synergies.

The expected outcome of this project is a strategy that outlines competency-based concepts (for all faculty development program levels), leading to a more efficient, effective (less resource intensive) and financially viable approach to faculty development across the AO Foundation. (“How to facilitate/moderate online activities” serves as an example of a common course that will be designed by the AO Education Institute for faculty in all clinical divisions).

The outcome, including a time and action plan, will be presented at the next Education Platform meeting in April 2014.

AO Education Institute
Facts & Figures

- around 35 employees

- 2 major medical education books and a number of smaller publications published per year

- 50+ video projects completed per year

- 40 webinars and 5 webcasts produced per year

"The AO Education Institute is very important because it provides the AOTEC with the expert support needed to be innovative in medical education."

Kodi Kojima,

Chairperson, AOTrauma Education Commission

Urs Rüetschi, Director of the AO Education Institute, provides some insight how his team of education experts foster faculty development.

Why is faculty development important to AO and the AO Education Institute?

Faculty development plays a crucial role in the implementation of new curricula and the quality of educational activities. Faculty are our core asset and investing in their training translates into high quality course delivery. In addition, an educational career as a teacher and educator increases retention and strengthens the AO spirit.

How does faculty development increase the quality of education?

There is a very conscious philosophy behind our tradition of providing tools and skills to make faculty experts in education. We teach faculty to focus on the needs of the learner, which may sound logical but this has not always been the case with traditional education. It is our commitment to excellence, from didactic theory, to teaching tools, and motivated instructors, which has given us the reputation as leaders in our field.

Do you plan on making the faculty development program more globally visible?

The AO Education Institute is somewhat proud that we are recognized for providing one of the most advanced faculty development programs in the field of medical education. Translating novel academic concepts and theories into effective practices is something we work hard to achieve. We have presented our methods at almost every large peer-reviewed event in the medical education arena, and will continue to do so. Internally, we have begun the process of creating an innovative, interactive resource that documents our education concepts for use by all the clinical divisions.