The AO Education Institute (AOEI) has recently embarked on a process of aligning the faculty education programs across all clinical divisions (CDs). The faculty development program of each CD has evolved differently, which has made allocating resources and tracking the success of each program difficult. With this new initiative AOEI will be able to create more harmonized learning opportunities around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Competency-based

Currently, all CDs use a competency-based curriculum focusing on four key aspects of education:

 

1 Clearly defined educational plans

2 Relevant resources

3 Assessment

4 Faculty development

 

NEW: At their faculty development programs the faculty members of all CDs are taught the same educational principles regarding lecturing, small group discussions, and practical exercises. However the format and content of the actual training program varies from CD to CD. While, for instance, AOTrauma has been using a blended approach with a moderated e-Learning precourse for a few years now, this format was only partially used by other CDs. Since the faculty development program of AO has been constantly growing to meet the high-quality standards in medical education, the maintenance of the different approaches of the CDs began to cost a lot of time and resources. As the underlying educational principles of all faculty development programs are the same, it has now been decided that the time and resources would be better invested into the evaluation, improvement, and implementation of the best approach across all CDs.

 

From the bottom up

The first step in the alignment process is taking place at the faculty level. The faculty competencies for all four CDs have already been aligned and the next step will be the adjustment of some aspects of the curriculum and assessments to make them applicable for all CDs.

 

The last step in the process at the faculty level is the creation of a compendium, which will bring together checklists, the AO Principles of Teaching and Learning book, online modules, and articles into one easily accessible online resource.

 

Completion expected in 2017

In 2015 the process of aligning the chairperson development programs will begin. Alignment at the chairperson level between the various CDs will only be carried out to about 80% due to some CD-specific issues, such as the specific curricula at this level. However, it is also planned to create a chairperson compendium with the same scope as that of the faculty compendium.

The alignment of the educational leader and educational consultant programs will likely begin in 2017. The definition of roles, competencies, and their specific programs are quite diverse among the CDs and it will take some time to align them.

Breakdown of faculty positions used by all CDs at the AO Foundation. The alignment of faculty development programs will start at the base of the pyramid, working upwards.