How to Engage Clinical Faculty for Program and Learner Success

November 27, 2024

Involving clinical faculty is key to improving program quality and helping learners succeed in medical and health education. Faculty often juggle teaching with their busy clinical work, so fostering meaningful engagement can be challenging yet incredibly valuable. 

This week on the Holistic Success Show, we welcome Sylvia Mioduszewska, Senior Product Enablement Specialist at Acuity Insights, who joins us to explore actionable strategies for engaging clinical faculty to create a supportive, high-performing environment for learners. Mioduszewska offers insights into common faculty challenges, practical short-term solutions, and longer-term development strategies that medical and health programs can implement.

What challenges do clinical faculty face?

Engaging clinical faculty presents unique challenges, largely due to the nature of their dual responsibilities. Faculty members in medical and health education often balance their role as educators with busy clinical practices, leaving limited time for teaching-related tasks. This workload, combined with adapting to ever-evolving teaching methods, can lead to what is known as “evaluator burnout.” Faculty members are frequently overwhelmed by the volume of assessments they need to complete, which can cause delays in providing critical feedback to learners.

In addition, many clinical faculty members are adjunct instructors or part-time educators who have not received formal training in pedagogy. This background can make it challenging for them to offer effective, constructive feedback or adapt to teaching tools and approaches that support learner success. 

Many programs report compliance issues among faculty, but these are typically symptoms of broader, systemic challenges in the academic environment. Without structured support, faculty members can struggle to meet both their clinical and educational responsibilities effectively.

What can be done to improve faculty engagement?

Improving faculty engagement might seem daunting, but even small changes can significantly impact the experience of clinical faculty and the quality of feedback provided to learners. 

Simplifying assessment forms, for example, is one straightforward improvement that can help reduce the administrative load. Reducing the length of assessment forms—such as cutting evaluation forms from 27 questions to 14—can preserve their effectiveness while making them easier for faculty to complete. Shorter, well-designed forms can lead to faster completion rates, which ultimately supports better engagement and feedback delivery.

Programs can also make the feedback process more manageable by including descriptive rubrics and clear anchor points on Likert scales. These guides can help faculty understand exactly what is expected of them, ensuring they can provide consistent and actionable feedback without feeling overwhelmed. 

For formative assessments, technology can be a valuable ally. For example, dictation features on mobile devices allow faculty to record feedback verbally. This can be quicker than typing, enabling faculty to capture their thoughts immediately after interactions with learners, without the need to locate a computer or sacrifice valuable clinical time.

How can programs remove technical barriers?

Beyond the volume of assessments, technical barriers can also hinder faculty engagement. One common issue is the need for multiple logins or credentials to access different systems. As more institutions move to multifactor authentication (MFA), logging in can become a cumbersome, time-consuming process, especially when faculty are using multiple credentials across sites. In some cases, the complexity of these systems even leads programs to revert to paper forms—a step backward in terms of efficiency and data integrity.

To address this, programs can consider providing password managers or exploring federated identity systems that would allow faculty to use a single set of credentials across both university and hospital systems. This long-term solution requires collaboration between IT teams and program administrators, but it can significantly streamline access for faculty. When technical barriers are removed or minimized, faculty members are more likely to stay engaged and complete assessments on time.

What role does faculty development play in engagement?

Faculty development is a crucial part of building long-term engagement among clinical educators. Since many clinical faculty members are primarily clinicians, their teaching responsibilities can feel secondary or less familiar. Offering professional development in accessible, manageable formats, such as short online tutorials, can help them build their educational skills without consuming excessive time.

Meeting faculty “where they’re at” with flexible, bite-sized learning modules can prove more effective than traditional, lengthy workshops. For instance, instead of expecting a busy emergency room doctor to attend a three-hour seminar, a program could offer a series of 10-minute tutorials on effective feedback techniques. Programs might also consider integrating faculty development into annual training or certification requirements, helping ensure faculty stay up-to-date without overwhelming them.

Final thoughts

Engaging clinical faculty is essential to fostering a supportive, successful program environment that benefits learners. By making assessment forms more manageable, reducing technical barriers, and offering accessible professional development, programs can encourage a more engaged and effective teaching approach from clinical faculty. 

These strategies not only lighten the load for faculty but also create a framework in which learners receive high-quality, timely feedback that contributes to their growth and success. Finding ways to support clinical educators ultimately enhances the overall learning experience and advances the goals of medical and health education programs.

To learn more about engaging clinical faculty to drive success, schedule a call with one of our experts today.