Evaluation of a Faculty Development Program for Family Physicians

Abstract
Faculty development programs are frequently conducted for family physicians as a mechanism to train and retrain faculty. However, these programs are rarely subjected to comprehensive evaluations that assess outcomes other than participant satisfaction. This paper describes a comprehensive evaluation study that collected reaction, cognitive and behavioral data on participants in a faculty development program for family physicians. Data were collected using a variety of evaluations strategies and sources of data over a period of time from the first day of the program until 9 months following its completion. Results were consistent across measures and sources and indicated that the participants learned new cognitive content and applied knowledge and skills acquired during the program. Participants, their supervisors and the faculty development program faculty consistently reported high satisfaction with the program. Thus, the evaluation study demonstrated that the program was successful and had the desired impact on the participants.