An overview of Faculty Development Program in the Medical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdul Aziz University

Introduction: This work aimed to analyze and document the faculty development program (FDP) held in the medical education department (MED), Faculty of Medicine (FOM) in the last 6 years in order to help understanding about the current situation the challenges facing the FDP at the FOM. Method: A retrospective, data-base study was conducted in the MED, FOM, at King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia, during the academic year of 2014-2015. The data was analyzed using MedCalc Software and significance was considered at p 0.05. The data was also supported by a focus group. Result: The number of workshops on students’ assessment was highest in the first three years. Female faculty participation in the FDP was generally higher than that of the male faculty members except in the last academic year 2013-2014. In the first four days, there was a gap in participation levels in the FDP between the basic and clinical faculty and in the last two years this gap in participation became smaller. The maximum participation level in the FDP among the clinical departments through the last 6 years was of the surgery department. Seeking for international academic accreditation and the curriculum reform were two major events that affected the participation in the FDP during the last 6 years. Conclusion: Participation of faculty in the FDP seems to evolve according to the faculty needs as well as the major events occur in the institute or the curriculum. This represent a big challenge for the MED and mandate a continuous assessment of the training needs and a well design training program as well as a strong administrative support.