OpenLB
Open Library of Bioscience

Faculty development has played a significant role in health professions education over the last 40 years. The goal of this perspective is to present a portrait of faculty development in since its inception and to highlight emerging trends moving forward. All issues of were reviewed, using the search terms faculty development, staff development, professional development, or in-service training for faculty. The search yielded 286 results of which 145 focused specifically on faculty development initiatives, reviews, or frameworks. This review demonstrated a significant growth in publications related to faculty development in over the last 40 years, with a primary focus on teaching improvement and traditional approaches to faculty development, including workshops, short courses and other structured, group activities. The international nature of faculty development was also highlighted. Moving forward, it is suggested that we: broaden the scope of faculty development from teaching to academic development; expand our approaches to faculty development, to include peer coaching, workplace learning and communities of practice; utilize a competency-based framework to guide the development of faculty development curricula; support teachers' professional identities through faculty development; focus on organizational development and change; and rigorously promote research and scholarship in faculty development.