| Faculty development at historically black colleges and universities has received very little attention. This study explored areas of need and the attributes that would make faculty development beneficial and attractive at a historically black medical school. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about perceptions of ability and perceptions of preparation to perform non-clinical skills in the administrative, education, research, written communication, and professional academic skill domains (Bland, Schmitz, Stritter, Henry, & Aluise, 1990). Face-to-face interviews obtained information about strengths and weakness in the domains, faculty development experiences, career aspirations, and recommended policy changes.;All 185 faculty members (primarily African Americans) at the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine were mailed a self-administered questionnaire. Fifty faculty members responded (27% response rate). A stratified sample of the faculty (n = 21) was interviewed. Findings include: (1) senior faculty rated their ability to perform research and professional academic skills higher than junior faculty; (2) basic sciences faculty rated their ability and preparation to perform research higher than clinical faculty; (3) Caucasian faculty members rated their preparation in professional academic skills higher than African American, Asian, and Hispanic faculty members; (4) most faculty perceived themselves to be strong in the education domain and weak in the research domain; (5) opportunities to enhance competence in all five domains was desirable; (6) content, scheduling, administrative support and incentives influence decisions to attend faculty development activities; and (7) clarification of tenure and promotion policies as well as expectations for performance will improve faculty morale and organizational effectiveness. A comprehensive program that offers training in all domains but emphasizes research and professional academic skill development will meet faculty needs in this environment. |
