An educational intervention to increase faculty publication productivity.

BACKGROUND

Writing is an essential skill for academic family physicians. It is essential in all of the academic physicians' roles, and publications are critical for promotion and tenure. This study describes a three-part faculty development instructional program designed to teach writing skills. The instructional program was repeated over a 3-year period involving two different institutions with departments of family medicine.

METHODS

Educational interventions included seminars, workshops, and independent practice, with feedback from senior advisors. The practice and feedback sections centered on the faculty members' own written products.

RESULTS

This series resulted in the publication of 16 papers from 13 of the 40 faculty participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience suggests that a writing series is one effective method that departments of family medicine may use to facilitate the writing productivity of faculty.