Faculty development in addiction medicine: project SAEFP, a one-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of Project SAEFP (Substance Abuse Education for Family Physicians, pronounced SAFE) was to increase the number of residency teaching faculty with expertise in addiction medicine. This paper reports the results of a 12-month follow-up study conducted to assess changes in residency teaching and clinical practice of 165 residency teaching faculty who participated in this project.

METHODS

The Project SAEFP work group conducted a series of 5-day courses in the fall of 1990 at 10 sites around the country. The 165 faculty participants were taught how to use a set of 12 residency teaching modules that focused on clinical areas important to primary care physicians. The follow-up study consisted of a structured telephone interview. The findings were compared to previous interviews conducted before, and 3 months after, faculty participation in the course.

RESULTS

The findings suggest long-term increases in the amount of teaching, clinical practice, and consultations conducted by the family medicine faculty who participated in this faculty development project.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest that an intensive 5-day course using learner-centered teaching techniques can have a significant impact on primary care teaching faculty.