A Continuing Professional Development Imperative? Examining Trends and Characteristics of Health Professions Education Doctoral Programs

BMC Medical Education (12/09/2022) Vol. 22, No. 853 Kulo, Violet; Cestone, Christina

Researchers investigated current U.S. and Canadian health professions education (HPE) doctoral programs to identify trends and characteristics. They studied 20 doctoral programs (17 U.S. and three Canadian), including 13 — 12 in the U.S. and one in Canada — that launched in the last eight years. Eight of the 20 HPE programs offer doctor of philosophy degrees, three are educational doctorate programs, two offer a PhD in Health Sciences and one offers a Doctor of Health Professions Education degree. All but one program's admissions criteria include possession of a master's degree or higher. Most programs' core content areas focus on teaching and learning, curriculum development, program and learner evaluation, educational research methods, and leadership and management. The majority of programs follow a hybrid online/face-to-face delivery model and take an average four years to complete. The authors contend that the medical faculty shortage "presents an opportunity, or perhaps imperative, for continuing professional development in HPE through certificates, master's, or doctoral programs." They also cite a need for standardizing degree requirements, title, and fostering core competencies to guide HPE graduates on the knowledge and skills they should acquire upon degree completion.

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