title: FM POD: an evidence-based blended teaching skills program for rural preceptors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The University of Calgary's Rural Integrated Community Clerkship anchors final-year medical student education in 9 months of family medicine. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the Family Medicine Preceptor Online Development (FM POD) program, designed to meet the faculty development needs of rural preceptors facing challenges of geographical distribution and time constraints.
  
  
  METHODS
  The theoretically based program used a blended learning approach, beginning with a face-to-face workshop to strengthen participants' social presence during online interactions to follow. Asynchronous narrated presentations supplied foundational knowledge prior to facilitated synchronous web conferences, where participants shared experiences and co-constructed new knowledge. The program was evaluated using mixed methods, including surveys and focus group discussion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evaluation tools generated data with high internal consistency reliability; focus group information substantiated and enriched the quantitative survey data. Participants enjoyed collaborating with colleagues and rated their learning experiences highly, reporting meaningful and statistically significant increases in mean comfort with all the precepting skills taught: giving effective feedback, using questions to teach, teaching communications skills, helping learners in difficulty, and making teaching time-efficient. All effect sizes were large. Increased comfort with distance learning technologies was a positive consequence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results support the applicability of principles of social constructivism, experiential learning, and reflective learning in these participants. The program was highly rated and effectively increased participants' comfort with teaching skills, offering practical off-the-peg modular faculty development in basic teaching skills for distributed faculty. Participants appreciated the flexible delivery format, which course developers found readily adaptable for additional topics.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary.
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Delver
authors.forename: Wesley
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mone
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palacios
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000379:methods*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000379:methods*; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019035:Rural Health Services; D049269:Videoconferencing