title: A meaningful MESS (Medical Education Scholarship Support).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Graduate medical education faculty bear the responsibility of demonstrating active research and scholarship; however, faculty who choose education-focused careers may face unique obstacles related to the lack of promotion tracks, funding, career options, and research opportunities. Our objective was to address education research and scholarship barriers by providing a collaborative peer-mentoring environment and improve the production of research and scholarly outputs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe a Medical Education Scholarship Support (MESS) group created in 2013. MESS is an interprofessional, multidisciplinary peer-mentoring education research community that now spans multiple institutions. This group meets monthly to address education research and scholarship challenges. Through this process, we develop new knowledge, research, and scholarly products, in addition to meaningful collaborations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MESS originated with eight founding members, all of whom still actively participate. MESS has proven to be a sustainable unfunded local community of practice, encouraging faculty to pursue health professions education (HPE) careers and fostering scholarship. We have met our original objectives that involved maintaining 100% participant retention; developing increased knowledge in at least seven content areas; and contributing to the development of 13 peer-reviewed publications, eight professional presentations, one Masters of Education project, and one educational curriculum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of individuals engaged in HPE research continues to rise. The MESS model could be adapted for use at other institutions, thereby reducing barriers HPE researchers face, providing an effective framework for trainees interested in education-focused careers, and having a broader impact on the education research landscape.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA; sawhicker@carilionclinic.org.
authors.forename: Shari A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Whicker
authors.affiliation: Office of Curricular Affairs, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Engle
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Saumil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chudgar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: DeMeo
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathology Clinical Services, Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bean
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Aditee P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Narayan
authors.affiliation: Office of Curricular Affairs, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Colleen O'Connor
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Grochowski
authors.affiliation: Division of Education, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Alisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagler
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004501:Education, Medical; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D012106:Research / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014146:Training Support / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: fostering scholarship; health professions education research; support community