title: Working Definitions of the Roles and an Organizational Structure in Health Professions Education Scholarship: Initiating an International Conversation.
abstract: Health professions education scholarship (HPES) is an important and growing field of inquiry. Problematically, consistent use of terminology regarding the individual roles and organizational structures that are active in this field are lacking. This inconsistency impedes the transferability of current and future findings related to the roles and organizational structures of HPES.
  
  
  
  Based on data collected during interviews with HPES leaders in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the Netherlands, the authors constructed working definitions for some of the professional roles and an organizational structure that support HPES. All authors reviewed the definitions to ensure relevance across multiple countries.
  
  
  
  The authors define and offer illustrative examples of three professional roles in HPES (clinician educator, HPES research scientist, and HPES administrative leader) and an organizational structure that can support HPES participation (HPES unit). These working definitions are foundational and not all-encompassing and, thus, are offered as stimulus for international dialogue and understanding.
  
  
  
  With these working definitions, scholars and administrative leaders can examine HPES roles and organizational structures across and between national contexts to decide how lessons learned in other contexts can be applied to their local contexts. Although rigorously constructed, these definitions need to be vetted by the international HPES community. The authors argue that these definitions are sufficiently transferable to support such scholarly investigation and debate.
authors: L. Varpio is associate professor, Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. L. Gruppen is professor and faculty director, Masters in Health Professions Education program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. W. Hu is professor and chair of medical education, Western Sydney University School of Medicine, Campbelltown, Australia. B. O'Brien is associate professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California. O. ten Cate is professor and director, Center for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. S. Humphrey-Murto is associate director, Education Research Support Unit, Department of Innovation in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, and director of education research, Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. D.M. Irby is professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California. C. van der Vleuten is professor of education, Department of Educational Development and Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. S.J. Hamstra is vice president, Milestones Research and Evaluation, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Chicago, Illinois. S.J. Durning is professor and acting director, Graduate Programs in Health Professions Education, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors: Lara
authors: L
authors: Varpio
authors: Larry
authors: L
authors: Gruppen
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Hu
authors: Bridget
authors: B
authors: O'Brien
authors: Olle
authors: O
authors: Ten Cate
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Humphrey-Murto
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Irby
authors: Cees
authors: C
authors: van der Vleuten
authors: Stanley J
authors: SJ
authors: Hamstra
authors: Steven J
authors: SJ
authors: Durning
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000145:classification*; D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000145:classification*; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000145:classification* / Q000592:standards*; D009426:Netherlands; D009520:New Zealand; D024382:Professional Role; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000145:classification*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States