Number
507
Name
Development and Implementation Status of a Faculty-Tailored Departmental Onboarding Program During a Time of Growth
Date & Time
Sunday, June 7, 2026, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Location Name
Oglethorpe Ballroom
Speakers
Authors
Michael Wells, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Nasir Butt, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Jessica Evans, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Launa Lynch, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Brian Martin, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Wasana Sumanasekera, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Andrea Belovich, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Presentation Topic(s)
Other
Description
PURPOSE: Due to new hiring, turnover, and growth in faculty cohort size,
we created a faculty development program to support the addition of ~40% new
faculty members with broad expertise and previous work experiences to our
Biomedical Sciences Department. An expertise chart was created and
established members of the department created session materials for a series
of two-hour long meetings held monthly. The expertise chart also fostered
opportunities for informal peer mentorship between sessions.
METHODS: To help our new faculty develop context-specific skills in a
timely, coordinated manner across the academic year, we conducted a needs
assessment to identify faculty competencies not addressed by other
institutional teams. Program implementation is underway in AY2025-2026, with
a cohort size of 8 new faculty. The expertise chart and needs assessment were
created through informal polling and discussion among the established
faculty. Informal feedback was gathered from program participants via
discussion.
RESULTS: Our needs assessment identified the following topic areas for
onboarding sessions: Department & Campus Culture, Student Engagement
& Advising, Assessment, Teaching & Learning Support, Medical
Education Content, Teaching Resources, Research and Scholarship Support,
Faculty Evaluations, Service & Governance, Course Directing,
Communication & Conflict Resolution, Work-Life Balance & Wellness,
and Professional Development Support. Sessions completed have successfully
delivered curated, department-specific expertise to the faculty new to the
department. Slidesets and other materials are gathered to inform program
revisions and future creation of an IAMSE toolkit. Difficulties encountered
included presenting some information too late.
CONCLUSION: Coordinated efforts between Biomedical Sciences, Professional
Development, and Human Resources for onboarding new faculty to their roles
and our curriculum has been effective and timely. We are planning revisions
to the session schedule to better accommodate just-in-time training needs.
Ongoing development of a comprehensive survey instrument will enable
collection of formal feedback from all participants following the last
session, in June, 2026.
we created a faculty development program to support the addition of ~40% new
faculty members with broad expertise and previous work experiences to our
Biomedical Sciences Department. An expertise chart was created and
established members of the department created session materials for a series
of two-hour long meetings held monthly. The expertise chart also fostered
opportunities for informal peer mentorship between sessions.
METHODS: To help our new faculty develop context-specific skills in a
timely, coordinated manner across the academic year, we conducted a needs
assessment to identify faculty competencies not addressed by other
institutional teams. Program implementation is underway in AY2025-2026, with
a cohort size of 8 new faculty. The expertise chart and needs assessment were
created through informal polling and discussion among the established
faculty. Informal feedback was gathered from program participants via
discussion.
RESULTS: Our needs assessment identified the following topic areas for
onboarding sessions: Department & Campus Culture, Student Engagement
& Advising, Assessment, Teaching & Learning Support, Medical
Education Content, Teaching Resources, Research and Scholarship Support,
Faculty Evaluations, Service & Governance, Course Directing,
Communication & Conflict Resolution, Work-Life Balance & Wellness,
and Professional Development Support. Sessions completed have successfully
delivered curated, department-specific expertise to the faculty new to the
department. Slidesets and other materials are gathered to inform program
revisions and future creation of an IAMSE toolkit. Difficulties encountered
included presenting some information too late.
CONCLUSION: Coordinated efforts between Biomedical Sciences, Professional
Development, and Human Resources for onboarding new faculty to their roles
and our curriculum has been effective and timely. We are planning revisions
to the session schedule to better accommodate just-in-time training needs.
Ongoing development of a comprehensive survey instrument will enable
collection of formal feedback from all participants following the last
session, in June, 2026.