The Asilomar Conference: Faculty Development as Continuous Quality Improvement

1
The Asilomar Conference Faculty Development as
Continuous Quality Improvement

• Mona Bernstein, MPH
• Deputy Director,
• Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center

2
Overview

• Purpose of annual faculty development conference
• Planning process
• Benefits and challenges of bringing diverse,
  multidisciplinary clinical trainers together
• Results

3
PAETC Background

• AETCs training, clinical consultation, technical
  assistance, mentoring and other capacity building
  activities for HIV/AIDS clinical care providers
  to ensure high quality services
• 4 state region California, Arizona, Nevada,
  Hawaii, and 6 Pacific Island Jurisdictions
• Faculty are typically clinicians with extensive
  HIV treatment and management experience

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Why Faculty Development?

• Develops AETC identity and understanding among
  faculty acculturation
• Ensures quality of training most current content
  and effective presentation skills
• Opportunity to address areas of faculty needs
• Opportunity to showcase outstanding local programs

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Faculty Development Background

• 15 years experience providing annual faculty
  development conferences
• Clinical updates training skills program
  planning skills participatory methods
• Provide CMEs and CEUs
• NW AETC joined in 2001, adding faculty from 5
  more states
• Prevention Training Centers, Regional Training
  Centers, and Francis J. Curry National TB Center
  joined in 2002

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Important Features

• Held at beautiful, remote, rustic conference
  facility
• Plenary and break-out sessions
• Conference costs covered by Central Office

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Important Features

• Offers free time to network and schedule other
  meetings
• Participants receive conference syllabus or
  CD-ROM
• Includes social time

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Conference Planning

• Starts 9 months in advance
• Includes representatives from ALL Training
  Centers and LPSs
• Address faculty needs from previous conferences
  evaluation
• Address Federal requirements and guidance
• Address changing epidemic
• Address new priorities

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Conference Planning

• Identify conference theme
• Identify keynote speaker for opening night
• Identify great faculty (word of mouth)
• Planning Committee identifies session objectives
  for faculty be sure to get what you want

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Result

• 3-day highly interactive, team building,
  networking and quality improvement conference
• Use of experimental methodologies Town Halls,
  Debates, World Café, Videotaping/ Feedback

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Challenges

• Mix of faculty and program staff
• Varying levels of experience and expertise
• Information updates vs. skill building components
• The right mix of plenary vs. break out sessions
• The right mix of clinical focus and program focus
• Protecting FREE TIME

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Findings

• High point of the year for many repeat
  attendance
• 120 140 participants attend every year, even
  with budget cuts
• Perk for volunteer faculty
• Conference setting and facility is critical to
  establishing the right atmosphere to achieve
  goals

13
Evaluation

• Program Evaluation Form process evaluation and
  needs assessment for next conference
• You never please all the people all the time!
• Outcome Evaluation Form plans to integrate new
  skills and information into practice
• 3-month Post-Conference Evaluation experience
  integrating skills and information

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Results

• Participants do use new skills and information in
  both clinical care and training responsibilities
• Participants do share new information with
  colleagues
• What they use information from clinical updates

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More Results

• What they use skills
• interactive training techniques
• integrate humor into training
• address multiple learning types
• use Powerpoint more effectively
• use case studies/stories
• Regular faculty development conferences is an
  efficient mechanism for improving training skills
  and ensuring content is current