695 - Becoming an Educational Leader and Scholar: Preliminary Findings of a Novel Longitudinal Program for Pediatric Fellows

Publication Number: 2678.695

Kimberly O'Hara, Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver, CO, United States; Sonja I. Ziniel, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Franktown, CO, United States; Nicolle Dyess, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States; tai Lockspeiser, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States; Tom Parker, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States; Angela S. Czaja, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States

Background: Subspecialty fellows committed to medical education often struggle in educator identity formation and scholarly pursuits due to siloed experiences and variable access to mentors. We developed and implemented a novel 2-year program, Subspecialty Excellence in Educational Leadership and Scholarship (SEELS), to support professional identity formation and educational scholarship and leadership skills in fellows.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a medical education training program on pediatric subspecialty fellows' educator knowledge, skills, and identity

Design/Methods: SEELS was developed based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), with educational strategies including monthly instructional sessions, conduct of a scholarly project, faculty and peer mentorship, and engagement in educator communities of practice. Educational content focused on professional and leadership development and educational research. To evaluate SEELS, surveys were administered at baseline, 12 months, and after program graduation. Survey questions focused on 7 domains within the SCCT framework: educator identity, self-efficacy, learning experiences, contextual influences, actions, outcome expectations, and goals. Data were analyzed by calculating mean change in agreement for survey items from the baseline.

Results: The first SEELS cohort (4 fellows) began in August 2023 and graduated in May 2025; the second cohort (4 fellows) began in August 2024 and is ongoing. Demographics are shown in Table 1, with 6 subspecialties represented. After 12 months, all fellows had conducted an educational research project and reported positive impact on their educator identity, competence (self-efficacy), professional direction (actions, goals), networks (contextual influences), and communities of practice (Figure 1). The largest growth was in educator identity and self-efficacy, notably in skills/knowledge for rigorous educational scholarship, accessing local resources, and disseminating one's work. Self-perceptions as a leader, role model, and engagement at the national level were lower at baseline and had the smallest change (Figure 1). After program completion, fellows reported continued growth with the greatest change in educator identity and self-efficacy measures (Figure 2).

Conclusion(s): Based on our first two cohorts, fellow participation in SEELS resulted in positive impact in multiple domains of the SCCT framework, particularly in educator identity formation and competence in educational scholarship. Additional evaluation with future cohorts and exploring how to improve role modeling and leadership identity will be important.

Table 1: Self-Reported Demographic and Medical Education-Related Characteristics of Program Participants prior to the start of SEELS (n=8)


Figure 1: Mean change in agreement of SEELS fellows between mean baseline and 12-months scores for the seven SCCT domains (n=8). Agreement was measured on a 6-point scale (1= Strongly Disagree to 6=Strongly Agree). The bars represent the mean change, and the grey bars highlight educator identity and self-efficacy measures.


Figure 2: Mean change in agreement of SEELS fellows between mean baseline and after program graduation scores for the seven SCCT domains (n=4). Agreement was measured on a 6-point scale (1= Strongly Disagree to 6=Strongly Agree). The bars represent the mean change, and the grey bars highlight educator identity and self-efficacy measures.