Background/Purpose: It has been previously demonstrated that educators do not receive the same recognition as their colleagues in clinical and basic science, and financial support for education research is often inadequate. With this in mind, in 2011 the Academy of Rheumatology Medical Educators was founded at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in order to: 1) create a stimulating academic environment for educators that enhances the quality of teaching and 2) award pilot grants to educators interested in research.

Methods: Directed fund-raising was earmarked specifically for annually awarded education grants to serve as a hospital wide impetus for the development of new teaching programs and curricular change through new or improved opportunities for teaching and learning. A request for proposals (RFP) was sent out yearly from 2011-2016 to the HSS rheumatology faculty. One year the RFP was extended to the entire hospital offering matching funds with departments such as nursing and anesthesia. Grants of up to $50,000 a year were awarded to applications with merit that met the requisite funding priorities. All grants were reviewed and scored according to Glassick’s criteria for scholarship by individuals nationally recognized for their education expertise and reviewed by the HSS Education Council, which provides ongoing oversight of the Academy’s activities.

Results: To date, 23 grants have been awarded for a total of $ 690,695 in funding. The awardees have produced 19 national meeting abstracts, given 24 presentations (11 posters, 13 oral) at national meetings and written 7 manuscripts (5 published, 2 submitted) and 2 editorials. Funding has resulted in the creation of 8 unique curricula and two iBooks. Diverse topics have been represented such as the assessment of professionalism, new pedagogical techniques for teaching epidemiology to fellows, use of technology in education, an inter-professional gout education program for patients and a hospital based mentorship program.

Conclusion: The HSS Rheumatology Academy aims to create a stimulating academic educational environment that enhances the quality of teaching and promotes teaching careers and education research. The formation of the education research funding pilot highlights the talents of heretofore unsupported and unrecognized teaching faculty by allowing them to distinguish themselves academically. This emphasizes the clear advantages of such a formalized structure to achieve the hospital’s heightened educational goals and demonstrates the importance of recognizing the quality of education research as equivalent with clinical and basic science research.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/hospital-for-special-surgery-academy-of-rheumatology-medical-educators-5-year-outcomes-demonstrate-the-value-of-supporting-education-research-in-the-academic-environment/