A Case-Based Approach to Chair Development

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Creative approaches to chair development are needed, especially for new college of medicine chairs who confront a host of unique challenges when they assume their roles. This resource was developed and implemented to provide a case-based approach to chair development for a new chairs' retreat. Methods This resource contains the four cases, each of which was developed and facilitated by a content expert who was an experienced chair or a senior dean. Small groups of new chairs plus one experienced chair discussed each case, and then came together to define the issues the case raised for the new chair, and possible approaches to solutions. Results A postretreat anonymous evaluation survey showed that the participants found the case-based structure of the retreat very valuable, the cases highly effective at promoting meaningful discussion, and the involvement of experienced chairs to be an important component. The participants' survey comments highlighted the opportunity for collegial and collaborative chair interactions as being the most valuable aspect of the retreat. Discussion Little has been written about chair development, thus highlighting the significance of the work. The development of the retreat was based on evidence from educational research that suggests that people learn best in an interactive format, and that relationship building is key to creating effective leadership teams.

Keywords

• Education
• Case-Based
• Chair Development
• Case-Based Training