Sustained change in didactic skills--does teacher training last?

Teacher training programmes are necessary assets in faculty development. Few data exist on their long-term effects on participants' teaching skills. Our aim was to study participants' didactic competencies up to four years after attending a newly established faculty development workshop at Hamburg Medical School. Of the 322 participants who attended our teacher training between 2006 and 2009, 313 received a self-assessment and evaluation questionnaire in 2010. This follow-up self-assessment (t2) was compared with their self-assessment of the same didactic competencies before (t0) and directly after (t1) the training. Correlations between participants' personal reasons to attend the workshop and their assessment of didactic competencies were investigated. Self-assessment was significantly higher at the time of follow-up (t2) for all cohorts compared to the assessment before the workshop (t0). Personal reasons for participation differed greatly between voluntary and mandatory. However, self-assessment of the didactic competencies (t2) was not different between these groups. Participants involved in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) rated their competency in this field higher than participants without OSCE involvement. In conclusion, teacher training can be effective in the long run even when participation is mandatory. Competencies seem to be retained best when the content of the training fits participants' teaching activities.