Continuous Professional Development Activity Practices and Challenges among Medical Science Educators in their Early Academic Career

Background: Continuous professional development (CPD) practices improve professional expertise. The practices are affected by different factors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the CPD activity practices and challenges among medical science educators in their early academic careers. Materials and methods: One hundred ninety-five medical educators from all departments in the School of Medicine and School who teach medical students have participated in this study. Proportional allocation and simple random sampling techniques were used to select each participant from each department. Socio-demographic and other data were collected using self-administered pretested questionnaires. A points Likert scale was used to assess the extent of participants’ agreement on different issues. Data were entered and processed using SPSS version 25.0. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA were also used to determine parameter mean differences between groups. Results: Participants’ attitude toward the CPD activity practices was above the mean (mean: 3.92). It was significantly affected by academic rank and monthly salary (t (193) =-2.33, p= .02 and t (193) =-2.21, p=.03, respectively). However, the level of participants' engagement in the CPD activity practices was medium (mean: 2.90) and was affected by academic rank (t (193) = -3.06; p =.003), monthly salary (t (193) = -2.84; p=.005), educational experiences (F (3,191) = 4.22; p = .006), support from senior mentors (F(3,191) = 4.84;p = .003), support from institution (F(3,191) = 9.03; p = .000), support from departments (F(3,191) = 4.39;p =.005) and participants attitude level (F(2, 192) = 4.66;p = .012). Support from mentors (mean: 2.57), Departments (mean: 2.67), and College (mean: 2.33) were low, medium, and low, respectively. Institutional-related challenges were a strong predictor for low CPD activity practices than personal-related challenges (3.36 .82 Vs 2.73.69; t (194) = 9.04; p=.000). Conclusion: Although participants had a positive attitude toward the CPD activities, their practices were medium and affected by institutional-related challenges. Support from senior mentors, College, and department heads are required to improve CPD practices.