What do trainers think about trainer training courses?

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the training-of-trainer courses given to medical school faculty members, and to ensure the standardisation of training.. Methods: The study comprised faculty members attending seven training-of-trainer courses held at the Ataturk University, Turkey, from November 2010 to May 2011. Tests were administered to the participants evaluating their level of knowledge on course content before and after the five-day course, which covered topics including concepts of teaching/learning, curriculum development, assessment and evaluation, training methods, and training skills. Oral and written feedbacks were obtained from all participants on the last day of each course. Volunteers from among the participants evaluated the impact of training through a questionnaire after at least two months. SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 136 faculty members participated in the 7 training-of-trainer courses. The mean scores for the pretest and post-test were 6.6 +/- 2.2 vs. 13.9 +/- 3.7, (p<0.001). Questions with highest percentage of correct answers in the pre-test were those about learning style 78 (70.9%) and the one about presentation skills (66.4%). Conclusion: A structured training-of-trainer course is effective in increasing faculty members level of knowledge about training. Such programmes are necessary for faculty members who work in the academic field without receiving formal training in teaching as it is the case with medical education in several countries.