“Medical Education with Coffee” – a Brief Report of an Experience for Faculty Development

ABSTRACT Faculty development is needed if medical schools are to adapt to the intense and constant changes taking place in the world, and in society. Initiatives for faculty development should go beyond workshops, evolving into communities of practice. To incorporate the principles of medical education into all levels of the curriculum, from planning through to assessment, the assimilation of faculty development is needed, including in informal scenarios. To this end, Botucatu School of Medicine of the Universidade Estadual Paulista created “medical education with coffee”, a morning meeting that is held twice a month to discuss theoretical approaches to medical education that supports the practices and research of the institutional center for educational support. The meetings are similar to the traditional journal clubs for undergraduate and residency programs, except that they are specially geared towards medical education. The success of these meetings lies in their capacity to develop faculty, in a cozy and informal environment. Based on reports of improvements in teaching practices around the world due to similar initiatives, we encourage other Brazilian medical schools to adopt of medical education journal clubs, and to share their results.