Findings Associated With a Novel Program Designed to Support Indigenous Faculty Members of U.S. Health Professions Schools

Abstract

Purpose: Recent studies on programs designed to support Indigenous faculty are lacking. Expanding numbers of successful Indigenous health faculty could help to improve delivery of culturally appropriate/responsive health care for Indigenous people. Methods: We enrolled nine American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) faculty participants in 2017 and 53 in 2018 in an Indigenous Faculty Forum (IFF). We provided instruction on academic advancement, addressed unique cultural considerations, and fostered networking and ongoing career support for AIAN faculty. We used a post-session survey, including the 22-item Diversity and Engagement Survey (DES) and focus groups, to assess initial reactions to the program and a follow-up survey to assess change at 1 year. Findings: Participants in both IFF sessions were predominantly female, most often aged 35–44 and from primary care disciplines. Two faculty members rose to a higher rank during the 1-year follow-up period. Findings from the DES illustrated that Common Purpose, Equitable Reward and Recognition, Cultural Competence, Trust, a Sense of Belonging, and Appreciation of Individual Attributes increased slightly from post-session to 1 year. The greatest change was for Respect, which increased from a mean of 3.42 (SD = 0.77) to 3.76 (SD = 0.67), p = .05. Focus group findings revealed that mentoring that includes the cultural perspectives of AIAN is lacking, as is respect for these faculty from the academic community, though survey findings showed respect improved over time. Conclusions: More tailored work is needed to support AIAN in U.S. academic settings if they are to achieve academic success and become role models for others entering academic settings.