Developing Effective Clinical Trainers

Continuing education and training provides a means to improveperformance among health care professionals (HCP). Research shows, however, thatcontinuing professional education activities have inconsistent effects on HCPcompetence, performance, and patient health outcomes. Furthermore, the trainer’s role asa facilitator of knowledge translation (KT) has been understudied. To understand howclinical trainers support their trainees in translating what they learned into practice,we conducted 16 in-depth interviews with expert trainers. These interviews yielded avariety of KT-enhancing strategies, including tailoring training activities to theirtrainees’ needs. In addition, participants recommended trainers familiarize themselveswith their trainees’ work environments, be able to identify their knowledge deficits,and devote time to provide trainees with post-training support. Creating an effectivetraining, one that leads to transfer, requires active planning, communication, andcommand of the training topic by skilled trainers