Abstract
Introduction Narrative assessments are increasingly important in medical education, especially following the transition of USMLE Step 1 to pass/fail. However, these assessments are often of variable quality and may contain subjective language, potentially impacting career opportunities for affected students. To address this, two medical schools implemented faculty development workshops aimed at improving the quality of narrative evaluations. Methods Two institutions conducted two one-hour faculty development workshops—one in the Midwest and one in the Southeast. Workshops included teaching evidence-based strategies to identify and reduce biased language, encouraging use of competency-based descriptors, and providing opportunities to practice editing and writing sample narratives. Workshops were delivered in-person and virtually, incorporating interactive activities and guided discussions. Evaluation strategies included retrospective pre-post surveys assessing knowledge, confidence, and intended behavior change. Results At the Midwest institution, 38 faculty participated, with 22 completed evaluations. Results show significant increases in confidence applying bias mitigation strategies (e.g., 14% to 68% in writing unbiased narratives,
p
= 0.001). The Southeast institution had 78 participants, with 13 completing full surveys. Results show increased confidence across all strategies, (e.g., a 16%-point increase in focusing on competencies and outcomes). Satisfaction with the workshops was high at both sites. Discussion The workshops effectively increased faculty awareness and confidence in writing equitable, quality narrative assessments. Areas for development include more practice time and the inclusion of constructive feedback examples. Future directions include expanding training to residents and addressing students’ co-occurring identities. Ongoing engagement with content is essential for sustained impact.