{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T13:21:15Z","timestamp":1787664075424,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Ubiquity Press, Ltd.","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Perspect Med Educ"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Academic health centers have invested in academies to promote health professions education scholarship, yet many struggle to sustain vibrant scholarly communities. We aimed to identify practices that support their development and long-term sustainability.\nMethods: Using a constructivist approach, we conducted a qualitative interview study in 2025 with leaders from all four geographic regions of the U.S. Inclusion criteria required that participants direct an academy or analogous institutional structure intended to promote educational scholarship, and that they could speak to building and sustaining this community in their local context. The Communities of Practice (CoP) framework informed interview guide development and data interpretation.\nResults: Twenty-one academy leaders described five interrelated forms of leadership work that shaped sustainable scholarly communities: (1) building foundations that legitimize educational scholarship by securing institutional investment, leadership buy-in, and succession planning; (2) cultivating scholarly sanctuary to counter isolation through psychologically safe, inclusive communities; (3) making scholarship feasible under constraints by creating low-barrier entry points, translating value to leaders, and addressing barriers; (4) tending growth through layered, incremental development, including cohort programs, consultation, mentoring, grants, and flexible participation; and (5) making educational scholarship visible and valued through recognition, dissemination, and outcome tracking.\nDiscussion: Viewed through the CoP framework, the themes illuminate how leaders cultivated a shared domain of legitimate educational scholarship, a community of relational support, and a practice of tools, routines, and developmental infrastructure. The themes also reveal that sustainable communities of practice do not emerge from any single academy model, but from context-sensitive alignment of structure, culture, and incentives.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5334\/pme.3131","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T12:35:35Z","timestamp":1787661335000},"page":"675-686","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Building and Sustaining Scholarly Communities in Health Professions Education: Lessons from U.S. Academies"],"prefix":"10.5334","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2661-7853","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anthony R.","family":"Artino, Jr.","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4328-5766","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zareen","family":"Zaidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5330-8891","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farida","family":"Izzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3071-6653","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shazia","family":"Samanani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0299-3961","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Navin","family":"Sampathkumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1542-029X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahdeah","family":"Pajoohesh-Ganji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"3285","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"key20260825123527_B1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"609","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-18-00825.1","article-title":"The Practical Value of Educational Theory for Learning and Teaching in Graduate Medical Education","volume":"10","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Grad Med Educ"},{"issue":"9756","key":"key20260825123527_B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1923","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(10)61854-5","article-title":"Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world","volume":"376","year":"2010","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20260825123527_B3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000004896","article-title":"Faculty Development and Infrastructure to Support Educational Scholarship: A Scoping Review on Author Development","volume":"98","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"6","key":"key20260825123527_B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"893","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000002625","article-title":"Boyer and Beyond: An Interview Study of Health Professions Education Scholarship Units in the United States and a Synthetic Framework for Scholarship at the Unit Level","volume":"94","year":"2019","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"10","key":"key20260825123527_B5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1476","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000004161","article-title":"Academies in Health Professions Education: A Scoping Review","volume":"96","year":"2021","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20260825123527_B6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1007\/s10459-013-9479-z","article-title":"Key considerations for the success of Medical Education Research and Innovation units in Canada: unit director perceptions","volume":"19","year":"2014","journal-title":"Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20260825123527_B7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0b013e3181c4846b","article-title":"The prevalence and practice of academies of medical educators: a survey of U.S. medical schools","volume":"85","year":"2010","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"9","key":"key20260825123527_B8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000005762","article-title":"Where Do We Go From Here? An Inventory of Publicly Available Data About Educator Academies, Medical Education Departments, and Offices of Medical Education","volume":"99","year":"2024","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"10","key":"key20260825123527_B9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1369","DOI":"10.1080\/0142159X.2024.2308783","article-title":"Barriers and facilitators to establishing a clinical academic career in clinical education research in the UK: A focus group study","volume":"46","year":"2024","journal-title":"Med Teach"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20260825123527_B10","article-title":"From hesitation to participation: a narrative review of facilitators and barriers for healthcare professionals\u2019 engagement in medical education research","volume":"25","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"issue":"8","key":"key20260825123527_B11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1145","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000001508","article-title":"The Impact of an Academy of Medical Educators on the Culture of an American Health Sciences Campus","volume":"92","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20260825123527_B12","article-title":"Reinvigorating an Academy of Medical Educators Using Ecological Systems Theory","volume":"14","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"issue":"8","key":"key20260825123527_B13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1138","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000001570","article-title":"The Academic RVU: Ten Years Developing a Metric for and Financially Incenting Academic Productivity at Oregon Health & Science University","volume":"92","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"8","key":"key20260825123527_B14","first-page":"e280","article-title":"Writing for publication in medical education: the benefits of a faculty development workshop and peer writing group","volume":"30","year":"2008","journal-title":"Med Teach"},{"issue":"11","key":"key20260825123527_B15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000006191","article-title":"The House of the MedEdSCHOLARs: Designing Supportive Environments for Medical Education Scholarship","volume":"100","year":"2025","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"7","key":"key20260825123527_B16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1029","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0b013e318294f368","article-title":"Mentoring programs for physicians in academic medicine: a systematic review","volume":"88","year":"2013","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"11S","key":"key20260825123527_B17","first-page":"S149","article-title":"Impact of a Regional Grant Program Through the Lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory: A Mixed-Method Evaluation","volume":"98","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"key":"key20260825123527_B18","volume-title":"Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity","year":"1998"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20260825123527_B19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1177\/135050840072002","article-title":"Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems","volume":"7","year":"2000","journal-title":"Organization"},{"issue":"3\u20134","key":"key20260825123527_B20","first-page":"9","article-title":"Critical Constructivism for Teaching and Learning in a Democratic Society","volume":"42","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Thought"},{"issue":"13","key":"key20260825123527_B21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1753","DOI":"10.1177\/1049732315617444","article-title":"Sample Size in Qualitative Interview Studies: Guided by Information Power","volume":"26","year":"2016","journal-title":"Qual Health Res"},{"issue":"5","key":"key20260825123527_B22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"607","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-21-00752.1","article-title":"Beyond the Guise of Saturation: Rigor and Qualitative Interview Data","volume":"13","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Grad Med Educ"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20260825123527_B23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","article-title":"Using thematic analysis in psychology","volume":"3","year":"2006","journal-title":"Qual Res Psychol"},{"issue":"4","key":"key20260825123527_B24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"358","DOI":"10.1097\/00001888-200504000-00012","article-title":"The emergence of academies of educational excellence: a survey of U.S. medical schools","volume":"80","year":"2005","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"7","key":"key20260825123527_B25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"755","DOI":"10.1111\/medu.13334","article-title":"Exploring the institutional logics of health professions education scholarship units","volume":"51","year":"2017","journal-title":"Med Educ"},{"key":"key20260825123527_B26","article-title":"Communities of practice to facilitate change in health professions education: A realist synthesis","volume":"134","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nurse Educ Today"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20260825123527_B27","first-page":"61","article-title":"Do communities of practice enhance faculty development?","volume":"2","year":"2016","journal-title":"Heal Prof Educ"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20260825123527_B28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"619","DOI":"10.5811\/westjem.2018.1.36752","article-title":"The Uphill Battle of Performing Education Scholarship: Barriers Educators and Education Researchers Face","volume":"19","year":"2018","journal-title":"West J Emerg Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20260825123527_B29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"430","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-14-00340.1","article-title":"Expertise, Time, Money, Mentoring, and Reward: Systemic Barriers That Limit Education Researcher Productivity\u2014Proceedings From the AAMC GEA Workshop","volume":"6","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Grad Med Educ"},{"key":"key20260825123527_B30","article-title":"Undergraduate medical education: thoughts on future challenges","volume":"2","year":"2002","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"issue":"6","key":"key20260825123527_B31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1016\/j.acap.2019.05.004","article-title":"Medical Education Journal Club for the Millennial Resident: An Interactive, No-Prep Approach","volume":"19","year":"2019","journal-title":"Acad Pediatr"}],"container-title":["Perspectives on Medical Education"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3131\/files\/6a8d8bf79df04.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3131\/files\/6a8d8c0c07acc.xml","content-type":"text\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3131\/files\/6a8d8c252af24.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3131\/files\/6a8d8bf79df04.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T12:42:32Z","timestamp":1787661752000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/10.5334\/pme.3131"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5334\/pme.3131","relation":{},"ISSN":["2212-277X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2212-277X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]}}}