Is faculty development critical to enhance teaching effectiveness?

India has the highest number of medical colleges in the world and, consequently, the highest number of medical teachers. The unprecedented growth of medical institutions in India in the past two decades has led to a shortage of teachers and created a quality challenge for medical education. In recent years, though medical advances have been understood and adopted by many institutions, the same is not true for educational planning and implementation. There is a need for well-trained faculty who will help improve programs to produce quality graduates. The existing teachers' training programs are insufficient; both in number and aspects they cover, to meet this demand. Provision of faculty development related to teaching and assessment strategies is widely perceived to be the essential ingredient in the efforts to introduce new curricular approaches and modify the educational environment in academic medicine. Analyses of the outcomes of efforts to revise health professions curricula have identified the availability and effectiveness of faculty development as a predictor of the success or failure of reform initiatives. This article will address faculty development for the purpose of enhancing teaching effectiveness and preparing instructors for potential new roles associated with curriculum changes.