“Exploring educators’ adaptive expertise: Faculty development for Healthcare Technologists”

Healthcare Technologist (HT) educators operate in complex educational environments at the intersection of advanced technology and patient care. Despite the pedagogical demands of their role, many HT educators enter teaching without formal training in education. This creates a mismatch between the pedagogical responsibilities they are expected to assume and the preparation available to support them. To address this gap, this study explores how HT educators develop their teaching capabilities, examining their experiences through the lens of adaptive expertise (AE). A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 40 HT educators involved in university-level education and clinical training in the Italian context. Participants were recruited through a criterion-based, network-mediated open invitation with voluntary self-selection. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis, followed by an AE-informed interpretive reading. Preparedness for teaching was consistently described as an evolving outcome rather than a prerequisite for entering educational roles. Participants reported developing teaching competence through adaptive processes including experiential learning, reflective practice, observation of colleagues, and iterative refinement of strategies in response to learner needs and contextual constraints. Participants’ accounts showed how adaptive processes helped educators translate clinical reasoning, ethical commitment, and situational judgement into flexible, learner-centred pedagogical practices. These adaptive practices also functioned as compensatory responses to structural limitations (resource scarcity, fragmented infrastructure, competing clinical responsibilities), supporting pedagogical continuity while also generating personal strain. The findings suggest that AE can inform faculty development for HT educators by supporting the adaptive capabilities through which teaching competence develops in practice. However, individual adaptability should not be expected to compensate for inadequate resources or institutional support. Faculty development should therefore be accompanied by protected teaching time, adequate infrastructure, and formal recognition of educational responsibilities.