Several initiatives in the Department of Medicine are helping junior faculty navigate the ins and outs of career development and promotion, which can often be overshadowed by competing demands on the time of academic physicians.
“Understanding the path to promotion is one of the leading faculty development issues in academic medicine,” says Vice Chair for Academic Affairs Benjamin Suratt, M.D. One key change has put this issue at the forefront: the rise of the clinical educator, or what UVM terms the clinical scholar pathway. While the traditional tenure track faculty member is typically evaluated by the volume of their research publications and external grant funding, moving up through the clinical scholar pathway hinges on demonstrating excellence in teaching, service and scholarship in a combination unique to the individual. This shift has made guidance on career development even more important.
“The overall focus of our work is to help junior faculty understand what they need for promotion,” says Laurie Leclair, M.D., an associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who until recently was chair of the department’s Faculty Development Committee. “Mentorship is essential to successful promotion.”
Academic medical centers across the country struggle to foster meaningful mentoring relationships, says Suratt, and results from a survey of junior faculty in the Department of Medicine mirrored this national trend. According to the survey, many junior faculty either lacked a formal mentor, or didn’t fully understand the role a mentor should play, labeling their identified mentor as an “acceptor” or “friend,” as opposed to descriptors more closely tied to career development, like “coach” or “promoter.”
To help address these issues, the department recently created a mentoring pilot program to match junior faculty with more senior members. The focus is on career development: Mentees and mentors are expected to meet regularly throughout the year to check in on progress toward achieving goals they set. Key to the effort is the integration of the mentor with the annual review process. Goals and objectives set by the mentor and mentee are considered during the annual review meeting with the division chief, which the mentor attends.
“By making this more formal, with clear and defined responsibilities for the mentors, my hope is to help them be more effective and engaged,” says Suratt.
Although the effort is in its beginning stages – all 84 junior faculty received mentor assignments in early 2015 – the mentoring program promises to help junior faculty understand and meet milestones for promotion. It also stands to enrich the experience of more senior faculty who have knowledge to share.
“Good mentors actually enjoy it; it’s a whole different level of play,” says Suratt. Mentor and mentee pairs have started to meet, and are reporting positive effects as a result of the program.
“For me the best part of having a mentor is knowing someone has my back, whether for support or simply answering questions,” says Kim Dittus, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Hematology /Oncology. She’s paired with Philip Ades, M.D., a professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
The Faculty Development Committee continues to be a way for junior faculty across the department to connect. The group generally meets monthly, with conversations around different topics of interest.
And the newly formed Teaching Academy at the College of Medicine – which offers workshops, retreats, and awards fellowships – will be another way to create connections between faculty who have a particular passion for teaching and mentoring. Ultimately, the goal is to foster leadership in the next generation of faculty, ensuring the Department of Medicine continues to have a firm foundation for the future.
The message is: “We’re thinking of you and want you to be successful” says Leclair.