Faculty Development

Departmental Appointment, Promotions and Tenure Committee Members

Faculty Mentoring Program

Purpose

The continued success and growth of the Department of Anesthesiology depends on the advancement and professional development of faculty. One significant indicator of academic advancement is promotion in rank (Assistant Professor to Associate Professor; Associate Professor to Professor). Promotion is based on several possible components: clinical service (when relevant); research funding; teaching contributions; publications; and citizenship including service to the campus and broader academic and clinical community.

Goals

Faculty development is a continuous process that does not end with the initial faculty appointment. Junior faculty members face a number of challenges including developing a clinical focus, learning how to become excellent educators, publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts and research, obtaining funding and attracting excellent trainees and learning how to mentor them. Traditionally, junior faculty members have been mentored, informally, by senior faculty. In addition to this method which will continue, the Department of Anesthesiology has designed a formal mechanism by which junior faculty members will work with a Mentoring Committee to design and achieve the goal of faculty advancement. The aims of this program are: i) to ensure that junior faculty members desiring promotion have identified appropriate goals and designed a development plan that will lead to professional advancement; ii) have the resources necessary to achieve these goals and implement the development plan; and iii) have ready access to identified mentors who have agreed to provide additional help when needed.

More established, mid-level, faculty face challenges in order to be eligible to advance to Professor: of needing to continue to publish; strengthening their teaching portfolio; renewing funding; expanding their regional reputation to the national and international arena; and taking on leadership roles within the institution and in national/international specialty societies.

The key outcome/expectation for each junior faculty clinician-educator mentee is the successful advancement to Associate Professor. The key outcome/expectation for each junior faculty research-intensive mentee is the successful advancement to Associate Professor, which requires obtaining significant external funding.

The key outcome/expectation for each mid-level faculty clinician-educator mentee is the successful advancement to Professor. The key outcome/expectation for each mid-level faculty research-intensive mentee is the successful advancement to Professor, which requires a significant track record of external funding, usually including renewal of competitive, federal grants.

Structure

The structure of this program is as follows:

1. A Faculty Mentoring Steering Committee (FMSC) will oversee all mentoring activities of the Department. A faculty member desiring promotion will indicate their interest in participating in the mentoring process; such participation is voluntary and not required of any faculty.
2. The FMSC will choose a mentoring Chair for each faculty member interested in mentoring at the Assistant Professor level. The Faculty Mentor is chosen from faculty having a rank of Associate or Full Professor from a list of nominees provided by the mentee.
3. Together, the mentee and mentor will choose two additional faculty members (total 3 members) to constitute a Mentoring Committee. Faculty at the Associate Professor level will choose from Committee members at the Professorial level. Together, the mentee and mentor will choose two additional faculty members (Professors, total 3 members) to constitute a Mentoring Committee. These latter two members may come from other Schools of Medicine or other departments within the University of Maryland School of Medicine. They are selected based on relevant professional or scientific expertise.
4. The Mentee is responsible for scheduling bi-annual meetings of the Mentoring Committee. The purpose of these meetings is to:
   • Discuss progress on professional activities;
   • Identify opportunities for institutional citizenship such as service on departmental, UMMC or SOM committees;
   • Identify opportunities for service to the broader academic and clinical community;
   • Help with and advise on manuscript preparation and publication;
   • Help with and advise on presentations at regional, national or international meetings, including helping find opportunities for such presentations
   • Develop strategies for obtaining grant funding (as appropriate), including reviewing submissions, and providing critiques of draft submissions and resubmissions,
   • Identifying reasonable and appropriate resource requirements needed to implement the development plan and other issues indicated by the mentee.
   • Goals will be set for the next 6-12 months and the Chair of the Faculty Mentor Committee will provide a brief write-up (using the Anesthesiology Mentee Assessment Tool) summarizing this discussion. The Chair of the Mentor Committee is also responsible for making recommendations to the FMSC and department Chair regarding resources that are needed to facilitate career development of the mentee, filing copies of this 6-month assessment tool with the Vice-Chair for Faculty Development and the Faculty Services Office for archive on ATLAS
   • Reviewing and advising on grant submissions, specific aims, etc.
5. By accepting the position of Chair of individual mentoring committees, the senior faculty member agrees to make every effort to read and comment on all manuscripts and grant applications prepared by the mentee prior to submission.
6. The Mentee agrees to provide materials for review in a timely manner and in consideration of other commitments of the Faculty Mentor Chair. Providing these materials well in advance of submission deadlines will ensure that the Faculty Mentor can provide optimal support.
7. All members of the committee will also review these materials.
8. The Mentee is strongly encouraged to seek advice from any member of the committee whenever needed.
9. Progress reports are reviewed by the FMSC. The mentoring committee for each faculty member is renewed or reformulated on a six-month basis.
10. The Mentoring Committee for each junior faculty member is terminated upon successful promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. The faculty member can request a new mentoring committee to guide advancement towards Professor.
11. The Mentoring Committee is one aspect of professional guidance. The mentee is encouraged to seek additional guidance beyond their Mentoring Committee from mentors within or outside of UMB as needed.
12. The FMSC will meet quarterly to oversee the mentoring process, discuss mentoring activities, review progress of the various mentees, provide support to the Mentors, and advise the Department Chair on Mentoring.

Teaching Scholars Workshop

Having effective teachers on staff is critical for a teaching hospital. However, in their traditional medical school and residency experiences, future faculty-clinicians seldom receive sufficient instruction on how to teach. To give junior faculty members the preparation and support they need to be superior instructors, the Department of Anesthesiology hosts a one-day Teaching Scholars Workshop every six months. Formal lectures are followed by small group discussions that pair experienced teachers with junior faculty. Topics addressed include lecturing to large groups, teaching small groups, and creating a teaching portfolio.

"The Teaching Scholars Workshop allows junior and senior faculty members to interact in didactic and small group settings, and provides opportunities for future mentorship," says Nancy Ryan Lowitt, M.D., Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs and Professional Development. "I look forward to seeing how the Dean’s Office can continue to support faculty development and educational leadership and scholarship."

"This workshop serves as pure enrichment for our junior faculty," adds Dr. Malinow. "Through these interactions, they can learn firsthand how to become competent, successful teachers."

Faculty Appointment, Promotion, & Tenure

The Department of Anesthesiology follows the UMSOM Policy and Procedures for Appointment, Promotion & Tenure.

A faculty member in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is hired into one of two academic tracks: the tenure track or non-tenure track. Both tracks include ranks of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. The granting of tenure implies a long-term commitment by the School and the faculty member.

Initial Appointment

The appointment of a new faculty member provides an opportunity for orientation to the culture of the Institution and Department, the requirements for practice and research, the promotion expectations, and more. Practices that have been useful in this setting include:

1. Faculty orientation and network introductions
2. Faculty Retreat
3. Formal programs for, among others, Resident as a Teacher, research orientations, training grant seminars, and others.
4. Annual Review with Chair of Department

Ongoing activities can and should be emphasized such as attendance at Departmental Grand Rounds, Faculty meetings, Divisional Meetings, and others. Among other orientation features are the necessity of maintaining CME for licensure, an easily met requirement if one is participatory in Department and Divisional activities.

Promotion

Each year the Chair of the Department’s APT Committee will invite faculty interested in consideration for promotion to provide their CV. The APT committee will review the CV and other supporting material and make a recommendation to the Chair of the Department.