Julie M. Koehler, Pharm.D.Julie M. Koehler, Pharm.D.

Associate Professor & ChairAssociate Professor & Chair

Department of Pharmacy Practice, Department of Pharmacy Practice,

Butler University, College of Pharmacy & Health SciencesButler University, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

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Clinical Pharmacist in Family Medicine, Clinical Pharmacist in Family Medicine,

Clarian Health, Department of PharmacyClarian Health, Department of Pharmacy

Indiana University-Methodist Family Medicine Residency Program, Indiana University-Methodist Family Medicine Residency Program,

Department of Family Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine

Finding the Pathway to Finding the Pathway to Academic Success as a Academic Success as a

Clinician-EducatorClinician-Educator

Learning Objectives

• Outline potential benefits and challenges associated with a career in academia.

• Explain the requirements for promotion and tenure that are relevant for clinician-educators.

• Discuss potential strategies that may be used to achieve success in the academic setting.

You want the truth?

The truth is…the “Pathway to Academic Success

as a Clinician-Educator” is not easily travelled.

First, you must decide:

“Is this pathway right for me? I know I want to be a

clinician, but do I want to be a ‘clinician-educator’?”

What is a clinician-educator?• “Traditional” medical and pharmacy college

faculty may hold “tenure-track” positions which place strong emphasis on scholarly activities.

• A clinician-educator may hold either a “tenure-track” or “non-tenure-track” position in which considerable faculty time is spent on providing clinical services and experiential education, while still:– Participating in didactic teaching– Providing service to the college/university– Performing scholarly activity

Draugalis JR et al. AJPE 2006; 70(1) Article 17. Jones RF. J Med Educ 1987;62:444-447.Parris M et al. J Med Educ 1984;59:465-470.

In other words, we clinician-educators do it all!

How is this possible?“BALANCE, Danielson!”

….AND understand what you’re getting yourself into!

Expectations of Faculty at Institutions of Higher Education: “The Big Three”

Scholarship: ?%

Service: ?%Teaching: ?%

Types of Pharmacy Practice Faculty Positions

Tenure-Track Non-Tenure-Track

•Teaching responsibilities may be more campus-based (e.g., coordinating core curricular courses)

•Scholarship requirements may be higher (e.g., quantitatively) and more original research may be required

•Specific time clock (e.g., 6-7 years) for promotion & tenure review

•Teaching responsibilities may be more site-based (e.g., experiential)

•Scholarship requirements may be lower (e.g., quantitatively) or of a different type

•May be no set time clock for promotion review

Adjunct = Volunteer or paid faculty with specific teaching responsibilities but no scholarship requirements; may or may not be eligible for “promotion””

FULLY FUNDED CO-FUNDED

•College/university pays 100% of the cost of salary plus benefits

•Service at practice site (if any) contractually determined

•College/university and practice sites share financial responsibility (e.g., each pays 50% of the cost of salary with or without benefits)

•Service at practice site required; should be documented or defined by contractual agreement between the college/institution and practice site

•May be more likely to be non-tenure-track or “clinical” track, depending on the institution

Types of Funding for Pharmacy Practice Faculty Positions

Titles: What’s your rank?

Assistant Professor

Instructor

Lecturer

Associate Professor

“JUNIOR” FACULTY

Professor “SENIOR” FACULTY

(with or without tenure)

NOTE: “Clinical” titles may be used to differentiate non-tenure-track faculty from tenure-track faculty at some institutions (e.g., “Clinical Assistant Professor”)

The Awarding of Promotion for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

• Process involves evaluation of the faculty member’s contributions toward the mission of the institution in the areas of TEACHING, SERVICE, and SCHOLARSHIP

• Non-tenure-track faculty are eligible for promotion ONLY (e.g., Assistant Professor Associate Professor)

• May be no deadline for application• Contracts for employment may be yearly or

multi-year

The Awarding of Promotion AND Tenure for Tenure-Track Faculty

• Process involves evaluation of the faculty member’s contributions toward the mission of the institution in the areas of TEACHING, SERVICE, and SCHOLARSHIP

• Tenure-track faculty are eligible for promotion AND tenure (e.g., Assistant Professor Associate Professor with Tenure)

• Always a deadline (e.g., 6-7 years) for application

The Meaning of Tenure

• The “ultimate peer recognition” • A long-term commitment by the institution

– Faculty member must have demonstrated good citizenship

– The institution must have reason to believe the faculty member will demonstrate continued or increased productivity

– Tenure is not necessarily “lifelong security”!

NOTE: Tenure is UNLIKELY to be awarded in the absence of peer-reviewed scholarship!

What is meant by “scholarship”?

• It is the advancement of knowledge

• It is the dissemination of information through presentation and/or publication, for “knowledge is of little value, unless it is disseminated” (AACP Commission to Implement Change in Pharmaceutical Education)

• Peer-review of scholarly work is KEY

Scholarship Redefined

Scholarship of Discovery

Scholarship of Integration

Scholarship of Application

Scholarship of Teaching

Boyer EL. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ, 1990.

Scholarship of Discovery• “Investigation or experimentation aimed at the

discovery and interpretation of the facts”

• Original research the creation of “new” knowledge

Boyer EL. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of

Teaching, Princeton, NJ, 1990.

Which of the following is an example of the scholarship of discovery:

a. Book chapter on a pharmacotherapy topic

b. Case report on an adverse drug reaction

c. Article describing the methodology and results of your clinical outcomes research

Scholarship of Integration• Organization of existing knowledge• “Bringing together disparate concepts and

principles and synthesizing them into a new perspective”

• Making connections across disciplines

Boyer EL. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ, 1990. Popovich NG, Abel SR. Am J Pharm Educ 2002; 66: 59-65.

Which of the following is an example of the scholarship of integration:

a. Review article on a pharmacotherapy topic

b. Case report on an adverse drug reaction

c. Article describing the development of a unique clinical service

Scholarship of Application• Sharing of “practical” knowledge (i.e., best

practices)

• “Previously discovered information is applied to solve problems and new insights and understanding results”

Boyer EL. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ, 1990. Popovich NG, Abel SR. Am J Pharm Educ 2002; 66: 59-65.

Which of the following is an example of the scholarship of application:

a. Book chapter on a pharmacotherapy topic

b. Case report on an adverse drug reaction

c. Article describing the methodology and results of your clinical outcomes research

Scholarship of Teaching• Pedagogical creativity, innovation, and research: “The

process of communicating knowledge in a way that enhances student learning and encourages lifelong learning”

• Teaching becomes scholarship when it is shared publicly, “open for evaluation, and presented in a form from which others can build”

Boyer EL. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ, 1990. Popovich NG, Abel SR. Am J Pharm Educ 2002; 66: 59-65.

Which of the following is an example of the scholarship of teaching:

a. Review article on a pharmacotherapy topic

b. Article describing your innovative teaching methodologies

c. Article describing the development of a unique clinical service

Variable Expectations by Institution

• The emphasis on teaching, service, and scholarship (including research) will vary among institutions (not just by position type)

• “Research-intensive”– emphasis on scholarship of discovery

• “Teaching-intensive”– emphasis on teaching/practice; scholarship

definition broad to include integration, application, teaching

The Variability of Expectations of the Institution: Finding a Good Match

Understanding the degree of emphasis will help you best match your abilities,

interests, and career goals with that of the institution…

A BASIC PRINCIPLE BY WHICH TO ABIDE:Good match = increased likelihood of success (and happiness*)

Bad match = decreased likelihood success (and happiness*)[*assuming success = happiness]

NOTE: ALL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION WILL EXPECT FACULTY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCIENTIFIC AND/OR PROFESSIONAL

BODY OF LITERATURE!

As you make your way along the path towards a successful start to your

academic career…

consider these tips:

1. Start by reassuring yourself that you’ve made a sound career choice!

2. Don’t wait to ask for a copy of the institution’s Promotion and Tenure guidelines!

3. When choosing your first job, think broadly and look to the future.

4. Know that opportunities for impacting patient care and educating students may not always be obvious or previously established.

“Go not where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Emerson

Tips for the Trail

4. Recognize that you don’t know everything there is to know today and that you never will… but continually strive to know more!

5. Recognize that you’ll make mistakes along the way. Everybody does!

6. Ask for critical evaluation and feedback about your teaching, service, and scholarly efforts.

7. Collaborate with your colleagues, both within your discipline and with other healthcare professionals who work outside of your discipline.

8. Recognize that travelling the pathway to academic success is like running a marathon.

Tips for the Trail

“Don’t think of it as failure; think of it as time-released success.”

- Robert Orben

8. Find (and be) a good mentor.

9. Double- and triple-dip for success in scholarship!

10. Do your best to BALANCE, and become a little comfortable with “constant pull”.

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby

Tips for the Trail

On the Topic of Balance…“Imagine life as a game in which you are

juggling some five balls in the air. You name them:

and you are keeping all of these in the air.”

WORK

FRIENDSFAMILY

WORK SPIRIT

HEALTH

On the Topic of Balance…

“You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce

back. But the other four balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked,

damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same.

You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”

-Anon

So what’s in it for me?The rewards of being a clinician-educator….

1. As pharmacists, we are first and foremost educators. Teaching others is what we are trained to do, and, as

pharmacy practice faculty, we have the opportunity to teach and lead by example.2. As scholars, we have the opportunity to continuously

learn and grow. 3. As clinician-educators, there is so much opportunity for us to give back: to our patients, to our students, to the profession.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” - Sir Winston Churchill

The honest truth:

The pathway to “Academic Success” is not easily travelled…

But the journey can be rewarding and the destination fulfilling for

clinician-educators.

If you are passionate about teaching and about contributing

to patient care, being a “clinician-educator”

may very well be the right path for you.