TiME 2014: Teaching as Scholarship in Medical

Education

Promotion, Tenure and the Medical Educator

Pamela E. Knapp, PhD.Professor of Anatomy & NeurobiologySOM Promotion and Tenure Committee Chair, 2011-13

I. How does the VCU Promotions and Tenure committee view the scholarship of teaching?  Is it viewed equally well as the scholarship of discovery or other forms of scholarship?

II. What does the committee look for in the faculty member's vitae or narrative statement to convey that he or she has focused on the scholarship of teaching?  

III. If a clinical faculty member, in particular, wants to focus on scholarship of teaching in medical education, what sort of record of accomplishment is necessary to make a good case for promotion?

IV. Other advice or recommendations re: successful promotion/tenure review for faculty with their research/scholarship focused on medical education.

Overview

Some changes coming: VCU ratified a new P and T policy 5-2013; SOM ratified in Dec 2013. Now going to the VCU P and T Policy Committee for approval.

• Group of 8 faculty – all Professors – representing a mixture of clinical & basic science departments

• Meet multiple times between mid-Nov to end Jan to evaluate the dossiers put forward from all SOM departments for tenure, and for promotion at all levels.

• Each dossier is discussed in detail. We determine whether each candidate meets the criteria for the particular academic honor that they are requesting.

• The guidelines are not quantitative.

What is the SOM Promotion & Tenure Committee?

How does the committee interpret the requirements?

• Committee is pro-faculty

• Promotion and tenure are academic honors

• There are no magical numbers in any category

• Opinions of committee members can differ

• “A faculty member‘s length of service shall be taken into consideration in determining whether or not the faculty member should be promoted, but longevity per se is not necessary nor sufficient grounds for promotion.”

IV. Other advice or recommendations re: successful promotion/tenure review for faculty with their research/scholarship focused on medical education.

Understand SOM requirements for promotion / tenure in your title series and situation (tenure track [tenured,

probationary], term [formerly collateral – now with new descriptors])

- SOM rules are more strict than general VCU- department/division guidelines do not replace SOM (“Where

departmental guidelines have been created, they may amplify but not contradict this document.”)

- know where to look for information (SOM Faculty Affairs website)

Communicating with your Chair/Division Chief is critical

Make the strongest case that you can at the time you submit your dossier- pre-promotion/tenure planning/organization- making the important elements of your CV clear - new restrictions on challenges to P and T decisions

2.2.1 School of Medicine Criteria: General

Promotion in the SOM is dependent upon continuing achievement in teaching, scholarly activity, and service. Faculty should receive written guidelines from their department chair that delineate the proportion of their efforts in each of these areas. Chairs and faculty should review the allocation of the faculty member’s effort at least annually, in writing, and submit these documents to the departmental peer review committee with the promotion and tenure materials.

a. Academic Credentials and Experience ….b. Teaching … (n.b. This is teaching, not teaching scholarship)c. Scholarly Activity** (includes research and/or teaching scholarship/research)d. Service

Tenure/tenure-eligible faculty hold appointments in the SOM with responsibilities that include teaching of medical and graduate students, the pursuit of meritorious independent research, securing external funding to support the research effort, training future investigators, and furthering the teaching and research missions of the School.

-While it is rare to have tenure track faculty with a primary education mission, “meritorious independent research” can also be in oriented towards education.

Term faculty are assigned to one of three tracks depending upon their major responsibilities (Clinician-Educator; Teaching; and Research…).

Faculty in the Clinician-Educator Track have responsibilities that include teaching and preparation of academic courses, furthering the clinical mission of the Health System, advising and mentoring of students and trainees, service in School and University-related activities, and research. Effort devoted to scholarly activities, beyond teaching, is not expected to exceed 10%, unless approved by the Department Chair and Dean.

Faculty in the Teaching Track hold appointments with responsibilities that include teaching and preparation of academic courses, mentoring of students and trainees, and service in School and University-related activities. Effort devoted to scholarly activities beyond teaching is not expected to exceed 10%, unless approved ….

From the new P and T guidelines: General criteria that define requirements for promotion in each tenure-track / term category in general

Importance of Communicating with your Chair

• Your Chair/Division Chief is tenured – has guided others in the process. • Chair is responsible for evaluations of all faculty: “Faculty should receive

written guidelines from their department chair ... Chairs and faculty should review the allocation of the faculty member’s effort at least annually …”

• Chair organizes the Departmental Tenure Committee that will seek letters and put together your tenure dossier. (New P and T document requires letters from “arms’ length” external reviewers, identified as such).

• Chair writes a letter that outlines your case for promotion/tenure, and gives the P & T Committee a snapshot of your contributions to the department, SOM, and profession.

• Some Chairs / departments have created internal guidelines for the promotion and tenure process.

I. How does the VCU Promotions and Tenure committee view the scholarship of teaching? Is it viewed equally well as the scholarship of discovery or other forms of scholarship?

c. Scholarly Activity

This includes peer-reviewed contributions in basic, clinical and/or educational scholarship. Scholarship may also be in the form of community-engaged research. The SOM recognizes the expanded definition of scholarship proposed by Boyer and colleagues that includes:

• The scholarship of discovery…

• The scholarship of integration…

• The scholarship of application…

• The scholarship of teaching and learning which explores ways to help students acquire new knowledge and develops specific skills and attitudes such as the creation or evaluation of new teaching methods or curriculum and the use of new technologies to improve learning or the dissemination of learning

• Both quantity and quality should be assessed to achieve a balanced evaluation and all possible evidence of scholarly activities and capabilities should be sought, including published materials in refereed journals as well as unpublished manuscripts accepted for publication. Any pending patent application approved by the University shall be given appropriate credit.

II. What does the committee look for in the faculty member's vitae or narrative statement to convey that he or she has focused on the scholarship of teaching (as opposed to scholarly teaching)?

-Make sure you understand the distinction between being an excellent teacher, and having excellence as a scholar in the arena of education

-There is a requirement for BOTH teaching and scholarship

-The fact that you have focused on teaching scholarship should be stated explicitly in documents from your chair and your peer/departmental committee.

Teaching (didactic or clinical teaching; local/regional CME or other teaching lectures; mentoring) •“….demonstrate contributions in teaching at a local or regional level including contributions to courses, curriculum design, implementation, or assessment, teaching in the clinical setting, continuing medical education or teaching through professional organizations or health care groups. The candidate should have successfully served as a mentor or advisor of students, housestaff, colleagues, or postdoctoral trainees.”

Scholarship (whether teaching or research scholarship, this requires evidence that you have created something new, and that it is valued by your profession; requires that you be known outside of VCU, either regionally (assoc prof) or nationally/internationally (full prof) for your contributions) •“…demonstrate maturity and professional competence in independent scholarship or as a leader in collaborative research that should lead to publication of new knowledge. Publications in refereed journals, books and book chapters, sustained for a number of years, will be used as a guideline for measuring scholarly achievement and growth.

Evidence of Scholarship in Medical Education?

-PUBLICATIONS!! (Peer-reviewed articles in academic/teaching journals; textbooks)

-Other (patented) teaching materials used outside of VCU/by other institutions (digital atlases; contributions to board exam reviews or publications)

-Grants (funding isn’t everything – and by itself does not constitute “scholarship”)

-Editorial board service questions for national board exams ….

-Invited presentations related to your scholarship in education outside of VCU/Richmond area (CME, regional/national/international meetings or other institutions)

III. If a clinical faculty member, in particular, wants to focus on scholarship of teaching in medical education, what sort of record of accomplishment (publications, presentations, etc., as well as consistency of focus) is necessary to make a good case for promotion?

The P & T committee considers each situation individually

~What is the expected distribution of your efforts as outlined in the Chair’s letter; is it consistent with your FARES reports?

~What % of your time is allotted for scholarship?

Expectations of a term faculty member with 80% clinical

service/ 10% scholarship ≠ a faculty member with 50% clinical service / 45% scholarship

There are no magical numbers in any category

• You should review the requirements in your title series with your chair (or other senior mentor) yearly.• Documentation is key (letters, dates, details)

The committee vote is on the documentation that you provide- details indicate the importance of your contribution,

consistency of your efforts- does the distribution of your efforts match expectations?

• Make the important elements of your CV clear - Organize/categorize: e.g. if you have multiple types of teaching (didactic and clinical) in several departments or venues (inpatient and outpatient). Do not just list every individual lecture for 10 years!

- Clinical Service - Try to give an estimate of time spent in each type of clinical service – inpatient, outpatient, at VCU and at other affiliated institutions. Days/week or month, wks/year.

Making your case to the P & T Committee

Service Activities on a Medical Educator’s

CV• Clinical - Try to give an estimate of time spent in each type of clinical

service – inpatient, outpatient, at VCU and at other affiliated institutions. Days/week or month, wks/year.

• To Profession - must have a professional audience or objective outside of VCU and not be listed elsewhere. Several things can go here or elsewhere; put them where they do you the most good! (ex. review panels/editorial work could go here or under “expert services”)

• To Community - Key is lay audience – can be local international

• To Dept., SOM, University – Again, some things can go here or elsewhere. Revamping the M3-M4 Curriculum might also go under teaching.

Probationary (Tenure-Eligible) Appointments

• “The maximum period of probationary service of an assistant professor is typically six academic years. At the end of this six-year period, the faculty member must be given an appointment with tenure or a one-year terminal appointment**.”

• “An initial appointment at the rank of professor or associate professor may also be a probationary appointment. The maximum period of probationary service typically is two years as a professor and three years as an associate professor **. At the end of these periods, the faculty member must be given an appointment with tenure or a one-year terminal appointment.”

** Extensions can be granted when there are circumstances that significantly impede normal progress.

~New revisions to the VCU P & T document that will be incorporated into the SOM document codify a maximum 10 year probationary period for assistant professor, 5 year for associate, and 3 year for full professor.~

General • Promotion to the rank of Professor (and tenure, if appropriate) is based upon continued achievements in teaching, service, and scholarship, with national and international recognition in at least one of these areas.

Academic Credentials and Experience• As a general rule, the candidate should have held appointment as Associate Professor for a minimum of three years.

Promotion to Professor

Service• The candidate should demonstrate continued contributions in administrative and clinical service and assumed a leadership role in the SOM, health system, community, and/or at a national level. The candidate should actively participate in his or her profession outside of the university. National recognition of service includes awards, publications, lectures, consulting, adoption of new clinical or administrative programs or processes at a national level and participation in national committees, programs, or panels relating to health care or academic medicine.

Promotion to Associate Professor

General •“The performance of the candidate should indicate a sustained record of professional achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service. A positive recommendation for promotion to associate professor (and tenure, if appropriate) should be made when the candidate meets each of the following conditions: •(a) satisfactory or better on all criteria •(b) very good or excellent on at least two of the following criteria: teaching, scholarship and service. For non-tenure track faculty, whose special mix of duties allows minimal effort (10% or less) in a criteria, a rating of satisfactory will be sufficient in that area. •(c) excellent in either teaching or scholarship or, for non-tenure track faculty with a majority of effort designated in service, excellence in service.

Examples of satisfactory and excellent performance are provided in Appendix III.