December
2002
Volume 26 •
No. 11
Promotion
criteria clarified for professoriate
A yearlong effort to clarify the roles and advancement criteria for faculty
and staff physicians at the School of Medicine has resulted in a new classification
for staff physicians who serve as both clinicians and educators.
Additionally, the school is clarifying the appointment and promotion criteria for community physicians who volunteer their time to teach medical students and residents.
The changes are intended to remove the confusion that surrounds the roles played by faculty, staff and community physicians at the medical school, said David K. Stevenson, senior associate dean for academic affairs and the Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics.
"As the professoriate at the medical school has grown over the years, so has the confusion about the different roles," Stevenson said. "We want to make sure we have the right people making the right contributions and that those contributions are recognized and evaluated in the right way."
Last fall, Stevenson appointed and chaired the Committee on the Professoriate, which reviewed all of the faculty lines and their related appointment, reappointment and promotion criteria. Additionally, two subcommittees were convened - one looked at the medical center line faculty issues, while the other focused on staff physicians and community-based voluntary faculty. Both subcommittees were chaired by Maurice Druzin, associate dean for academic affairs and the Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Professor in the School of Medicine.
The recommendations of these groups are now being implemented. The changes have been communicated to faculty, staff and community physicians through the department chairs.
Stevenson said few changes are being made on the faculty side. The main clarification is that written scholarship is expected from those who wish to advance through the ranks in the medical center line, a classification in which clinical activity, teaching and research are expected. "Previously, written scholarship was emphasized primarily at the level of professor, but we wanted to clarify that it is expected for reappointment and promotion at all MCL ranks," he said.
For the staff physicians, the school has instituted the new designation of clinician/educator. Stevenson said these physicians will serve primarily in teaching and patient-care roles at the medical school and are not expected to engage in research. Although the clinician/educator designation does not represent a change in roles, Stevenson said, it is an important acknowledgement by the school. Staff physicians will hold the titles of clinical instructor, clinical assistant professor, clinical associate professor and clinical professor.
For community physicians who volunteer their teaching services, there are two main changes. First, these physicians will now be called voluntary clinical educators - replacing the previous voluntary clinical faculty designation - in keeping with the school's desire to describe all personnel in terms of their functional role, Stevenson said.
The second change is the phaseout of the voluntary assistant professor rank (All those who currently hold this title will retain it; however, no new appointments or promotions will be made at this rank). Initial appointments to the VCE will now come primarily at the voluntary clinical instructor rank.
To be considered for reappointment and promotion, VCE members must provide at least 100 hours of service each year. Promotions to voluntary clinical associate professor would require evidence of teaching excellence and regional prominence, while advancement to voluntary clinical professor would necessitate evidence of teaching excellence and national recognition.
Additionally, all VCE members must use the word "voluntary" when referring to their affiliation with the medical school on business cards, research papers and in presentations.
"Voluntary clinical educators play an important teaching role at the medical school," Stevenson said, noting that there are 1,035 active members in this group. "In the past, there have been some differences between departments in recognizing the contributions of these physicians, and we believe these changes will make our recognition of their efforts more uniform."
As part of the change, all departments that use voluntary clinical educators will be required to establish a committee to make appointment and promotion recommendations. Stevenson said he is also creating a committee at the school level to review all reappointments and promotions for voluntary clinical educators.
See
chart: School of Medicine faculty & staff physician rank structure
Stanford gets high marks in managed-care plan's quality report
Promotion criteria clarified for professoriate
School of Medicine faculty and staff physician rank structure
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Santa Clara County hospitals adopt uniform emergency codes
Dr. O retires after four decades of dedication
One-day SEIU strike passes; negotiations still under way
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