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Perspectives
Introduction
Whether we are in our roles as clinicians pondering a difficult case,
researchers scratching our heads over why the data came back inconsistent
on the third run, or teachers organizing our thoughts before giving difficult
feedback to a student, we solve problems and we learn through conversations
with our colleagues. This section of Faculty Vitae
opens the discussion of how we all contribute to the vitality of our colleagues
and our organizations. In each issue a provocative question is posed to
an AAMC Professional Development group. Take time to reflect on the question
and review faculty responses. This month's perspectives come from faculty
leaders of the Council for Academic Societies
(CAS) and the Faculty Affairs Forum
(FAF).
Also in this edition, Dr. Jeannette South-Paul, Chair of Family Medicine
at the University of Pittsburgh, shares some perspectives on how she maintains her own vitality.
Perspectives on Vitality
There is an ancient Chinese saying, "may you live in interesting times"
that certainly applies to academic medicine now. There always seems to
be a shortage of funds and never enough time to balance obligations and
desires. How can faculty help each other to address the significant institutional
challenges we all face?
Like most department chairs, I find myself in the middle
ground between the students, residents, and faculty, whose needs
I can never entirely fulfill, and the various parts of the institution,
which are struggling at the same time with needing more from less.
It can be a conflictual and difficult time. One concept, that
has kept me going through more than a few rough spells, is that what
is important is rarely easy. Working with students, residents,
and faculty to sort out their career goals,
and dealing with the consequences of unfunded grants and inadequate
performance should not be done lightly. Similarly, telling a chair,
dean or head of a hospital of a problem that needs attention (and
hopefully offering a potential solution) is not the road to quick
appreciation, but is part of what I’m here to do. This is not meant
as an argument for masochism, but a reminder that the challenges
we face are often the stuff of the stories that we later tell.
Important work is rarely easy. |
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Lloyd Michener, M.D.
Clinical Professor & Chairman
Department of Community & Family Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
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At many medical schools, faculty struggle to secure
grants, publish in respected journals, teach
medical students, build their clinical volumes, serve on committees
and establish a reputation among their peers. The more senior faculty
are usually able to address these challenges through the contacts
they have developed over the years with extramural sponsors, co-investigators
and other specialists, as well as through successive trial and
error. But more junior faculty must sometimes fend for themselves.
The reality is that at many medical schools, few "faculty development" resources
are available to support the academic careers of younger faculty.
Many schools experience low morale and high turnover among their
junior faculty. Mentoring is an excellent way for established faculty
to address this serious problem. They can give advice in a variety
of ways: by sharing techniques to improve clinical productivity,
by putting a new faculty member in touch with a resource person
or a colleague with a similar research agenda, by explaining which
instructional technologies are most helpful, and by simply helping
junior faculty understand the pros and cons of the alternatives
they face.
Established faculty have an obligation
to be more open to the relationships and collaboration that are critical
to effective mentoring. |
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Joel A. DeLisa, M.D., M.S.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
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It has been my experience that providing opportunities
for faculty to network is an effective approach to address the challenges
of an academic career. Networking events, including those with
a social dimension, can provide a relaxed atmosphere in which the
information one needs to know to be a successful professional can
be readily shared. Asking a senior woman faculty member to share
their own personal strategy for advancing their career and achieving
personal satisfaction with junior women faculty
and clinical fellows was demonstrated by my colleague Professor
Carolyn Meltzer through her presentation "Things She Wished She'd Known When Starting
Out." It has served faculty across division and departmental
boundaries. Indeed, we found the conversation from this early morning
event so engaging that a new seminar series has emerged at the University
of Pittsburgh School of Medicine which links senior women faculty
to their junior colleagues—aptly named the "Sunrise Series".
Encouraging networking, in turn, can lead
to meaningful mentoring. |
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Joan Lakoski, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Career Development
University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine
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