All COD members can benefit from consistent engagement with a peer network to provide decision-making support and reduce professional isolation. The two resources in the Peer Network, COD Peer Groups and the COD Phone-A-Friend Resource, are intended to:
- Provide peer-based resources to support deans’ effectiveness in areas essential to the sustainability/function of the mission areas.
- Leverage wisdom, expertise, and lived experience of colleagues within the COD in specific functional areas to provide support beyond what’s available through current mechanisms (e.g., COD colleague-to-colleague inquiries).
- Mitigate feelings of professional isolation in the dean’s role and provide a regular mechanism to broaden individual perspectives.
More information about each resource is below.
COD Peer Groups
COD Peer Groups provide regular opportunities for COD members to engage with their peers nationally via informal, participant-led meetings. Peer Group meetings create space for networking, shared problem-solving, and sharing of new ideas and innovations. Peer Groups meet primarily virtually, though group members may choose to convene at appropriate times during in-person AAMC meetings such as Learn Serve Lead and the COD Spring Meeting to reinforce relationships.
Each COD Peer Group is comprised of 8-10 deans, with participants assigned randomly. Engagement of the Peer Group is organized and overseen by the Peer Group Host, an individual within the group who has volunteered to take on this additional responsibility.
Read more (PDF) about COD Peer Groups guidelines and expectations. To join or volunteer to host a COD Peer Group, please email COD@aamc.org.
COD Phone-A-Friend Resource
This resource provides a network of deans with recent or substantive experience in key functional areas who have volunteered to be available for outreach from fellow COD members. The resource is intended to provide confidential peer support for challenges or inquiries that require discussion beyond that of a COD Colleague-to-Colleague Inquiry. This resource is not a hotline, and COD members should not expect immediate or after-hours responses to time-sensitive or urgent inquiries.
The resource and its contents are intended only for COD members and should not be shared outside of the COD. You can access the resource by logging into the AAMC’s Medical School Profile System (MSPS) using your AAMC username and password and navigating to the “2023 Confidential Data” section under the “Annual Reports” tab.
Read more (PDF) about the COD Phone-A-Friend Resource. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to serve as a contact for fellow COD members, please email COD@aamc.org.