aamc.org does not support this web browser.

    CFAS Rep Update January 2020

    In this edition:

    Message from the Chair
    Registration Open for 2020 AAMC Councils Co-located Spring Meeting
    AAMC Strategic Planning Process
    AAMC Faculty Roster Benefit Available to CFAS Reps
    CFAS Rep Profile: Kim Templeton, MD
    Accessing Learn Serve Lead 2019 Summary Materials
     

    Message from the Chair


    Dear CFAS Reps,

    Happy New Year and welcome to the updated monthly CFAS Rep Update newsletter! When I stepped into my new role as CFAS Chair at the conclusion of Learn Serve Lead 2019 in November, I wanted to establish a more direct and consistent communication channel with you, so we decided to transform our existing quarterly newsletter for CFAS reps into a monthly publication with more direct input and communication from CFAS faculty leaders. Please let us know how this publication serves your needs as a CFAS rep and what other information and tools you wish to find here to better assist you. I look forward to a rewarding collaboration with you to strengthen the voice of faculty in academic medicine.

    As we step into 2020, I will be working with the CFAS Administrative Board on two main projects. First, we will continue to adapt our committee structure to allow for wide engagement of CFAS reps and for focused and sustained progress on ongoing projects. At your request, a summary of the current structure and function of CFAS committees is posted. We will update this as we make changes, so please let us know how we are doing. Second, we are energized and inspired by the strategic planning process initiated by AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD.

    At the CFAS Ad Board meeting in December, we decided to embark on a broad evaluation of CFAS activities and to reflect on how we can better meet the charge put forth by the AAMC Board of Directors in our charter as we continue to grow and adapt. Stay tuned for regular updates on the process along with information on how you can get involved.

    Please continue to contribute your feedback on CFAS activities, including this newsletter, and your ideas for making CFAS a nimbler and more effective council. I greatly appreciate your direct feedback, and I look forward to hearing from you.

    With warm regards,

    Gabriela K. Popescu, PhD
    CFAS Chair, 2019 – 2021
    popescu@buffalo.edu

    Registration Open for 2020 AAMC Councils Co-located Spring Meeting

    Registration is open for the 2020 AAMC Councils Co-located Spring Meeting on March 12–15 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego in California. As a CFAS representative, you have received emails addressed to you with access to the registration site. You can also register here. If you are having problems accessing the registration site or if you can’t find that email, please reach out to Stephen Barry at sbarry@aamc.org.

    This year’s spring meeting will bring together the three AAMC councils – the Council of Deans (COD), the Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH), and CFAS – for one day of joint programming and interaction on Friday, March 13, followed by a full day of CFAS-only programming on Saturday, March 14.

    The full program is available for review on the registration site.

    All the CFAS committees will meet the afternoon of Thursday, March 12, so CFAS reps are encouraged to arrive in San Diego by noon. Later in the day, CFAS reps will gather for a quick orientation to the meeting and a wine-and-cheese reception. Please review the CFAS Programming agenda tab and the Joint Programming agenda tab on the meeting website and book your hotel and travel accordingly. For some reps, this means you may be able to fly in on Thursday morning with time to arrive for the afternoon meetings (the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego is a 10-minute drive from the airport).

    The joint day of programming will kick off Friday morning with a focus on “new paradigms for effective leadership in academic medicine,” specifically looking at how members of the academic medicine community can be leaders wherever they are in the hierarchy of the system, and regardless of their role.

    Speakers for the joint day will include Victor Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM); Marsha Rappley, MD, former chair of the AAMC Board of Directors, and the recently retired senior vice president for health sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and VCU Health System CEO; and A. Eugene Washington, MD, chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and CEO of Duke University Health System. CFAS will also host a tweet chat on leadership in academic medicine during the day of joint programming.

    The joint day will conclude with a reception open to all CFAS reps along with the deans from COD and the executives and CEOs from COTH.

    On the CFAS-only day, there will be plenary programming on “High-Stakes Exams – Coming to Grips with the Challenges of USMLE Step 1 and the Transition to Residency” and “The Social Mission of Medical School: Priority or Luxury?” There also will be an afternoon plenary on “Addressing Equity within Academic Medicine,” followed by an opportunity for CFAS reps to present Ignite-style presentations on equity themes. Please click here for details of the session and to submit your proposal for the meeting, which are due by Monday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Also, AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, will join CFAS during our business meeting to describe his vision for how CFAS informs the work of the AAMC and the role that faculty play in advancing the missions and direction of academic medicine.

    The meeting will adjourn with a lively reception on Saturday night featuring a talk with Jerry Muller, PhD, of the Catholic University of America who will discuss his book, The Tyranny of Metrics, sharing his perspective on how overemphasizing metrics at medical schools, teaching hospitals and health systems, and academic societies may challenge their ability to deliver on the promises of quality medical education, research, patient care, and community engagement. The presentation – like the rest of the meeting – will be highly interactive and will invite your comments, perspective, and input.

    The special early bird fee for registration is available through Thursday, Feb. 6. Please register by then to take advantage of the special rate.

    AAMC Strategic Planning Process

    At Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AAMC President and CEO David Skorton, MD, shared with the AAMC community the efforts under way now to create a new strategic plan for the organization. Information about the process along with details about the existing AAMC strategic priorities is available online. The materials include details on the environmental scan portion of the process. Phase 2 of the process is being launched and will focus on implementation.  

    Earlier today, Dr. Skorton announced that the AAMC has come to a consensus on the environmental scan and is now soliciting feedback on the four strategic themes and goals that emerged from that scan. The four themes call on the AAMC to:

    • Catalyze solutions for the biggest challenges facing our community;
    • Be the voice of academic medicine;
    • Shape the workforce and develop the people of academic medicine; and
    • Be a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive organization.

    CFAS reps, along with other AAMC affinity group representatives, have been invited to complete a brief survey about their impressions of the draft strategic themes and goals. The survey also requests ideas about specific actions or initiatives to realize one or more of the goals and whether AAMC is missing something that would deepen the association’s impact and relevance.

    CFAS leadership already has expressed an interest in undertaking its own strategic planning in concert with the AAMC effort and will be meeting in June to develop ways that we can help advance the overall mission and vision of the AAMC. Much more information about this will be presented during our business meeting and knowledge sharing session at our spring meeting in San Diego this coming March.

    AAMC Faculty Roster Benefit Available to CFAS Reps

    CFAS reps who represent medical schools now have automatic access to the AAMC’s Faculty Roster reports via FAMOUS (the Faculty Administrative Management On-line User System). There are many medical school-specific reports and national reports available in FAMOUS, such as alumni reports, faculty promotion and retention benchmarking reports, and demographic reports. CFAS school reps can access FAMOUS at https://services.aamc.org/famous/ and login using their current AAMC username and password. This is the same username and password used to access other AAMC web applications. If you do not yet have an AAMC username and password, please email FAMOUShelp@aamc.org to request an access token.

    Access to FAMOUS is available only to faculty and staff at medical schools that participate in the Faculty Roster. As a result, automatic access cannot be provided to CFAS society reps. However, those society reps who hold a faculty or staff position at a medical school may contact their Faculty Roster representatives to request individual authorization for access to FAMOUS.

    The Faculty Roster representatives for each medical school can be found in the Member Directory available at /data/facultyroster/. To filter for the representatives at your medical school, click “Other Search Options” at the top of the Member Directory page and type your medical school’s name into the “Organization Name” field.

    Available to all CFAS reps and society executives is a wide array of other reports on the Faculty Roster public website (/data/facultyroster/reports/). These offerings include national data on the distribution of full-time faculty and department chairs by various demographic and appointment characteristics, data on full-time faculty hires, departures, promotions, and attrition rates, and trends in the representation of women in academic leadership positions.

    The Faculty Roster staff at the AAMC also can generate special reports for CFAS reps whose needs are not met from existing reports. To request a special report, please fill out the AAMC Data Request form by going to www.aamc.org/data, and clicking on the “Request AAMC Data” link. Be sure to mention that you’re a CFAS rep in the request form.

    CFAS Rep Profile: Kim Templeton, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center; Junior Rep for the American Orthopaedic Association
     

    CFAS: Tell us about your clinical work as an orthopaedist.

    Dr. Templeton: I’m an orthopaedic oncologist; the majority of my clinical work involves the removal of benign or malignant tumors in both adult and pediatric patients. I’ve been practicing for more than 20 years and have been a residency program director for the majority of that time. I’m one of the 4% of orthopaedic surgeons who are women and am one of the few tenured female professors in orthopaedic surgery. The lack of women in my field is evidence that effecting change in the areas of diversity and inclusion must be intentional, because even when women make up a majority of medical students, there are still very few who enter orthopaedic surgery as a career. I try to advise as many female medical students as I can to encourage those who are interested in orthopaedic surgery to enter the field. However, we also need a culture change in orthopaedics, as well as other areas of medicine, so that everyone, regardless of gender, race, or background feels welcome.

    Before and after my presidency of the American Medical Women’s Association, I have also worked to address issues faced by women in all areas of medicine. One of my personal missions is to help dismantle the glass ceiling for women across specialties, especially in academic medicine. As noted by the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) among others, there is a “leaky pipeline” for women in academic medicine, with women entering in junior ranks but then not progressing to more senior positions. This is not an issue with their abilities or their qualifications – this is an issue with opportunities to participate in leadership development programs, having sponsors willing speak up to get them on available task forces or committees, and recognition and accommodation for the gendered expectations and other roles played by women outside of the workplace. We need to change our image of the “pipeline” from being one where we only picture getting women and underrepresented minorities into pre-med or medical school, and instead picture is as supporting women physicians throughout their careers and into successful retirement.  

    CFAS: What advice do you have for women entering the surgical field?

    Dr. Templeton: Don’t listen to the ever-present detractors, don’t be concerned by the naysayers on work life balance, and instead do what you want and like to do. It’s a fallacy that a career in orthopaedic surgery will keep you from having children or having time for your family, because most women surgeons have families. However, women entering surgery, as well as other areas of medicine, need to be cautious about waiting too long to start a family. Infertility among women physicians is an area that is getting some much-needed attention. The issue of work-life integration has not kept women out of surgical fields with equally demanding hours, such as OB-GYN, so it should not keep them out of fields such as orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, or neurosurgery.

    Another fallacy is that women are not physically strong enough to maneuver people the way that orthopaedic surgery requires, but the instances where significant strength is required are rarer than most people think. When these instances arise, however, there are power tools and team members that can help make this work easier.

    CFAS: What is new in orthopaedic surgical training today than when you were in training?

    Dr. Templeton: The field is constantly changing in terms of research and techniques, but the most significant change is the welcome and needed focus on the wellbeing of students, residents, and faculty. This is changing the culture of surgery in very beneficial ways. In addition to improving patient care and safety, wellness efforts are helping to produce physicians that are more well-rounded and aware of the need to focus on their mental health. I was the lead author of a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) perspective on the gender differences of burnout, which has become one of the NAM’s most-read papers from 2019. In the paper, we noted that while there may not be differences in prevalence of burnout among the genders, the causes can differ. While causes of burnout are overwhelmingly systemic within health care for all physicians, women face additional systemic issues, such as disparity in promotion, gender bias or sexual harassment, and strains on their time due to gendered expectations outside of medicine.  

    CFAS: You’ve done work on physician reentry, what’s important about this issue?

    Dr. Templeton: Leaving practice for a period of time is becoming more common. Women frequently take a break from practice to have and raise children, while men are more likely to take time away to pursue other opportunities. However, most physicians who take a break from practice don’t realize that there is such a thing as a formal reentry process, and they find themselves in a bind when they try to go back into practice. They discover that they may have to undergo an assessment process for clinical competency, especially if they have been out of practice for more than a couple of years.

    Each state medical board has regulations that define the length of time out of practice before a competency assessment is needed. I first became interested in this issue during my more than 10 years as a member and past president of my state medical board. I saw firsthand how challenging this process is for physicians to come back into medicine. The issue for women returning to practice is interesting and my primary area of focus, as they are typically younger, and their time away was related to having children. This means that they usually have longer careers than men after returning to practice. I see this as another way to address the issue of physician shortages.

    I’ve been working through AMWA and other organizations to make the process more transparent and to raise awareness of re-entry by talking to medical students, residents, and junior faculty so they’re not surprised later in their careers. Unless there is an urgent medical or other issue, I would recommend that physicians plan as carefully for their potential future return to medicine as they plan for their time away.  

    CFAS: What do you like to do in your free time?

    Dr. Templeton: I enjoy weightlifting (because I like it and have done it for years, not because I have to do it to be an orthopaedic surgeon), cooking and entertaining, spending time with friends and my two cats, and interior design.

    Accessing Learn Serve Lead 2019 Summary Materials

    Many thanks to the 123 CFAS reps who attended Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting (LSL) in Phoenix last November. This was the most well-attended AAMC meeting ever, with more than 4,800 academic medicine professionals registered. CFAS reps continued to make a mark on LSL programming, either speaking at, moderating, or proposing 11 different breakout sessions on the general program.

    The meeting’s plenary topics included mercy, humanity, and making a difference; the soul of America; changing the status quo in academic medicine and preserving the academic mission; and creating psychologically safe workplaces. Summary materials of the meeting have been posted on the CFAS website and we encourage you to adapt them for your own purposes and share them around your institution or society. Additionally, many of the plenary sessions and other programming highlights are available in video form on the AAMC website. Some of the video content may require your AAMC login and password for access.

    Looking for information about CFAS? Find what you need on our website, from the names of CFAS leaders, to updates on committee and working group initiatives, to upcoming offerings and meetings, and finally, current and previous editions of CFAS News.

    Do you have ideas or suggestions for the newsletter? A recommendation for a CFAS rep or member society to profile? All of your ideas are welcome. Please send them to Eric Weissman at eweissman@aamc.org, or call Eric directly at 202-828-0044. You can also reach out with questions or comments to CFAS Communications Committee Chair, Alan Dow, MD.

    Previous Editions

    October 2019 | July 2019 | February 2019