Faculty Development Program
The Department of Internal Medicine is proud of its 300 plus faculty members. It is committed to the success of these individuals and their career development.
Stephen J. Bickston MD, AGAF, FACG, FASGE, is the Associate Chair for IM Faculty Development. He is available for group or individual consultations or presentations. On an individual basis these discussion can include topics like career paths, current stressors or concerns, helpful hints or direction to individuals who can guide or answer specific questions. He can be a resource when faculty just don’t know where to get help or an answer. He can be reached at stephen.bickston@vcuhealth.org or (804) 828-9071.
To schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with Dr. Bickston, please email his assistant, Cierra Davis: Cierra.Davis1@vcuhealth.org.
The Faculty Development Program also has ongoing initiatives to assist faculty with their career growth. Information about the current programs is below:
The Make Easy Council is a faculty-driven initiative aimed at identifying and addressing challenges that impact our ability to deliver exceptional patient care at VCU Health.
This initiative is dedicated to making it easier for physicians and providers to work at VCU Health while enhancing individual well-being. A key part of this effort is a survey, inviting MCVP members to contribute ideas and solutions for improving efficiency and streamlining our work.
Guided by feedback from MCVP members through the survey, the council prioritizes projects based on their value, size, scope, and feasibility. Once priorities are set, project leads are identified to oversee research, planning, and implementation in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
To access the survey and progress page, log into the VCU Health Intranet and visit: Make It Easy Council
As an academic Department of Internal Medicine, it is the expectation that all dually-employed and MCVP-only physician faculty members pursue continuing medical education (CME) within their specialty/subspecialty by annually attending a CME meeting of an appropriate professional society. The department also encourages membership in professional societies and recognizes the costs to faculty and APPs of professional dues, ABIM maintenance of certification, educational materials, and other professional expenses.
To support our faculty and APPs in professional development, the department maintains an Internal Medicine Professional Development Fund (IMPDF). On an annual fiscal year basis:
• Each full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) physician faculty member will be provided with $3,000 to support attendance at CME/professional meetings and other professional expenses, as outlined below
• Each full-time equivalent clinical mid-level provider (Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants) will be provided with $2,500
• Each full-time Teaching & Administration (Ph.D.) faculty will be provided with $1,000
Support for part-time faculty and APPs would be adjusted to reflect their employment status. CME for new hires will be prorated based on start date. The IMPDF funds will not carry over into the next fiscal year, and availability of IMPDF funds will be determined annually as part of the department’s budgetary process. More information about the IMPDF including allowable expenses. (PDF)
Steps for Accessing the Funds
Travel Reimbursement
• A Spend Authorization (travel pre-approval) is required for all travel. Spend Authorizations should be submitted in Workday for approval at least 4 weeks prior to travel by the faculty/APP or their delegate.
• An Expense Report and receipts should be submitted in Workday by the faculty/APP or their delegate for reimbursement no later than 30 days after travel.
Allowable Expenses:
• Meeting related expenses (i.e., travel, registration, lodging, and meals),
• Professional dues and subscriptions,
• Professional books and training materials, and
• Qualifying continuing education expenses
• Note: Books and training materials purchased with MCVP funds are MCVP property and must remain with the organization when the provider’s employment with MCVP ends.
Prohibited Expenses:
• Cell phones, home internet, furniture, cameras, or equipment, desktop, laptop or tablet computers, electronic apps, clothing/uniforms, and VCU tuition and fees
L.A. Daloz said “Mentors are guides. They lead us along the journey of our lives. We trust them because they have been there before. They embody our hopes, cast light on the way ahead, interpret arcane signs, warn us of lurking dangers and point out unexpected delights along the way.” That summarizes mentoring as a whole.
Mentoring has been shown in academic careers to improve success, satisfaction, and productivity. Over time the classic one on one style of mentoring has evolved to meet the current academic settings and generations. Finding the right mentoring model that fits with your needs is vital to establishing a beneficial mentoring plan that works for you. The University of Indiana School of Medicine has outlined different models of mentoring: MODELS OF MENTORING (PDF). As you read through these, think about what you are looking for in a mentor. What are your goals for the relationship? What do you really want the mentoring to accomplish? Choosing a mentoring model is not stagnant. Each career challenge and advancement may require a different mentoring model.
Mentoring Resources
- Mentoring & Training (Office of Intramural Research, NIH)
- Indiana School of Medicine Resources
Promotion and Tenure
Promotion and Tenure are university-based, academic processes that recognize career achievements through advancement in rank (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor) or granting of tenure. The promotion process is distinct from the tenure process though an individual may undergo for both a promotion and tenure at the same time. Faculty should review with their division leadership annually the criteria for promotion and/or tenure and discuss their progress toward the next step in their academic journey. The criteria for promotion can be found in the SOM 2014 Promotion and Tenure Policy and Procedures. The tables at the end of the document are particularly useful. The worksheets linked below contains the information in the tables and can help you self-assess your candidacy for promotion.
- Working Toward Associate Professor Self-Assessment (PDF)
- Working Toward Professor Self-Assessment (PDF)
In order to be successful in the promotion process, you must complete several tasks. First, ensure your CV is in the VCU CV Standard Format in Portfolio. I encourage you update your CV on a regular basis as you may forget important contributions that you have made. Adding some descriptive text to your CV may help others appreciate your contributions more fully. Also remember that this is not the time to be humble.
Next, consider how a personal statement, a teaching portfolio, or QI portfolio might demonstrate your accomplishments is an important way to document your teaching theory, skills, and accomplishments. Some resources, especially for teaching portfolios, can be found here. Remember: promotion and tenure are academic processes so you need to be able to demonstrate your contributions to someone who spends their time entirely on the Monroe Park Campus. Lastly, your best resources for guidance about promotion and tenure are your division chief or the departmental leadership for promotion and tenure. Alan Dow, MD, MSHA chairs the departmental P&T committee and oversees the process and Karen Scott is the administrator that manages the P&T process. Feel free to contact them with questions about the process or to get advice about navigating it.
For more information and resources, visit: VCU School of Medicine: Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development
“There just isn’t enough time in the day!”
As academic clinicians, clinician educators, clinician scientist, and scientist, there are many required things that we must do. On top of the must do, are the probably need to do, could do, and the ‘oh why not while I’m at it’ list. Determining what really needs to be done and when is a key skill.
Time Management Lecture
It is worthwhile to listen to Randy Pausch’s lecture on time management. This lecture gives both philosophical points on life and goal setting as well as specifics about time management. Some of the suggestions are for students but they can be applied to everyone. It is 76 minutes long and available on YouTube: Randy Pausch Lecture: Time Management
Tricia Huffman in a commentary wrote, “We are all teachers at all times — with everything we do, with everything we don’t do, with everything we say, with everything we don’t say and with our beliefs, with our attitudes — all of, all of us.” As faculty in an academic medical center this certainly holds true. Perhaps when we are in private clinic we don’t consider ourselves as a teacher, but consider those watching us — our patients, the clinic staff, and our colleagues. Our actions do teach others. It is not only when we are standing in front of a classroom or doing “teaching rounds” with our team that we are teachers. The very act of how we conduct our daily work activities from scholarship to teaching and service.
Although as faculty we are always teaching, there are those moments that we as the teacher and they as the student are ready. These teachable moments need to be recognized and acted on. Perhaps it is at the bedside of a patient, at a chalk board talk, waiting for an elevator, planning an experiment, or doing sign out rounds. Start looking for these moments and be ready. The days of hour-long lectures and long dissertations are gone. We need to learn to be able to engage the adult learner in ways that not only teach material but get them involved with the material and transform memorized material into usable information.
VCU has over the past few years had a renewed interest in teaching. A brand new education building with all the bells and whistles, new courses for teaching excellence, and many new workshops. Take a look at the teaching excellence website: http://altlab.vcu.edu/. At this website you will find great information about workshops and resources to help you be your best teacher. It also has information on teaching as scholarship.
Since many of us teach on the wards or consults, check out the article below. It describes some of the theory about teaching differences with “millennials” and gives several ways to fit teaching in to the current time constraints. Several of these can easily be moved from ward attending teaching to consult or clinic teaching.
During this month, take time to speak with your mentor/mentee regarding teaching. Find one new technique and try and incorporate it into your teaching style. Also start your teaching portfolio. Having a Teaching Portfolio is an important way to document your teaching theory, skills, and accomplishments. Click here to learn about keeping a Teaching Portfolio.