Appointments and promotions committees in medical centers often have difficulty appraising faculty contributions of teaching as there are not well-developed guidelines for what constitutes adequate and exemplary teaching. This stands in contrast to research contributions, which are well defined and widely understood by promotions committees. Yet teaching is required in most tracks, and educational scholarship is a key area for promotion within the Clinician-Educator track.
A new project proposes to utilize the expertise of Yale School of Medicine's Teaching and Learning Center to evaluate the teaching contribution of faculty members and prepare summary letters to be included in the appointment and promotion packages of faculty being considered for promotion.
In addition, the project will assess the time and resources required to analyze teaching data and compile the letters, and consider the usefulness of the letter to the department chair and to the appointments and promotions committee.
The pilot study was conducted by a team that included Ismene Petrakis, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and chief of psychiatry at VA Connecticut Healthcare System, and faculty from the Teaching and Learning Center, Janet Hafler, Ed.D., professor of pediatrics, associate dean for educational scholarship, and director of the Teaching and Learning Center; and John Encandela, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and associate director for curriculum and educator assessment of the Teaching and Learning Center.
The study is Petrakis's Institutional Action Project, a component of her fellowship year in The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. ELAM, established in 1995, is the only program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in academic health science institutions.
In April, Petrakis presented the project at ELAM's 2014 Leaders Forum in Philadelphia, PA. This pilot was also presented at the Teaching and Learning Center's 2014 Medical Education (MedEd) Day on June 3rd.
Other Yale School of Medicine collaborators include Richard Belitsky, M.D., the Harold W. Jockers Associate Professor of Medical Education, associate professor of psychiatry, and deputy dean for education.