Neurology Home : Faculty Mentoring Program
Department of Neurology Faculty Mentoring Program The ultimate goal of the Department of Neurology Faculty Mentoring Program is to guide and develop faculty members through their first promotion and to ensure a successful career as defined by both personal and professional success. Our goal is to provide each faculty member with the mentoring and resources necessary to become an excellent teacher, clinician and researcher.
To achieve this goal, the Department has developed and will maintain an up-to-date departmental web site that will serve as a valuable career development informational resource for mentors and mentees alike. The Department will provide senior faculty with mentoring resources.
The Neurology Faculty Mentoring Program provides structure and a process to assist, motivate and encourage junior faculty to achieve their full potential in patient care, academic and extramural service, and research/scholarship, thus ultimately earning promotion and recognition. While the mentoring program focuses primarily on junior faculty working towards their first promotion, it is not limited only to that group. Mentoring efforts appropriate to other faculty, especially mid-level faculty will also be addressed and suggestions should be made to the members of our Faculty Mentoring Committee.
The Neurology Faculty Mentoring Program represents a formalized process by which the resources of the Department, intellectual and other, are made available for facilitation. While linked to promotion within the School of Medicine as a legitimate career and development goal, the Program is also viewed in the larger context of career development. In the final analysis, the opportunity to serve as a Neurology faculty represents freedom and responsibility to develop one’s own skills and individuality, within a supportive infrastructure of facilitation.
The Neurology Mentoring Program will focus on:
A FACULTY MEMBER'S CAREER IS HIS OR HER RESPONSIBILITY THE MENTORING PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HELP THEM BE SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING THE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS TO ADVANCE THEIR CAREER. MERIT, ADVANCEMENT AND/OR PROMOTION ARE ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE MISSION CRITERIA OF EACH ACADEMIC TRACK IN THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE |
During the first quarter of each calendar year each faculty member meets with the Chairman to evaluate their performance over the last year and set goals for the upcoming year. Prior to the meeting, the faculty member completes a standard evaluation or Annual Faculty Assessment Summary developed by the School of Medicine for all faculty members. The evaluation includes a review of the faculty member's activities the past year including teaching, scholarly activities and grants, clinical service, extramural and intramural service, mentoring activities and any other notable activities or accomplishments. The form also allows the faculty member to determine if they have reached their goals set the previous year and set goals for the following year. During the meeting, the faculty member and Chairman discuss the information on the evaluation form and the Chairman adds comments for each of the sections noted above and notes whether the faculty member's performance was satisfactory, needs improvement or unsatisfactory. The form is signed by both the Chairman and faculty member and sent to the Dean's office for final approval. If it is determined during the evaluation that the faculty member is ready for evaluation for tenure or for promotion then the information is forwarded to the P&T committee for review.
To rise through the academic ranks for specific tracks you must demonstrate accomplishments in particular areas. For example, frequent referrals from outside physicians made specifically to you can be used to demonstrate you are a recognized regional expert in a particular disease or category of diseases. Positive teaching evaluations from students can be used to show you are a skilled educator. Publications can be used to demonstrate scholarly achievement. Grant funding can be used to demonstrate your research achievement.
You do not need to show excellence in all areas. If you are not on the tenure track, you only need one area, and if you are a physician this area is usually the clinical service area. If you are tenure track, you need at least two areas; for physicians this usually means clinical service plus one other area. If you are tenure track, decide early on what your track is going to be. Read Understanding Ranks & Tracks and discuss this with our Chair to be perfectly clear.
It is recommended you update your CV in real time. If you give a talk, do not postpone or procrastinate documenting it on your CV. This way you will be able to easily keep track of everything you do that could prove important to the Promotion & Tenure Committee. Also, file away all materials that could possibly be included in a future promotion or tenure portfolio.
The links below contains further information on the Promotion and Tenure process, including a list of ranks & tracks and the hoops you need to jump through to rise through the rank for your track.
10.15.2011
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The University of Kansas Medical Center