Moving Up: Tips for Getting Promoted in Academic Medicine
By Lydia Nightingale, MD, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, and the APGO Electronic Resources Committee (ERC)
If you are in academic medicine, then you have probably started thinking about going up for promotion. Fortunately, there are many who have gone before you and APGO is here to help. Focusing on your educational achievements in this day and age is very beneficial in moving you one step closer to becoming an associate professor (or even moving up to a full professor).
As you start your career, it is vital that you take the time to record everything that you do and how it is received. This will be the backbone of your CV and ultimately your teaching portfolio. Ask for your evaluations and look for ways to incorporate the feedback received into future tasks and lectures. Look for ways to get involved outside of your department: offer to lecture to the internal medicine residents, give a lecture at the Regional PA conference, or develop an OSCE with the clerkship director.
One of the BEST resources out there is Career Development in Academic Medicine: Your Journey to Success (click “APGO Publications,” then select the book from the list). This e-book is filled with tips on how to navigate the educational promotion waters. It discusses mentorship, the teaching portfolio, how to develop a CV, and preparation for promotion in an academic environment. It is worth reading now and again as you start putting together your promotion package.
Finally, find someone who has been there before and ask for his or her help and advice. APGO is full of people who are great resources and who would be willing to help. The 2016 APGO Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar is January 9-11, 2016 and will have great opportunity to network and learn from others who have been in your shoes starting out in their career. Good luck!