About the Clinical Track
The Clinical Track began in 1986 and actively contributes to the clinical and teaching missions of the Medical School.
The following principles, criteria and descriptions of pathways for Clinical Track faculty were approved by the Medical School Executive Committee in May 2020.
- Michigan Medicine and University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) strives to be one faculty dedicated to our mission using guiding principles of teamwork, integrity, caring and innovation to achieve excellence in all that we do.
- Respecting and valuing the contributions of all faculty is a central cultural value along with recognizing that all contributions are important to achieving Michigan Medicine’s clinical and academic missions.
- Every faculty member should have an annual faculty evaluation that sets short and long term goals, builds a career development plan and describes a mentoring network.
- Academic promotion of UMMS faculty members signifies that they have made important contributions to their field or profession to improve the lives of our fellow citizens now and in the future. The rigor of the process reflects the importance that UMMS places on recognizing and rewarding academic excellence.
- Promotions are an important, but not the sole means to recognize individual contributions; other ways include compensation, enhanced work environment, additional opportunities to participate in departmental and institutional activities and the personal satisfaction gained from earning the respect and gratitude of fellow faculty members and leadership.
An instructor is fully trained to provide clinical care and is qualified to participate in educational programs at the University of Michigan Medical School. Appointment to this rank requires evidence that the individual has received an appropriate level of medical and graduate medical education and documentation of full clinical competence. Certification by the relevant professional board must be pending or completed, recognizing that exceptions for some internationally trained physicians may be granted by the Medical School. Evidence of competence in clinical and didactic teaching is expected. Publications in a candidate’s professional field are encouraged but not required.
A Clinical Assistant Professor has excelled in clinical care and teaching, and these are the primary requirements for appointment to this rank.
- Clinical work: Clinical excellence is documented by letters, which may be from local sources and must attest to the quality of clinical service. Certification by a relevant professional board or the equivalent is a usual expectation at this rank, although this qualification may be in progress at the time of appointment according to the requirements of the relevant professional board; exceptions for some internationally trained physicians may be granted by the Medical School.
- Teaching: Quality of teaching is usually documented by objective teaching evaluations from the learner groups that are being taught (medical students, residents, fellows, undergraduate and graduate students as well as peer education), letters, and awards.
- Scholarship: An Assistant Professor should show progress toward becoming scholarly engaged in their field. On the Clinical Track, publication of peer-reviewed articles in professional journals, book chapters, clinical guidelines, and review articles are evidence of scholarly contributions. These contributions, along with invited presentations and abstracts, are usual features of faculty at this rank.
- Service: The candidate's organizational service, if present, to his or her department should be documented. For faculty members with predominantly clinical effort, several years of postgraduate clinical experience (post-residency or post-fellowship) combined with excellent teaching evaluations may qualify for promotion or appointment at this level.
A Clinical Associate Professor has excelled in teaching and clinical work and has achieved a regional or national reputation in his or her area of expertise. Peer-reviewed published scholarship and service to the institution, regional or national organizations is expected. The associate professor signals the passage into medical academia’s senior rank. Individuals at this rank are expected to be role models of collegiality, integrity, scholarship, and excellence in their professions.
- Clinical work: As an Associate Professor on the clinical track, development as a clinician has progressed to the point of establishing broad interdepartmental and regional recognition by professional colleagues for clinical expertise. This is usually documented in letters from colleagues and peers who attest to the clinical excellence. Appointment or promotion to this rank requires board certification or the equivalent (although occasional exceptions for some internationally trained physicians may be granted by the Medical School).
- Teaching: Evidence of continued valuable contribution to medical education is expected. This may be through customary teaching situations (lectures, clinical instruction of students and residents, mentorship pairing, or scholarly work with trainees including formal evaluations to assess quality) or through the preparation of educational materials, including educational brochures and learning aids, textbook chapters, reviews, videotapes, web-based learning, and other instructional interfaces. Teaching evaluations from all learner groups should be available. Administration and organization of teaching programs are also valued activities, and creativity in their execution can be documented by letters from appropriate knowledgeable faculty, students, and peers.
- Scholarship: The candidate should have produced scholarship that influences knowledge and/or clinical care. Scholarship should include peer-reviewed papers, but may also include books, book or web-based chapters, peer-reviewed clinical guidelines, review articles, and/or some other mode of communicating results and ideas.
- Service: Administration or leadership at the school level or at local, regional, or national organizations are a typical feature of this rank.
A Clinical Professor has many products of their scholarly activity and will have a substantial record of first-author and/or senior-author publications in peer-reviewed journals that have resulted in broad peer recognition in their area of expertise. Service in regional or national specialty societies or boards is the norm. Institutional citizenship is expected of a Senior Clinical Faculty.
The pathway is officially declared when a person is appointed or promoted to the level of clinical associate professor or clinical professor. It is possible to change pathways at any time if the faculty member’s primary activities shift to a different area. The pathways are described below with lists of common activities and achievements.
For all pathways, engagement and activities at a regional level are required for promotion to clinical associate professor, and at a national level for promotion to clinical professor.
Excellence demonstrated by:
• Scholarly products
• Teaching evaluations reflective of regional or national impact
• Innovative teaching practices
• Teaching course, curricula, module development
• Participation in national educational guideline, policy development
• Participation in national educational organizations (eg. AAMC, AMA, ACGME, ABMS) committees, task forces, work groups
• Teaching of courses at state, regional or national meetings
• Teaching through social media
• Patient and community education
• Creation and dissemination of innovative approaches to clinical care
Excellence demonstrated by:
• Scholarly products
• Research funding
• Participation in grant reviews
• Clinical trial development, patient recruitment, leadership of trial site
• Participation in national research organizations, committees
• Research consultancies with industry or other organizations
• Participation in collaborative research
• Presentations at regional and national meetings
• Patents and intellectual property
Excellence demonstrated by:
• Scholarly products
• Outcomes and implementation science innovation
• Development of professional quality guidelines and initiatives that have regional or national impact
• Generation of performance data and performance goals through learning collaboratives
• Development of best practices/innovative methods of care with dissemination
• Patient safety/quality initiative leadership (eg. Lean projects)
Excellence demonstrated by:
• Scholarly products
• Leadership of regional or national organizations or key committees or boards
• Consulting work with government organizations (eg. NIH, CDC, WHO)
• Work with private foundations as consultant or other role
• Community leadership activities on regional/national level
• Outstanding service to a department, medical school, and/or the university that results in regional or national recognition
Excellence demonstrated by a combination of scholarship and other activities.
This pathway should be utilized by faculty members whose activities span a number of areas – eg. Education, research, and administration; or Patient safety/quality innovator and education or research. A blended portfolio is developed that has significant achievements in more than one area.
Given the different areas of emphasis in the various pathways, some faculty members will have “asymmetric” qualifications for appointment and/or promotion, with strong achievement in some areas and less achievement in others. However, clinical excellence and a significant level of scholarship are required for appointment/promotion in the Clinical Track regardless of the chosen pathway.
If you are a current U-M Medical School faculty or staff member looking for additional information, please visit the Office of Faculty Affairs intranet site.
