Potential applicants for promotion will be interested to know that more clinical faculty members than ever before are being promoted, thanks to some changes in process and resources now available to support applicants in the process.
The primary reason for this increase is that the promotions process was restructured in 2015 to eliminate “career paths” and to consider all of a professor’s accomplishments in the decision for promotion. The resulting percentage of faculty members whose applications for promotion have been successful are noted in the graph below.
In addition, the office of Faculty Affairs has been providing one-on-one counselling and regular promotions workshops to increase awareness of what is required for promotions. This year, workshops were held for the Clinical Teaching and Personnel Committee (CTPC) and Departmental Teaching and Personnel Committee (DTPC) members to keep them up-to-date on best practices when evaluating a professor’s dossier.
Dr. Sharon Whiting, interim vice-dean of Faculty Affairs, is excited about the increased rate of successful applications and is confident that it will remain high in the coming years. “We are constantly evaluating the process at all levels and providing education, and we remain open to change the metrics.”
More specifically, what has changed?
- DTPCs are integral in the promotions process, offering support to applicants and approving applications before they are submitted to the CTPC.
- The promotions process is no longer tightly linked to career paths.
- Scholarship in patient care quality and safety, including the development of educational materials, assessment tools and guidelines, are more explicitly recognized.
- Scholarship must create new insights, ideas or concepts; must yield a new understanding; and must be disseminated.
- Scholarship is not limited to just publication numbers.
- Administrative service is a valued part of the application package
What remains the same?
- The expectation of scholarship excellence in a focus area, either clinical, education and teaching, or research.
- The requirement of scholarship with an emphasis on the creation of new knowledge and methods, public dissemination, and peer-acceptance.
- All faculty must submit a teaching dossier.
NOTE: These guidelines pertain to clinical faculty (MD) and clinical scientists (PhD). Faculty members belonging to the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), roughly 110 of the Faculty’s almost 2700 faculty members, follow different promotion guidelines which are described in the APUO Collective Agreement.
The Faculty of Medicine would like to see increasing numbers of applicants. Members are encouraged to seek advice and support from their chair, division head, DTPC, mentor, colleagues, and/or the Faculty Affairs office regarding the promotion requirements, guidelines, and process. There is also information on the Faculty Affairs’ website.
Key words of advice from Faculty Affairs are to have a clear understanding of the expectations outlined in your appointment contract, to start working on your promotion application early-on, and to seek support from those around you.
The 2018-2019 promotions ceremony was held on Wednesday, February 27. See our list of all faculty members promoted in the 2018-2019 year.
