SESECAS

Topics

What we talk about

Every meeting takes on one or two of these. They came out of our first meeting, when we went around the room and compared what was hardest about the first years on faculty.

Focus areas

Six questions that keep coming up

Different specialties, different hospitals, same problems. These are the areas we return to most often.

01

Referrals and clinical niche

Getting referrals, growing your case volume, and finding the area you want to be known for.

02

Research and protected time

Getting a research program off the ground, finding collaborators and funding, and holding on to the time to do the work.

03

Promotion

Learning what your institution looks for, keeping track of your work, and getting known outside your own hospital.

04

Workload and competing priorities

Fitting in clinical work, research, teaching, and admin, and still having a life outside the hospital.

05

Non-promotable work

Deciding what to say yes or no to, and how to get credit for the work that has to get done anyway.

06

Mentorship and sponsorship

Finding people who will give you good advice, speak up for you, and make introductions.

Example discussion

What counts toward promotion?

What counts for promotion depends on your institution and your track. At our first meeting we made this rough list of the work that tends to get rewarded, and the work that has to get done but rarely gets credit.

Often recognized in promotion

Research and publications

  • Conducting original research
  • Publishing in high-impact journals
  • Securing research grants
  • Presenting at national conferences
  • Collaborating on multicenter studies
  • Building a research team

Clinical excellence

  • High-quality patient care
  • Developing or implementing new techniques
  • Recognition as an expert in the field
  • Training and supervising residents
  • Developing clinical guidelines or protocols

Leadership

  • Departmental or institutional leadership roles
  • Executing strategic initiatives
  • National and international society roles
  • Chairing task forces
  • Establishing collaborations and networks

Teaching

  • Classroom instruction
  • Curriculum development
  • Workshops and faculty development
  • Supervising student research and theses
  • Leading or organizing journal clubs

Often under-recognized

Committee work

  • Diversity, inclusion, or wellness committees
  • Faculty search and ad hoc committees
  • Accreditation and quality improvement committees

Mentorship

  • Informal guidance for students and junior faculty
  • Serving as an unofficial advisor
  • Participating in mentorship programs

Administration

  • Managing schedules
  • Coordinating meetings
  • Handling paperwork
  • Assisting with budgets and resource allocation
  • Organizing clinical rotations

Event organization

  • Organizing departmental events
  • Coordinating conferences and workshops
  • Outreach and promotion

Questions we keep coming back to

  1. 1.Which activities actually count at your institution and on your promotion track?
  2. 2.Which tasks eat up your time but get you little credit?
  3. 3.Can you turn that work into a formal role, a paper, or a leadership position?
  4. 4.What should you take on, hand off, scale back, or turn down?

The full notes from that discussion are in the members area, under meeting notes.

Something else on your mind?

Bring it to the next meeting and we will put it on the agenda. Past agendas show how each topic has been handled so far.

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