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Faculty Development

Faculty Development may occur in a variety of configurations (lecture, workshop, etc.) using internal and/or external resources. UT Southwestern encourages and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires faculty members to pursue faculty development designed to enhance their skills at least annually:

  • as educators;
  • in quality improvement and patient safety;
  • in fostering their own and their residents’ well-being; and,
  • in patient care based on their practice-based learning and improvement efforts.

UT Southwestern offers a variety of resources and development opportunities for faculty.

The Graduate Medical Education Office provides resources focusing on development for Program Directors, Associate Program Directors, and core faculty of all UTSW GME programs. These include:

  • Our GME Faculty Development Series offers monthly presentations to provide professional development activities specific to the role of the GME Program Director and program Faculty. The current planned schedule is available here, and slides and recorded presentations are available on MedHub.
  • The Program Director Advisory Council (PDAC) meets quarterly and enhances the quality of UT Southwestern’s Graduate Medical Education enterprise by:
    • Optimizing and facilitating communication between and among Program Directors, the Graduate Medical Education Committee, the Designated Institutional Official, the Office of Graduate Medical Education, and the hospitals that serve as major training sites;
    • Providing an organized forum in which Program Directors may exchange best practices and raise issues of concern;
    • Training and developing Program Directors and core faculty members.
  • The DIO provides an individualized New Program Director Orientation with each newly-appointed Program Director to provide an overview of the Program Director role and to orient them to important GME policies, requirements, and resources.
  • The AMA GME Competency Education Program Faculty Development Curriculum has been purchased by GME and is designed to help address gaps in professional development within ACGME competencies for Program Directors and program Faculty.
  • The GME Office has contracted with MedHub to provide the MedHub Learning Portal, a series of on-demand modules that allow Program Directors and Faculty to view interactive learning content and to track learning retention via assessments and completion of interactive activities.

The Office of Faculty Diversity and Development (FDD) and Office of Women’s Careers (OWC) collaborate to offer programs and resources for the UT Southwestern faculty:

  • Leadership Emerging in Academic Departments (LEAD) Program for Junior Faculty Physicians and Scientists. LEAD is a leadership program designed for Junior Faculty who aspire to develop their leadership skills. Curriculum includes modules in self-discovery, communication, influence, negotiation, difficult conversations, inspiring trust, and embracing diversity. This program meets monthly for a whole year.
  • Starting University Clinical Careers Effectively, Scholarly, and Successfully (SUCCESS). The SUCCESS program helps clinician-educators thrive at UT Southwestern by providing training in the four domains of excellence required for academic promotion: Clinicians, Educators, Scholars and Institutional Citizens. This program is split into two, virtual, 4-hour sessions.
  • Scientific Management Accelerating Research & Tenure (SMART). The SMART program is a new scientific leadership and management nanocourse for junior faculty who are at the early stages of building their own independent basic science or clinical research programs. SMART is designed to help these investigators establish their research brand, manage their teams, avoid pitfalls and navigate the landscape at UTSW and the larger research community nationally and internationally.
  • New Faculty Research Forum. Recently appointed Tenure-Accruing Assistant Professors present 10-minute lectures about their research at the annual New Faculty Research Forum. The event introduces new faculty to the UT Southwestern Medical Center academic community, and provides a unique opportunity to both showcase research at the frontiers of biomedical science and to jumpstart interdisciplinary collaborations.
  • SOAR R-Grant Writers Workshop. The “Successfully Obtaining an R” (SOAR) Program is a grantsmanship program designed to use small group interactive grantsmanship coaching to craft a fundable proposal. It is led by a senior grantsmanship coach (Dr. Yin and others). Participants will attend six weekly two-hour sessions in which they are engaged in peer review of each other’s target grant sections for that week.
  • Promotion and Tenure Workshops. The Office of Faculty Diversity & Development and Office of Women’s Careers collaborates with the UT Southwestern Medical School's Promotion and Tenure Committee to ensure that faculty members understand the academic advancement timeline and criteria for each distinct academic rank and track as it relates to the promotion and tenure process. There are 5 different workshops: Demystifying the P&T Process, Clinical Scholar Track, Tenure-Accruing/Tenure Track, Clinician-Educator Track, and Research Track.
  • Mentoring and Career Development. FDD/OWC Associate Deans, Dr. Byron Cryer and Dr. Helen Yin, provide individual counsel to junior faculty such as: 1:1 career consultation, CV review, Career mapping advice, and Faculty Exit interviews. To schedule an appointment with either of our Deans, please email Breanna.Grimes@UTSouthwestern.edu.
  • Housestaff Mentoring Network. The Housestaff Mentoring Network for trainees is an accessible resource tool for professional development and network expansion. Interested mentees can search for a mentor based on a variety of criteria such as areas of interest or mentor profile information. To assist with your mentor/mentee experience, Mentor Resources and Mentee Resources are available on the website.

The Office of Continuing Medical Education offers many learning opportunities for faculty:

  • Courses | UT Southwestern The Office of Continuing Medical Education provides activities such as courses, seminars, workshops, teleconferences, and self-directed learning options.

The Office of Medical Education offers programs and provides consultation and support for faculty members in other activities related to medical education.

  • Effective Teacher Series is a faculty development program for all faculty, fellows, and residents, both pre-clinical and clinical, that is designed to enhance and improve teaching skills. 
  • SWAT The UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) is a group of elite UT Southwestern Medical Center educators who strive to provide an academic and organizational environment that fosters excellence in teaching at all levels, rewards superb teachers, stimulates innovation in education, and promotes scholarship in education. SWAT sponsors The Annual Alfred G. Gilman Educational Symposium each spring which provides an opportunity for learners, faculty and educators to learn more on topics related to resilience, reflection and renewal within medical education.
  • Events Calendar - UT Southwestern Events Calendar On the UTSW Events page, there is information on grand rounds offered through different departments.

Additional External Resources:

  • LEARN at ACGME The ACGME offers a variety of resources including Faculty Development in Assessment and Evaluation, the Basics of ACGME Accreditation, topic-based discussion forums and a library of videos from their Annual Educational Conference.
  • The ACGME’s Annual Educational Conference is the premiere national conference for Graduate Medical Education. A healthy contingent of UT Southwestern faculty and staff attend every year, and all Program Directors and Associate Program Directors are encouraged to attend.
  • ACGME’s Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment Course The ACGME offers virtual and live faculty development courses. The course will provide content through a series of interactive workshops and small group activities designed to help faculty members and leaders achieve the goals of competency-based assessment in GME.
  • The Association for Hospital Medical Education provides a series of events and webinars each year that are directly related to Graduate Medical Education.
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