The UCSF Academy of Medical Educators

Objective: Although teaching has long been considered a core mission of academic medicine, research and clinical service have overshadowed it. Decades of attempts at recapturing the core value of teaching have essentially failed. To resolve this problem, we have created a new entity, the Academy of Medical Educators, to elevate teaching through support of a core group of talented and effective teachers who will, in turn, improve the environment for all teaching faculty members.

Description: The Academy, composed of the school's most distinguished teachers, was conceptualized in 1999 as part of curriculum reform at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). The first director, Dr. Molly Cooke, was appointed in July 2000 and the inaugural class of 24 Academy members inducted in September 2001. Academy members were selected through a rigorous evaluation process that started with submission of an educator's portfolio, which had to contain the documentation of one or more of these areas of educational activity: direct teaching, program design and curriculum innovation, mentoring and advising, educational administration and leadership, and scholarship and creation of enduring materials. Fifty applications were received; most candidates chose three or four areas of educational activity. Applications passing initial screening were reviewed by at least three nationally recognized experts in medical education and the Executive Committee of the Academy. The initial class consisted of 11 full professors, nine associate professors, and four assistant professors, representing 13 departments. Peer-reviewed activity reports will be required in the fourth year of a five-year renewable term. Resources available to the Academy include a $3.5-million operating budget providing for administrative support, members' travel to education meetings, faculty development programs, and support for curriculum innovation and education research. In 2001, the Academy solicited targeted innovation grant proposals and awarded $110,000 for curriculum reform. Twenty endowed chairs that are jointly funded by the UCSF Dean's Office and departments will provide faculty support. The Dean has designated $5 million for creation of these matched chairs. Two departments have secured funds to establish matched chairs, another three are raising funds, and the Academy Director's chair has been endowed with $1 million from external funds.

Discussion: Enthusiasm for the Academy has been exceptionally high and broad-based. Applicants and riviewers responded positively to the diverse categories of teaching and educational accomplishment. Applicants were variably effective in documenting their achievements. We expect this to improve with increasing familiarity with the process, provision of detailed examples, and better learner ratings data. The UCSF School of Medicine and campus promotion review committees now accept documentation of teaching in the Academy format. Funding for targeted innovations has been an important stimulus to creativity and an encouragement to hard-working faculty in the midst of a demanding curricular reform process. It has proved important to have applicants for “innovation” funding identify the activity that will be replaced by Academy funding, if salary support is requested, and to request a plausible strategy for continuing the innovation after Academy funding. For the Academy to be a transforming innovation, it must promote enhanced scholarship among its members, serve as a valued resource for all the school's teachers, and secure long-term funding.