Overview

With respect to their academic progress, Faculty in the Department of Surgery are required to participate in and are evaluated on:

  • Teaching
  • Research and Scholarship
  • Service

Taken together, these activities will provide evidence of a national and international reputation in one’s chosen field of specialization.

Our Department is comprised of a diverse faculty on the Clinical Track, Research Track and Tenure Track.

Tenure track – This track is designated for faculty whose primary effort is the creation and dissemination of new knowledge through research efforts.  Areas of endeavor include clinical research, basic laboratory investigation, outcomes research and device and technique development – among others.

Research track – This track is designed for faculty who engage exclusively in scholarship and must cover 100% of their salary through extramural funding.

Clinical track – Faculty on this track are primarily engaged in the clinical mission and function academically primarily as surgical mentors and clinical trialists. Clinical track faculty are further divided into three different pathways, giving opportunities for advancement in various areas of practice:

  • Clinician Scholar – the majority of our faculty will fall under this pathway, which requires teaching, mentorship, scholarship and service in the context of one’s clinical duties.

The two “E” Pathways indicate the need for something “Extra” as listed below:

  • Clinical Excellence – Patient care and the scholarship of practice are the overwhelming areas of emphasis for these faculty.
  • Clinician Educator – Persons on this pathway must show impact on teaching and training programs, including curriculum innovation, new teaching modalities or methods of evaluating teaching and program or course development. Scholarly review articles focused on pedagogic theory, innovative teaching techniques or development of web-based or video-teaching modules are required for promotion.

Our Department of Surgery Faculty Affairs office is led by Dr. William E. Carson, III, Vice Chair of Academic Development and Promotion and Tenure along with administrative support from Jenn Long-Laurent. They work together as a team combining their years of experience in mentoring and coaching the surgical faculty in their academic careers. They assist with recruiting, onboarding, mentoring and the application process for promotion & tenure.

Mentorship Program for the Ohio State Department of Surgery

Under Dr. Carson’s leadership, our department mentorship council covers four primary academic areas with faculty representatives who assist the department’s early career surgeons in obtaining guidance in:

  • Basic Science
  • Clinical Excellence
  • Education
  • Health Services Research/Quality Initiatives

Our mentorship program for junior and mid-level faculty provides a regular and effective means of monitoring individual career plans with encouragement, suggestions and facilitation toward successful outcomes. Additionally, we want to provide junior and mid-level faculty, as well as residents and medical students, with visible and interactive role models of what academic surgery success looks like in the tenure and clinical tracks.

And our Faculty Advancement, Mentoring and Engagement (FAME) is a valuable online learning community with many tools and resources.

See below for more information about our faculty development in the Department of Surgery:  

Faculty Development