Academic Position Descriptions

Introduction

The academic position descriptions (i.e. academic job descriptions) are a UofT requirement for all full-time and part-time clinical faculty who hold an appointment.  

The position descriptions help to identify:

• The amount of time the individual will devote to each of the following: scholarship, teaching (formal and informal), clinical activities and administrative service and protected time for scholarship (time distribution);
• The focus of the individual's scholarly work.

Teaching and Education

The Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine is committed to delivering the highest quality medical education across the learning continuum. The faculty members are expected to teach within the context of their provision of clinical care and to engage in formal, scheduled teaching outside of clinical care delivery. However, teaching scope and intensity will vary by faculty member’s academic position description.

All faculty members are expected to:

• Demonstrate competence in teaching, and to strive for excellence in teaching
• Be receptive to feedback on their teaching
• Engage in faculty development and/or mentorship around teaching as required
• All faculty members are expected to engage in scholarly activities. However, the scope and intensity will vary by faculty member’s academic position description

Academic Position Descriptions

Scholarship (Research, Creative Professional Activities and Sustained Excellence in Teaching)

Scholarship through Research:

Research productivity is generally demonstrated through traditional metrics: peer-reviewed publications, operating and salary support awards; graduate teaching supervision and the success of one’s trainees; receipt of research awards and honours; invitations to speak at national and international research symposia; invited professorships; membership on research advisory boards and grant panels, etc.

Scholarship through Creative Professional Activities (CPA):

Scholarship can also be recognized by the pathway of CPA as an important contribution of academic physicians.

CPA is a broad term that refers to: 1. Contributions to the Development of Professional Practices, e.g., health policy development, regulatory committees, setting of standards; 2. Exemplary Professional Practice, e.g., teaching techniques, educational innovations, curriculum development, models of care innovations (e.g. role of EMR prompts, standardized pathways, pre-printed patient ‘order sets’, on quality and safety of inpatient care or resident experience); leadership in the development of professional practice (e.g. tools to enhance physician communication, professionalism); and 3. Professional Innovation and Creative Excellence, e.g., patient videos, curriculum innovations, use of digital technologies or other devices to improve care and outcomes.

NOTE: CPA does NOT need to be described under the above three headings. Rather, the University has provided these headings as examples of the types of activities that CPA would encompass.

The impact of CPA outside of the local environment may be demonstrated in many ways. These include awards and honours, invited presentations, testimonials/letters of recognition provided by recognized leaders, invitations to consult/advise (e.g., with a quality improvement project or educational curriculum at another institution), an appointment to decision making bodies, advisory committees, or task forces related to the focus of one’s CPA.

Importantly, to have an impact through CPA, an individual’s CPA activities should have a thematic connection. For example, if a faculty member has as his/her focus, “addressing low-value care" (i.e., something related to Choosing Wisely he/she might list a publication describing a project on this theme, membership on a national committee for her specialty related to Choosing Wisely, teaching on this topic, and some invited presentations in other provinces). In total, these activities can provide a substantive picture of impact under CPA because they have a clear thematic connection.

Scholarship through Sustained Excellence in Teaching:

The Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at U of T values the contributions of our clinician-teachers. Sustained excellence in teaching is also considered a scholarly contribution. Sustained Excellence in Teaching may be demonstrated through a critical mass of: teaching evaluations that provide comparisons against peer teachers; student testimonials; a breadth and depth of teaching, e.g. across different trainee levels and/or training environments; and receipt of teaching awards and honours.