Frequently Asked Questions about The Academy

 

 

1.  What is the MCG Academy of Medical Educators?

The Academy is a school-wide organization of distinguished educators which:

  • Promotes educational excellence, innovation, and scholarship
  • Serves as an “Academic Home” for faculty with career interests in medical education, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, resources, and information. It is analogous to clinical or basic science faculty membership in a center or research institute.
  • Works to improve the quality of medical education through service to the School of Medicine in faculty development, mentoring, and educational leadership.

 

2.  What are goals of The Academy of Medical Educators?

The goals of The Academy are:

  • To recognize faculty who have made outstanding contributions to medical education through excellence in teaching, innovation and scholarship.
  • To establish a forum for faculty with recognized accomplishments in medical education to facilitate the exchange of ideas, career development and collaboration across departments.
  • To improve the quality of medical education  by fostering faculty development, curricular innovation, creating products that will advance the field, and developing educational leaders for the future.

 

3.  What are the benefits of being an Academy member?

Selection for membership in the MCG Academy of Medical Educators is a major achievement.  Some of the benefits include: 

  • Recognition:  Academy members are recognized as being outstanding educators, innovators and leaders in medical education across the institution. 
  • Promotion:  When School of Medicine faculty apply for promotion, their Academy membership establishes their credibility as being outstanding in teaching. 
  • Inspiration and Collaboration:  Participation in Academy meetings and activities provides members with opportunities to interact with other faculty with similar interests and to exchange ideas related to education, facilitating collaboration across departments.   

 

4.  Are there any obligations to being an Academy member?

Because of their expertise in teaching and educational scholarship, faculty are expected to share their time and talents with their colleagues in a variety of activities to improve the quality of its educational programs and the career satisfaction of its faculty:

    • Developing and leading faculty development workshops on topics related to medical education, teaching, and research
    • Participating in educational seminars to promote education issues across campus, such as the monthly Education Interest Group.
    • Serving as mentors for junior faculty or faculty who aspire to be Academy members, helping them develop their education and teaching skills.
    • Serving as educational experts and advocates for educational scholarship on major committees within the School of Medicine.
    • Participating in activities that support the Academy’s function such as helping in the selection and review of Academy members, leading and supporting Academy programs, and helping with Academy governance.

 

5.  Does it cost anything?

There is no cost to join the Academy, and no dues for membership.  The only “cost” is the expectation for service to MCG (see #4 above)

 

6.  How do I apply?

Nominations for Academy membership are by self-nomination.  Calls for application submission will be made in October.  Faculty have two months to get their application packet submitted to The Academy office.  The packet consists of four items:

  • A one page personal statement which should include discussion of his/her:
    • Educational philosophy
    • Professional development in education
    • Anticipated contributions to the mission of The Academy
  • An Educator’s Portfolio (not to exceed 9 pages) containing documentation for each category of educational activity supporting his/her nomination. 
    • Direct Teaching (all applicants must include this category)
    • Curriculum Development
    • Evaluation of Learner Performance
    • Mentoring/Advising
    • Educational Administration/Leadership

The EP should be submitted in accordance with published MCG guidelines (http://www.mcg.edu/som/pandt/educatorportfolio.htm). Supporting documentation should be provided to substantiate the quality or impact of the contributions in each category delineated in the EP. For further guidance and helpful examples of how to provide appropriate documentation of educational accomplishments, click here.

For further information about the application process, see “Academy Membership Application Process.”

 

7.  What are the criteria used to decide who becomes a member?

All Academy members must have a faculty appointment in the School of Medicine.  All applicants should be recognized as outstanding teachers of medical students OR have significant impact on medical student education at MCG through their educational activities with residents, fellows, or graduate students.   Additionally, candidates should demonstrate excellence in one or more of the following educational activities at MCG:

  • Outstanding accomplishments in curriculum development
  • Outstanding accomplishments in evaluation of learner performance
  • Outstanding accomplishments in the advising and/or mentoring of medical students, residents, and/or faculty
  • Outstanding accomplishments in educational administration and/or leadership

Application packets will be reviewed by a panel of internal and external reviewers. Members will be selected by a consensus of reviewers.  The criteria for acceptance will be based upon the documentation and quality of the candidate’s direct teaching activities, other educational activities, personal statement, and plans for service contributions to the Institution.  For examples, click here.

To see the criteria used by reviewers to evaluate each candidate's application packet, click here.

 

8.  What is the timetable for application?

The general timetable for the application process is:

  • October: Call for applications
  • December: Completed application packets due to Academy office
  • January/February: Peer review of applications
  • March: Announcement of new Academy members
  • April: Induction of new Academy members

 

9.  Is membership permanent, or is it time-limited?

Academy membership is five years in duration as long as the member continues to remain active in Academy activities.  At the end of each academic year, every Academy member submits a one-page report to the Chair of The Academy detailing his/her educational activities and service to The Academy for the previous year.  If the member is not maintaining a level of performance consistent with his/her initial application, he/she may be asked to resign his/her membership. Members are encouraged to reapply for membership when their term has expired.  The reapplication process for membership is the same as that for initial membership. Click here to view The Academy Service Accomplishments sheet.

 

10.  Why do I have to reapply for membership after 5 years?

Members of The Academy serve as a core of motivated faculty who function as mentors, faculty development workshop facilitators, educational leaders and role models for School of Medicine faculty, residents, and medical students.  In essence, they are the “engine” that helps keep the educational programs of the MCG School of Medicine moving forward.  This can only continue to happen if Academy members remain actively engaged in teaching and educational activities. 

 

11.  Can I be a member of The Academy if I am not a faculty member in the School of Medicine?

At the present time, Academy membership is limited to faculty with an appointment in the School of Medicine.

 

12.   I teach predominantly residents.  Can I still be a member of The Academy?

Academy members must be outstanding teachers of medical students or have a significant impact on medical student education.  Thus faculty who teach residents, fellows, or graduate students must be able to demonstrate the impact of their education activities on medical student education.  For example:

  • Developing workshops or curricula that help residents develop skills in teaching, feedback, or evaluation.
  • Developing curricula for senior medical students for their acting internships.
  • Developing programs to help students develop their clinical or procedural skills.

 

 

Revised November 3, 2009 .  Please send comments, suggestions or questions about this page to School of Medicine, @mcg.edu .