Junior Faculty Development Program
About
The Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) helps prepare junior faculty to flourish as academic physicians and scientists. As a cohort-based program spanning an academic year, the JFPD provides a solid foundation for professional development and career success in academic medicine by:
- Promoting the development and advancement of junior faculty through education, skill development, and mentored scholarly projects;
- Fostering networking and collaborations among junior faculty;
- Facilitating mentoring relationships between senior and junior faculty; and
- Increasing the satisfaction, engagement, and retention of junior faculty
Sessions will be held every other Wednesday from September 25, 2024 – April 23, 2025 from 8:00am-10:00am. Participants can expect a time commitment of about 8-10 hours per month which includes class time, session preparation, and project work.
Application
- Request for applications posted: April 17, 2024
- Download application here
- Submit application here no later than May 10, 2024
- Selected participants notified: May 17, 2024
Contact Ashley Ayers for additional application information.
The curriculum is relevant for all SOM junior faculty. Faculty members who will benefit most include:
- Assistant professors who aspire to academic advancement
- Assistant and/or “early” associate professors who have joined the institution within the past three years
- Faculty who are seeking or engaged in a career transition (i.e. change of focus to education/education research, or new administrative position)
Current participants:
Previous participants:
The curriculum covers a broad range of knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed for career success in academic medicine including education, research, leadership, communication, and publication. Sessions are interactive classroom experiences including case discussions, group exercises, and skill development. Sessions will be led by senior faculty, UVa Health System leaders, and experts in education, research, and leadership.
Each participant will identify a project that s/he will pursue during the course of the JFDP with the guidance of a senior faculty mentor. Projects are approved by the department chair and may focus on education, research, or patient care (e.g., grant submission, course/curricula development, clinical QI initiative, etc.). Projects should be relevant to the faculty member’s career interests and assigned departmental responsibilities. All participants will make a presentation on their project at the end of the JFDP.
For further details, please review the mentoring overview.
Program requirements include 80% attendance, active participation in sessions and with mentor, timely completion of session assignments, and individual scholarly project.
This program is modeled after the junior faculty development programs at the Penn State College of Medicine and University of Massachusetts Medical School. We recognize the work and research of our PSU and UMMS colleagues.
Empowering Junior Faculty: Penn State’s Faculty Development and Mentoring Program.
Thorndyke LT, Gusic ME, George JH, Quillen DA & Milner RJ. Academic Medicine 81: 668–73 (2006).
(View on PubMed)
Functional Mentoring: A Practical Approach with Multilevel Outcomes.
Thorndyke LT, Gusic ME & Milner RJ. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 28: 157–64 (2008).
(View on PubMed)
The Essential Value of Projects in Faculty Development.
Gusic ME, Milner RJ, Tisdell EJ, Taylor EW, Quillen DA and Thorndyke LT. Academic Medicine 85: 1484–91 (2010).
(View on PubMed)