Augusta Webster Grants for Educational Innovation Request for Proposal
- An opportunity for career development through investigator-proposed projects in medical education-related scholarship and research. Sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Education, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Any full-time or contributed services faculty member of the Feinberg School of Medicine is eligible to apply, funded individually or through a collaborative group proposal.
- Projects may be proposed for a period of one to three years, at $5,000 to $25,000 per year.
Augusta Webster, MD (1903-1993)
Dr. Augusta Webster, a member of Northwestern’s Class of 1934, was the first woman to be named a full professor at the medical school and in 1960 became the first woman in the country to head a department at a major teaching hospital – the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Cook County Hospital. It was at “the County” that she earned her fame as a teacher of medical students and obstetrical residents, and as a dedicated physician and friend to the medically underserved people of Chicago. After internship and residency at Passavant Memorial Hospital, she practiced at County for over 40 years, including 15 years of non-salaried service.
Dr. Webster introduced at County the first nurse midwife program in Illinois in 1970. She was a founder of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and of the (now defunct) Portes Cancer Prevention Center. In 1948 she received the Alumni Medal of Northwestern University, and in 1954 she was named “Woman of the Year” by the American Medical Women’s Association.
In 1991, an anonymous donor created the Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowships in Medical Education in her honor, with the intent of fostering the career development of innovative medical educators.
The Augusta Webster Grants Program
Prior to 2005, each Augusta Webster Fellow was funded for a half-time commitment over two to three years. With the 2005 request for proposals we altered the structure of the program, tailoring the size and duration of the awards to the specific needs of each individual project, and accepting proposals from collaborative groups of faculty as well as individuals. The awards are known as “Augusta Webster Grants for Educational Innovation,” and those individuals funded for substantial multi-year projects are known as “Augusta Webster Fellows.”
Successful proposals will address current issues and/or challenges in medical education, at any level of the medical education “continuum” – undergraduate (medical student), graduate (resident), or continuing medical education. For this application cycle, proposals related to the following areas are particularly welcome:
Assessment of individual or programmatic educational outcomes, particularly as they relate to the ACGME or FSM general competencies
Education for systems-based care, including patient safety initiatives
Performance-based assessment of clinical or procedural skills
Development of new applications for educational technologies
Development of faculty or residents as educators
The faculty involved in the project may be full-time or contributed services faculty. An individual applicant or the leader on a collaborative application must have their primary faculty appointment at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
Proposals may request support of $5,000 to $25,000 annually, for a period of one to three years. Funds may be designated for faculty, staff or student support, research/programmatic funding, or travel costs associated with the project. Equipment specific to the purpose of the project (e.g., books, specialized software, teaching or assessment aids) may be included, but general supplies, computer hardware, etc. should be considered in-kind contributions from one’s department. All non-faculty personnel must be existing students or employees of Northwestern University or one of its major affiliates (Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, Children’s Memorial Hospital, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, or the Jesse Brown VA).
Proposals will be evaluated by a subcommittee of the Education Council. Projects not funded in a given application year can be reconsidered the following year, upon receipt of an updated proposal and budget from the applicant(s). Successful applicants will be mentored and progress of the proposal monitored by the Dean for Education and/or a designated senior faculty mentor.
Proposal Requirements
A completed proposal should contain the following components:
A narrative describing
previous medical education experience and activities of the applicant(s), not to exceed one page;
the proposed project, including measurable outcomes that will define its success. This project description should not exceed three pages. Requests for multi-year projects should include a timeline that includes intermediate, measurable outcomes at least annually.
A current curriculum vitae for each applicant
A one page description of the project budget, including salary and fringe benefits (24.3% for FY 09), other project costs, and brief justification of these expenses. The justification should specify each applicant’s time commitment to the project.
A statement from the department chair(s) indicating support for the faculty member’s participation in the project, including the specified time commitment.
These materials should be submitted electronically. The department chair’s statement may be sent separately. Questions about the program and inquiries about specific projects may be directed to Raymond Curry, MD (rcurry@northwestern.edu).
