Health System Clinicians Career Track
Career advancement for faculty appointed on the Health System Clinician Career Track occurs through demonstrating achievement and earning recognition for clinical impact and one of a possible four areas of concentration:
- Education
- Research
- Health services management
- Community engagement
Planning Your Journey
Click on your current academic rank to learn how to prepare for your next promotion.
Below are resources to help current clinical assistant professors navigate their career and plan for promotion to clinical associate professor. At Feinberg, we expect that faculty hold the rank of clinical assistant professor for a minimum of six years before promotion to clinical associate professor, but there is no deadline by which you must be promoted. The guidance below establishes milestones for those who aspire to obtain promotion by the six-year mark, but is just as useful for those whose journey is a different length.
Key Focus: Demonstrate clinical impact and academic achievement in your area of concentration that result in regional recognition.
I'm building toward promotion... Years 1-4 (or later) as clinical assistant professor
- Work on expanding your regional reputation as an outstanding clinician.
- Know (or update) your area of concentration, which establishes the criteria used to evaluate you for promotion.
- Become familiar with the Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion and Tenure.
- Seek out career development support through resources available within your department and/or Feinberg (NUCATS, FAME, etc.).
- Use the Feinberg Faculty Portal to maintain your faculty profile.
- Maintain your Feinberg CV and record of teaching on an ongoing basis; consider using the Feinberg Faculty Portal to track your career activity for this purpose.
- Develop scholarly work products within your area of concentration.
- Discuss your career plans with your department chair or division chief and obtain feedback on your progress toward promotion.
- Begin to identify external referees who hold the rank of associate professor or professor and think about how to build relationships.
- Grow your reputation regionally.
I'm ready to apply for promotion Middle of year 4 (or later) as clinical assistant professor
Promotions always take effect on Sept. 1 of a given year, and Feinberg has a structured annual review cycle that, in combination with your department's internal review process, may kick off as early as 20 months before the effective date of an approved promotion. In other words, plan to start the formal application process about 1.5 years before you are promoted.
Key Considerations for Promotion to Clinical Associate Professor
- Will you have held the rank of clinical assistant professor for at least six years on the date your promotion becomes effective? (e.g., if applying for promotion effective Sept. 1, 2025, you should hold the rank of clinical assistant professor for at least six years by that date)
- Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your area of concentration?
- Do you have evidence of a regional reputation?
- Can you list three to six external referees at the rank of associate professor or professor (who are not close collaborators and who do not have a training connection to you) who could write letters of reference in support of your promotion?
Initiate the Application Process
If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you may be ready to apply for promotion. Here are the next steps:
- Contact your department leadership to make them aware you wish to be considered for promotion.
- It is a good idea to have a draft of your Feinberg CV and your referee list prepared at this stage for review by department leadership, who can advise you on readiness for promotion and let you know about your department's internal process for nominating promotion candidates.
- Make sure you and your leadership are in agreement as to your area of concentration for your application. Your leadership will prepare nomination documents that also reference your clinical contributions and recognition at the regional level as well as this recognition for your area of concentration, so you want to make sure documents from all sources are in alignment.
- View the Annual Promotion Cycle page to understand the timeline, prepare your packet and access resources for the current promotion cycle.
Below are resources to help current clinical associate professors navigate their career and plan for promotion to clinical professor. At Feinberg, we expect that faculty hold the rank of clinical associate professor for a minimum of five years before promotion to clinical professor, but there is no deadline by which you must be promoted. The guidance below establishes milestones for those who aspire to obtain promotion by the five-year mark, but is just as useful for those whose journey is a different length.
Key Focus: Obtain national recognition as a clinician and for your scholarly work products within your chosen area of concentration.
I'm building toward promotion... Years 1-3 (or later) as clinical associate professor
- Work on expanding your national reputation as an outstanding clinician.
- Know (or update) your area of concentration, which establishes the criteria used to evaluate you for promotion. If your career focus has shifted since your last promotion, you may change your areas of concentration for your next one.
- Become familiar with the Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion and Tenure.
- Use the Feinberg Faculty Portal to maintain your faculty profile.
- Maintain your Feinberg CV and record of teaching on an ongoing basis; consider using the Feinberg Faculty Portal to track your career activity for this purpose.
- Develop scholarly work products within your area of concentration.
- Discuss your career plans with your department chair or division chief and obtain feedback on your progress toward promotion.
- Begin to identify external referees who hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor and think about how to build relationships.
- Grow your reputation nationally.
I'm ready to apply for promotion Middle of year 3 (or later) as clinical associate professor
Promotions always take effect on Sept. 1 of a given year, and Feinberg has a structured annual review cycle that, in combination with your department's internal review process, may kick off as early as 20 months before the effective date of an approved promotion. In other words, plan to start the formal application process about 1.5 years before you are promoted.
Key Considerations for Promotion to Clinical Professor
- Will you have held the rank of clinical associate professor for at least five years on the date your promotion becomes effective? (e.g., if applying for promotion effective Sept. 1, 2025, you should hold the rank of clinical associate professor for at least five years by that date)
- Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your area of concentration?
- Do you have evidence of a national reputation?
- Can you list three to six external referees at the rank of professor (who are not close collaborators and who do not have a training connection to you) who could write letters of reference in support of your promotion?
Initiate the Application Process
If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you may be ready to apply for promotion. Here are the next steps:
- Contact your department leadership to make them aware you wish to be considered for promotion.
- It is a good idea to have a draft of your Feinberg CV and your referee list prepared at this stage for review by department leadership, who can advise you on readiness for promotion and let you know about your department's internal process for nominating promotion candidates.
- Make sure you and your leadership are in agreement as to your area of concentration for your application. Your leadership will prepare nomination documents that also reference your clinical contributions and recognition at the regional level as well as this recognition for your area of concentration, so you want to make sure documents from all sources are in alignment.
- View the Annual Promotion Cycle page to understand the timeline, prepare your packet and access resources for the current promotion cycle.