For Northwestern Medicine Regional Hospitals

Faculty appointed in this track are full-time and part-time clinicians who contribute to the mission of the medical school by practicing in affiliated hospitals or clinics, and may participate in clinical trials or student and/or resident teaching programs in variable amounts up to 5% upon request. Health System Clinicians are typically employed by affiliated clinical entities such as a clinical practice plan of Northwestern Medicine, the Pediatric Faculty Foundation, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab or others as they exist from time to time. On occasion, physicians in private practice may be appointed in this track if they actively contribute to advancing the vision, mission, and values of Northwestern Medicine or another of the clinical affiliates. Faculty in this track will also pursue continuing medical education, earning at least enough credits to maintain licensure. The clinical institutions where they work will also recognize Health System Clinicians, where appropriate, by the professional standards committee of their practice plan. Health System Clinician appointments are unpaid by the University, non-tenure-eligible, and normally rankless. 

Faculty in this track will normally be titled as Health System Clinician; however, those eligible for membership on the medical staff of Northwestern Memorial Hospital are designated specifically as Health System Clinician/NMH and those eligible for membership on the medical staff of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago as Health System Clinician/LCH.  

1. CMO collects the following documents from the candidate:
   • Current CV 
   • HSC Personal Data Form 
   • HSC Cover Sheet for New Appointment (section 1 completed by the candidate) 
2. CMO completes remaining sections of the HSC Cover Sheet for New Appointment.
3. CMO sends all the documents from steps 1 and 2 above to the relevant Department Chair's Office. In determining which department to work with, check the board certification of the proposed HSC. Physicians are granted faculty appointments in the Feinberg department that corresponds to their board certification.
   View departmental contact list

The FSM Department Chair will review the recommendation and, if supportive, forward the recommendation to the FSM Dean's Office. Both the FSM Department Chair and FSM Dean must approve before an appointment is granted.  The FSM Dean's Office will issue an appointment letter to the candidate after an appointment is approved.

A small number of Health System Clinicians, may on occasion be designated Health System Clinician/Academic. Faculty members on this track will typically have held an academic appointment at their previous institution just prior to their appointment at Northwestern and be practicing at a regional medical practice.  They are expected to continue to engage in academic activity that will make them eligible for promotion using the criteria described for Clinician-Educators. Faculty who are initially appointed as Health System Clinicians and engage in academic activity measured as publications or similar work products subsequent to their initial appointment may be considered for transfer to the Health System Clinician/Academic track. Faculty appointed to this track will be appointed as Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, or Clinical Professor depending upon their prior academic rank and level of achievement. This is a non-tenure eligible track.

For more information, view the FSM Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (APT).

1. Appointment as HSC/Academic is rare, so before preparing the formal nomination, the CMO should first reach out to the Department Chair of the Feinberg department in which the appointment will be proposed to discuss the case. View departmental contact list.
2. CMO collects the following documents from the candidate:
   • Current CV
   • HSC Personal Data Form 
   • Candidate's Referee List 
   • HSC Cover Sheet for New Appointment (candidate completes section 1 only)
3. CMO completes remaining sections of the HSC/Academic Cover Sheet for New Appointment.
4. CMO sends all the documents from steps 2 and 3 above to the relevant Department Chair's Office. In determining which department to work with, check the board certification of the proposed HSC. Physicians are granted faculty appointments in the Feinberg department that corresponds to their board certification.
   View departmental contact list

The FSM Department Chair will review the recommendation and, if supportive, forward the recommendation to the FSM Dean's Office. Both the FSM Department Chair and FSM Dean must approve before an appointment is granted.  The FSM Dean's Office will issue an appointment letter to the candidate after an appointment is approved.