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School of Medicine

  1. Educational Review Bodies

    1. Council on Medical Education

      2. The Faculty has the ultimate responsibility for all matters pertaining to the program of medical education. This responsibility for medical education is carried out through the Council on Medical Education. The Council consists of representatives elected from each department and several activities within the School of Medicine. Representation is proportional to departmental size. The Council meets monthly. The Chair of the Council on Medical Education is elected to a four-year term by the faculty at large. The Council is an independent body and is not part of the Office of the Dean.

      The Council is guided by its Executive Committee, which consists of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the chairs of the standing committees, a representative of the Dean's Office, several at-large members who are usually course directors, and student representatives. The Executive Committee meets weekly and addresses issues related to curriculum and other areas regarding student education (e.g. grading, the role of student clinical notes, faculty evaluations and awards, etc.). Thus, educational matters at the School of Medicine are under continuous review. Curricular and other matters are presented by the Executive Committee to the Council on Medical Education. After debate by this body, the issues may be brought before the Medical Advisory Council and the General Faculty for approval and enactment.

    2. Dean's Education Group

      3. The Senior Associate Dean of the School of Medicine has direct responsibility for educational matters and has convened a small group including several Associate Deans and representatives of other educational bodies to discuss a broad range of educational issues. This body meets monthly.

    3. Dean's Staff Meeting

      4. The Dean's Staff meets weekly to discuss a range of issues facing the School of Medicine. Much of the discussion relates directly to educational matters.

  2. Evaluation of Teaching

    1. Student Course Evaluations:

      2. Students rigorously evaluate all courses and teachers in the School of Medicine. Anonymous written evaluations are collected at the end of each course and, indeed, at the end of each section of most courses. Students are asked to evaluate individual faculty, textbooks, syllabi, examinations, laboratory sessions, and small group teaching. Evaluations of the basic science courses are reviewed by the Office of Medical Education (J. Short), and the information is returned to individual course directors. Evaluation of clinical rotations is provided directly to the course directors, and the quantitative evaluations are reviewed and summarized by the Office of Medical Education. Evaluations usually include quantitative measures of satisfaction with course elements and narrative descriptions. Individual clinical faculty are also formally evaluated on questionnaires returned anonymously by students. The Mulholland Society, the medical student organization, compiles all clinical evaluations and annually publishes a Comprehensive Clerkship Evaluation.. This evaluation is widely distributed. Course directors are asked to respond formally, in writing, to student comments and concerns. Usually, the students pull no punches. Feedback from all evaluations is provided to individual faculty.

    2. Peer Review and Teaching Portfolios:

      3. Faculty are encouraged to prepare teaching portfolios for promotions and tenure. A lecture on preparation is provided as part of the Junior Faculty Orientation and Development Program.

      Individual lectures and presentations are attended by peer faculty in a number of departments. This practice is not, however, widespread. It is more commonplace in the basic science courses than in the clinical rotations.

  3. Development of Teaching

    4. The faculty Development Program was initiated in 1994 at the request of the Dean. This program is designed to support and provide new faculty with the skills necessary to facilitate a successful career in academic medicine. The program has included a series of lectures including "Teaching with Multimedia," "Effective Teaching and Presentation," and "Promotions and Tenure Preparation: Your Portfolio." In addition, this year the FDP has been expanded to include a mentoring program in which new faculty will be provided with individual mentors chosen from among senior faculty.

  4. Incentives for Superior Teaching

    1. The Promotions and Tenure Policy at the School of Medicine recognizes excellence in teaching as one criterion. Evaluations by students and house staff are frequently used to support recommendations for promotions and tenure.
    2. The Dean of the School of Medicine has established the University of Virginia School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is presented annually to up to ten faculty members. The award includes a certificate, a $2,500 stipend, and recognition at a General Faculty Meeting. Faculty may be nominated by students or by colleagues, and recommendations are made to the Dean by a subcommittee of the Council on Medical Education. This award is very highly regarded by the faculty of the School of Medicine.
    3. A few long-standing awards are presented to individual faculty at graduation by the graduation class.
    4. Certain teaching activities, such as small group preceptorship, are directly reimbursed by individual departments. Such teaching opportunities are awarded to excellent faculty. Additionally, increasing attention is now paid to teaching skills when assigning clinical ward responsibilities. Because such clinical teaching also generates clinical income, the opportunity to serve on a clinical teaching service is now eagerly sought. Some departments use clinical teaching evaluation as part of the basis for awarding these rotations.