Career Development

The School of Medicine provides guidelines and resources for faculty as they consider their progression through the Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (APT) process. The definitive policies come from the School, and the Department of Pediatrics has specific guidelines developed for Career Track.

Department Process

Determining the most appropriate track for a faculty member is made on the basis of the overall direction of a candidate’s academic career, taking into account the allocation of time to clinical activity, research and teaching. Nominations for faculty appointments and promotion and the granting of tenure are made by the Department of Pediatrics to the School of Medicine.

Faculty should discuss their promotion trajectory at least annually with their division chief. This is often accomplished during the annual Summary of Accomplishment (SOA) meetings. Division chiefs will submit faculty CVs that are to be considered for promotion to the chair of the Department APT committee (DAPT). If the faculty member’s accomplishments warrant consideration for promotion, the chair of the DAPT will notify the Departmental APT Coordinator who will generate a request for the dossier materials (CV, Intellectual Development Statement, Annotated Bibliography, list of suggested referees, and Summary of Teaching, if applicable) directly from the faculty member. These materials must be returned to the APT Coordinator prior to review by the DAPT committee. 

The DAPT committee meets 3-4 times per year, and once approved by the DAPT committee, the promotion packet is then forwarded on for review to:

• The SOM APT office and Dean for non-tenure track faculty; or
• The SOM Clinical Science APT committee and then the Dean if tenure track faculty

The materials are then reviewed by the Chancellor's Medical Center Executive Committee (MCEC), and finally, by the Provost and Board of Trustees. The process takes approximately 12 months in its entirety.

Department of Pediatrics Specific Promotion Materials

• Department APT: Tenure Track [rev. 02.04.2021]
• Department APT: Career Track [rev. 07.10.2024]
• Department APT: Guidance on Career Track for Faculty [rev. 07.10.2024]
• Department APT: Quick Reference Guide [rev. 02.04.2021]
• Appendix 1: Quality Improvement and Safety Supplemental Information [rev. 02.25.2021]
• Appendix 2: Improvement Science Project Portfolio [rev. 02.25.2021]
• Appendix 3: Education Supplemental Information [rev. 03.08.2021]
• Appendix 4: Educator Portfolio [rev.02.01.2021]
• Appendix 5: Summary of Teaching [rev. 05.25.2021]
• Pediatrics Summary of Accomplishments [rev. 04.26.2022]
• Publication Metrics: What is H Index and How Is It Calculated? [Duke University Medical Center Library & Archives]
• iCite: NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis
  [iCite is a tool to access a dashboard of bibliometrics for papers associated with a portfolio. Users type in a PubMed query or upload the PubMed IDs of articles of interest. iCite has three modules: Influence, Translation, and Open Citations.]

School of Medicine Specific Promotion Materials

• Clinical Sciences APT Process and Resources for Faculty and Administrators
   
• Additional Types of Scholarship accepted by SOM
   
• Clinical Sciences APT Meeting Dates

Academic New Faculty Orientation for Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (APT) in the Clinical Sciences

The ABCs of APT*

James E. Tcheng, MD
Assistant Dean for Academic Appointments

Watch Video [*login required]

View Slides [*login required]

View Additional Office for Faculty Recorded Seminars

Information about the 2022-2023 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation (NFO) series is coming soon!

Questions

• Questions about your personal career trajectory should be directed to your division chief and/or primary mentor.

The goals for mentoring committees are to provide consistent, expert guidance and facilitate sponsorship as one’s career develops at Duke. A current initiative of the department is to provide guidance and oversight of this process to ensure committees are formed, meetings occur at the appropriate intervals, and discussions remain focused, on-topic, and value-added to the mentee.  

Faculty below the rank of full professor (track IV and V) or associate professor with tenure (tracks I to III) should have a mentoring committee. It is recommended that committees meet twice per year and plan for at least 1 hour per meeting. Each committee should be composed of approximately 4 to 5 faculty members, including a designated chair.

• Standard Operating Procedure Faculty Mentoring Committees [*login required]
• Mentoring Guidelines for Mentored Faculty [*login required]
• Mentoring Guidelines for Committee Members [*login required]
• Mentoring Committee Form [*login required]

Pediatrics

• Pediatrics Grand Rounds [*login required]
• Pediatrics Research Rounds [*login required]
• Professional Development Conferences Series [*login required]

Medicine

• Medicine Grand Rounds [*login required]

Office for Faculty

• Office for Faculty Recorded Seminars [*login required] Includes:
  • Academic New Faculty Orientation Sessions
  • Effective Presentation Skills
  • Duke Hospital's History
  • Faculty for Anti-Racism and Equity (FARE) Committee Town Halls

Research Rounds

Pediatrics Research Rounds is a monthly presentation of outstanding research in the Department of Pediatrics. The series is designed to foster new initiatives and collaborations among our faculty. The series takes place on Friday of most months, at 12 noon via Zoom until further notice. If you are unable to attend, links to watch the streaming video will be emailed each month.

Professional Development Seminar Series

The Department of Pediatrics is invested in the career development of all faculty and offers a Faculty Development Seminar Series. The series curriculum will include popular topics such as career development opportunities as well as mentoring, and resources and guidelines pertaining to research, among many others. Seminars are offered monthly at 12:00pm throughout the fall and spring semesters via Zoom until further notice.

Professional Development Seminar Series

The Professional Development Seminar Series (PDSS) is an ongoing series of lectures on topics such as difficult conversations, professional “survival” skills, and cultural/organizational dynamics at Duke. Faculty are notified of events via e-mail.

Write Winning Grant Proposals

This widely acclaimed seminar comprehensively addresses both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to the proposal-writing process. It is an all-day program, held once a year (typically in July). Emphasis is given to such things as idea development, identification of the most appropriate granting agency, how to write for reviewers, and tips and strategies that are of proven value in presenting an applicant's case to reviewers. The content includes material on coping with changes in the NIH format and review process.

Gopen Writing Seminars

Held annually in October/November, Writing from the Reader's Perspective is a full day seminar that focuses on writing from the reader’s perspective. The seminar is based on the concept that in order to improve writing, it is first necessary to understand the process of reading. The ideas presented in this workshop have changed participants' writing habits permanently, often resulting in improved grant-writing and publication success.