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Like most of us, you probably didn’t go to graduate school with hopes of becoming an Assistant Dean for Faculty Development, or an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. You may never have predicted you’d be a professional staff person in academic affairs.
It’s usually something we fall in to by happenstance, or just by the grace of God. We find ourselves in this really wonderful position and we really don’t know much about it. Faculty development is a field that’s been recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The AAMC’s Group on Faculty Affairs (GFA) has been around for more than ten years.
There is a huge body of work that’s been created for our community from the GFA. You don’t have to start from scratch.
As part of the GFA, there is an active LISTSERV community. The GFA is very supportive of each other. When a LISTSERV inquiry goes out over the email, it’s almost automatically answered within minutes.
The AAMC staff have done a nice job of archiving those LISTSERV questions. You can visit the GFA website and search the archive of the most commonly asked questions.
Some of my colleagues have come on board in our office of Faculty Development, at various levels of engagement, and didn’t know anything about the AAMC or GFA. I would hate for any of our friends out there to think they have to reinvent any wheels! There are lots of wheels that have been invented in our community. These people have built wonderful programs that have been evaluated and published in peer review literature.
This work has also been presented at the GFA’s annual conference. The GFA has a wonderful annual conference held ever July in great locations. It’s a great opportunity for you if you’re new to the field. There’s also chances to get involved in GFA leadership through the various committees, subcommittees, and taskforces.
There are about a dozen Affinity Groups under the AAMC, and you’ll find that the GFA is one of the most vibrant and active groups. Never hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Also, make sure to check out our Institutions Map to see the abundance of programs and their locations.
Please don’t waste time trying to start things from scratch! Your friends in the GFA community may have already developed something wonderful. Yes, every medical school is different, but we also share a lot in common, and struggle with the same issues. I’m confident you’ll be able to find what you want by tapping into this community.
You can also learn more by listening to this episode of the Faculty Factory podcast via the embedded podcast player above.