Career Advancement for Surgeon-Educators:Findings from a Modified Delphi Process

Reward and recognition of surgical education as an academic activity remains a highly variable process between institutions. The goal of this study is to provide expert consensus definition of an academic surgical educator, with focus on criteria for academic promotion.

Following IRB approval, a Web-based modified Delphi process was used to generate prioritized academic promotion criteria for surgical educators.

Participants were recruited nationally from a pool of senior academic surgeons who are members of the Society of University Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Chairs.

Following a three-round modified Delphi process, the top domains of educational activity for promotion to associate professor and professor were scholarship, teaching, and administration; mentorship was also a priority category for promotion to professor. The top three activities described for promotion to Associate Professor were active participation in conferences/ departmental educational activities for medical students and residents; educational portfolio demonstrating commitment to activities as an educator; and clinical teaching excellence at their home institution. The three activities most highly scored items for promotion to Professor were mentorship of junior surgical educators; active participation in conferences/ departmental educational activities for medical students and residents; and a record of teaching excellence at the medical student and resident levels.

These findings demonstrate a progression from teacher to scholar to leader across a surgical educator's career, with each level incorporating and building upon the prior activities. Identification of categories and criteria may meaningfully inform best practices to be incorporated into the career development and promotion processes for surgeons on an educator academic pathway.