What is the Clinical Faculty Advisory Council?

The Clinical Faculty Advisory Council (CFAC) advises the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine on matters related to Clinical Faculty members. It is a forum to engage representatives of the Clinical Faculty community from across the province and across Faculty of Medicine programs to enhance the partnership between Clinical Faculty and the Faculty of Medicine. CFAC members meet every 2 months, and aim to communicate relevant Faculty of Medicine initiatives to Clinical Faculty, foster and promote career development initiatives and opportunities for Clinical Faculty, as well as to identify relevant issues and concerns for Clinical Faculty and develop appropriate actions.

What is CFAC currently working on?

CFAC presently has 3 areas of focus, each with its own subcommittee: communications, recognition, and appointments and promotions.

Communications: Like many of you, I did not know CFAC existed until one afternoon when I was browsing the UBC Faculty of Medicine website and clicked on the Clinical Faculty tab . Needless to say, much work is required to increase the awareness and visibility of CFAC, and it is my hope as the new Pathology CFAC Representative to provide regular updates on the council’s activities through our Departmental Newsletter.

Speaking of the Clinical Faculty website, I highly recommend that you check out the Services and Perks page and make note of the fantastic benefits of being a Clinical Faculty member.

Recognition: We would like to better recognize our outstanding Clinical Faculty members by highlighting them in the Beyond the Classroom: Clinical Faculty Spotlight series. This feature is also included in the Link, UBC Medicine’s biweekly newsletter to all Faculty members. I have submitted a few names from our Department, and look forward to seeing your upcoming features!

Additionally, every Clinical Faculty member will soon be receiving a lapel recognition pin which you can add to your #OOTD (outfit of the day), and increase recognition of your Clinical Faculty status in your professional settings.

Appointments/Promotions: In order to demystify the Clinical Faculty appointments/promotions process, a survey was distributed in May to the Chair and Senior Administrator of each Department’s Promotions Committee to gain a better understanding of current practices. While we are still awaiting results from 8 Departments, the data submitted so far shows that there is much variability in committee composition and meeting frequencies, as well as in approaches and criteria for appointments and promotions. Following review of the full set of data, we will be making recommendations to the Dean and advocating for a more consistent process across all Departments which is fair, relevant, and transparent.

Until next time,
Sophia