Focus on Faculty

More than 100 faculty members went to the Aug. 21 Incoming Faculty Orientation (IFO) program to kick-off the academic year. Leaders throughout the university and health system, including President Maurie McInnis, MA, PhD, and Dean Nancy Brown, MD, shared useful information to help faculty thrive as they pursue educational, research, and clinical careers at Yale.

The all-day program featured presentations geared toward ladder and research faculty who joined YSM between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024, and included:

• Overviews of YSM’s clinical, education, and research missions

• Valuable resources available to help faculty members

• Introduction to faculty tracks, with break-out sessions for each career track

If you were unable to join the faculty orientation, you can explore more information and view the presentations on OAPD's website.

Photo credit: Harold Shapiro

OAPD offers career development workshops from September through May geared toward new and early career faculty members. Please join us for our upcoming fall sessions:

• Oct. 9: Faculty Development Feedback and the FDAQ Process

• Oct. 23: YSM Communications: Profile Management, Social Media, and Other Services

• Nov. 13: Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI): Resources and Opportunities

Photo credit: Anthony DeCarlo

OAPD leadership grand rounds will take place on Nov. 7, from 5 - 6 p.m., focusing on "The Power of Psychological Safety in Health Care Teams." Join us at The Anlyan Center Auditorium, 300 Cedar St., for an in-person presentation by Taylor Mauriello, PhD, keynote speaker, organizational leadership expert, and principal consultant at artistotleperformance.com.

Psychological safety, the shared belief that team members can take interpersonal risks without fear of humiliation or retribution, is a critical factor in creating high-performing, resilient health care teams. Drawing from the latest research, this grand rounds session will highlight the driving factors and barriers to fostering psychological safety in health care settings. The presentation will underscore how psychological safety directly impacts patient outcomes, team collaboration, and innovation in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.

While open to YSM faculty, staff, and students, registration is required.

Photo credit: Anthony DeCarlo

YSM introduced the faculty development annual questionnaire (FDAQ) in 2022 as a tool to foster meaningful career conversations with their department leaders, including chairs, section chiefs, and principal investigators (PIs) to promote mentorship, sponsorship, and proactive retention of our faculty. In its first year, ladder track faculty participated in FDAQ, and in the second year, we extended and modified the tool to include members of our research rank faculty.

Prior participants have reported high satisfaction with the process, citing the value of discussing career progression, sharing professional development goals, enhancing mentor-mentee relationships, and strengthening connections with their department chairs, section chiefs and/or PIs.

This year, we have set the goal of 100% participation by faculty, which we believe is attainable given the positive feedback we have received in past years. Below, you will find the full timeline for the FDAQ process and we encourage you to begin early to allow time for thoughtful preparation.

FDAQ Deadlines:

• Nov. 4, 2024 – FDAQ roll-out to ladder and research rank faculty in all YSM departments (clinical, basic science, bridge)

• Feb. 1, 2025 – Deadline for faculty to complete their FDAQ form

• Mid-March 2025 – Deadline to complete first-stage review (this applies to those choosing to conduct a two-stage review process with their mentors, division chiefs, or principal investigators)

• June 1, 2025 – Deadline for department leadership review

• July 1, 2025 – FDAQ closing date for all

In the weeks ahead, we will share more details about how to participate in this year’s FDAQ. In the meantime, the following workshop recordings can help you prepare for the process in the coming months.

• Yale Format CV and CV Builder (for faculty)

• CV2 Narrative Descriptions and Supporting Data (for faculty)

• FDAQ Survey for YSM Department Leadership Training (for department leaders and PIs. This session is CAS protected.)

Last year, OAPD’s Professional and Leadership Development team launched the Healthcare Leadership Program (HLP) to support YSM and Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) as our organizations more closely align our strategic and operational planning to become a leading academic health system.

The goals of the program are to:

• Gain essential management and clinical leadership skills and apply them to your leadership role within the health care systems.

• Learn to communicate most effectively, help strengthen organizational culture, and model the core values of YSM and YNHHS.

• Build and strengthen professional connections and networks to help advance their personal goals and aspirations.

The HLP is grounded in developing leaders and exploring opportunities to communicate with their respective teams more effectively. This in turn, strengthens teams and cultivates a stronger culture throughout the health system–all to better serve our patients, trainees, and communities.

Photo credit: Anthony DeCarlo

Your well-being is a top priority for us, and we are committed to supporting the health and wellness of every member of our community. We will provide information and helpful resources throughout the year, including a series of OAPD Wellness Webinars and training opportunities to meet challenges and competing demands. Upcoming offerings include:

• Oct. 29 and Oct. 31: Exploring Parenting and Dependent Care Through Yale Benefits and Resources

• Dec. 12: QPR (Question. Persuade. Refer.) Suicide Prevention Training (Pre-registration is required. Please contact esther.nti@yale.edu if you have not registered as space is limited.)

Yale’s Personal Well-Being program offers confidential, one-on-one consultations to YSM faculty and their families at no cost. Consultants Amy Sceery, PhD, and Rebecca Colasanto, LCSW, are available to support you with a range of issues, such as developing communication strategies to improve interpersonal effectiveness at work or home and addressing work-life issues, such as stress management, anxiety, burnout, and depression. They can also assist with referrals to additional services to support your ongoing well-being.

You can schedule confidential appointments with either Amy or Rebecca through Optum’s Employee Assistance Portal.

We encourage you to learn more about Yale's benefits and resources. The Yale health and well-being team has developed upcoming benefits webinars to answer your questions on a range of offerings, such as Yale Health, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, emotional well-being, and eye and dental health. You can explore their benefits offerings and register for sessions through It's Your Yale Benefits website.

To get to know each other better, we’re introducing “What’s Your Y?” where we ask one of our exemplary faculty members to reflect on their “why”–or what inspires them. Today, Maryellen Flaherty-Hewitt, MD, shares her passions, professional aspirations, and other inspirations.

Q: What drew you to your area of expertise (clinical or research)?

The best and most humbling part of my job is to be trusted by families and to join them on the journey of helping their children grow and thrive. I’m at a point in my career where I’ve even started to take care of the children of my patients and that is such an honor! For this reason, I’ve always looked for opportunities that will help make patient care better. It started with improving the care of my own patients; then I realized I could also have an impact on the care offered to our community of children.

Q: Tell us about a mentor that has been an influence in your career. What’s one piece of advice from your mentor you would like to share with students, trainees, and early career faculty members?

My residency program director is one of the smartest people I’ve had the opportunity to work with and she is incredibly generous with her advice. I’ve found myself going back to her time and time again over the years for advice about career paths and choices. One piece of advice she gave, and I still follow today is–if it sounds like an interesting opportunity, just try it!

This has led me to throw my hat in the ring for many different opportunities. Some were a great fit, some were not, but this advice gave me the confidence to try things I may not have been 100% trained for but knew I could be successful if I was willing to work hard and learn along the way. I’ve also been fortunate to work with leaders that have trusted me to take on new opportunities. It’s important for students, trainees, and early career faculty to know it’s ok to try something, even if you don’t feel completely ready for it. If it’s interesting to you, you will work hard to master it and accomplish your goals!

Q: Why did you choose Yale for your clinical, educational, or scholarly aspirations?

I came to New Haven in 2002 right out of my residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical School. What attracted me to my first job at Hospital of Saint Raphael was the opportunity to work with Yale’s pediatric residents in their community pediatrics rotation. During my time at Yale, I’ve seen a lot of change, had the opportunity to grow my own patient practice, work on incredibly meaningful clinical operations, and expand my impact on faculty in my new role as vice chair of faculty affairs and professional development in the Department of Pediatrics. But some of my best days are still spent with the pediatric residents in the Primary Care Center!

Q: If you could have dinner with any three people in the world (past or present), who would you choose and why?

• Walt Disney: we’re a big Disney family! I would love the chance to ask him questions about his leadership and how he found so many ways to bring so much joy to others.

• Jon Bon Jovi: he’s been my favorite entertainer since I was 13! He’s had such an interesting career and has done some neat work in giving back to communities.

• My Grandma: I miss her and would love to have the chance to give her a hug and have a cup of tea.

Q: What’s your passion outside the classroom/hospital setting?

My passion is my family (my husband and two kids) and our shih-tzu, Honey. I love spending time with them, traveling together, and finding the best pet friendly places so Honey can come along!

If you have suggestions for future issues, please send your ideas to YSM Communications at margaret.atherlay@yale.edu.