1. 2017 CFAS/ORR Joint Spring Professional Development Conference
Meeting Summary
March 9-12, 2017
Orlando, Fla.

2. What Is CFAS?
The Council of Faculty and Academic Societies (CFAS) represents U.S. medical school faculty and academic societies within the AAMC
CFAS membership consists of 379 reps from medical schools and academic societies
CFAS has direct representation on the AAMC’s Board of Directors through its chair and chair-elect

3. Issues Addressed by CFAS
Faculty resilience and vitality
NIH funding and research support
GME support and advocacy
Faculty identity and development
Health equity and diversity
Faculty professional development and training
…and more issues as CFAS reps raise them

4. 2017 CFAS/ORR Conference Basics
Included representatives from CFAS and the Organization of Resident Representatives (ORR)
More CFAS reps attended than in the past: 200 attendees total, including CFAS and ORR reps, guests, speakers, and AAMC staff. More than 140 attendees were directly affiliated with CFAS.
Nine CFAS committees and working groups met prior to the general sessions to discuss topics ranging from resiliency, the role of basic science in academic medicine, advocacy, communications, faculty identity, and CFAS leadership
Most committees and working groups are open to all CFAS reps who wish to participate

5. 2017 Conference Basics
Conference featured more than 30 sessions, including plenaries, concurrent breakouts, and networking opportunities over three days
All 12 breakout sessions originated from an open call for proposals to CFAS and ORR reps, and the majority of speakers were pulled from CFAS and ORR ranks
Posters presented for the first time at this meeting as an additional way to engage representatives
Strong bias to feature CFAS and ORR reps whenever possible to get faculty or resident perspective; sessions featured both clinical and basic science perspectives whenever possible

6. Plenary Overview
Plenary sessions covered key concepts facing faculty and academic societies today:
The faculty of tomorrow’s academic health center
Academic health center finance 101
Personal transitions in the lifecycle of academic medicine
Navigating academic health center governance
The opioid dilemma
The place for PhD’s in the medical school of tomorrow
AAMC leadership report and Washington policy update

7. Faculty of Tomorrow’s Academic Health Center
Moderator: Rosemarie Fisher, MD, Professor of medicine; Director and Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education, Yale University School of Medicine
Speakers:
Rebecca Ganetzky, MD, Human Genetics Attending Physician, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Cynda A. Johnson, MD, President and Founding Dean, Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Kevin Pearce, MD, MPH, Department Chair and Associate Dean for Rural and Community Health, University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Tika Benveniste, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Research Administration and Development, UAB School of Medicine
Katherine Gold, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School
Jerome Breslin, PhD, Associate Professor, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

8. Faculty of Tomorrow’s Academic Health Center
Addressed issues related to defining faculty in today’s academic health centers. Also addressed unique challenges for basic science faculty and how to support faculty throughout a high-stress career
Key takeaways:
Basic science faculty must embrace change to survive, should know how to lead change
To resolve issue of artificial metrics for research success, educate those above you about what’s actually important and valuable
Thinking about what matters to you and how to stay aligned with that is crucial for long-term success

9. Faculty of Tomorrow’s Academic Health Center
Key takeaways, continued…
Have a diverse group of mentors for every stage of your career
Robust bridge funding mechanisms are invaluable for faculty doing research
To reduce clerical burden, give access to tools such as voice recognition software or provide EHR scribes
Dept. chairs need to be better mentors and guides to younger faculty by telling them how much of the different missions they should be contributing to

10. Academic Health Center Finance 101
Moderator: Scott Gitlin, MD, CFAS Chair, Professor of Hematology/Oncology, University of Michigan Medical School
Speakers:
Joe Doty, Senior Vice President and COO, Baylor College of Medicine
Carolyn Meltzer, MD, Chair, Department of Radiology, Associate Dean for Research, Emory University School of Medicine
Steven V. Angus, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and DIO at UCONN
Covered measurements of an institution’s financial health, how GME is financed, and the pros and cons of different funds flow models

11. Academic Health Center Finance 101
Measures of institutions’ financial health
Long-term financial trends through balance sheets, income statements, etc.
An institution’s “days of cash on hand” (if all cash stopped coming in, how many days until the institution runs out of everything?)
The institution’s ability to extinguish debt
Institutional financial strategic plan and ROI knowledge by calculating potential cost of new investments and how to get back the money
Know internal rate of return requirements (what rate of ROI you want – 5%, 7%, etc.)

12. Academic Health Center Finance 101
Key takeaways:
Growth not always the right answer – comprehensive review of all aspects of funds flow is important
Have to define what success means for your institution
Dept. chairs must have seat at the table in funds flow distribution
Faculty have a role in GME finance reform – must be aware, involved in suggestions for reform

13. Personal Transitions in the Life Cycle of Academic Medicine
Moderator: Maureen Connelly, MD, MPH, Dean for Faculty Affairs, Harvard Medical School
Speakers:
Kathleen Nelson, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Chair for Faculty Development, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Matthew McDougall, MD, Medical Director of Psychiatry, Sioux Falls Veterans Health Administration
Marcia F. Katz, MD, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Professor of Medicine, University of Central Florida, College of Medicine.
Discussed how to prepare for and be successful in transitions, and featured advice and perspectives from speakers with diverse backgrounds and experience

14. Personal Transitions in the Life Cycle of Academic Medicine
Career advice:
Frame your strengths by saying “I accomplished X in comparison to Y by doing Z”
Choose a career path that allows you to have synergy with family, friends, life passions
Think about the roles you take on, and structure them to drive you in your desired direction
Be entrepreneurial to make your past skill sets and experiences relevant to new jobs

15. Personal Transitions in the Life Cycle of Academic Medicine
Career advice, continued…
When moving to different institution, view the culture like an anthropologist: there’s different customs, symbols, languages, dress codes, and values
Can’t learn these things by reading about them; need to live it and have a “cultural broker” – someone who helps you navigate the new culture

16. How to Understand, Navigate, and Be Part of Your Academic Medical Center’s Governance
Moderator: Vincent D. Pellegrini, MD, Professor and Chair of Orthopaedics, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine/American Orthopaedic Association
Speakers:
David Guzick, MD, PhD, President, UF Health, University of Florida
Donald Wilson, MD, Dean Emeritus, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Session described different governance models in academic health centers, what makes a model successful, and how faculty can engage with them; discussed how faculty at all levels need to understand the governance model of their institutions to understand opportunities and advance

17. How to Understand, Navigate, & Be Part of Your Academic Medical Center’s Governance
Main points:
Academic health center governance typically represented by a familiar triumvirate: the college of medicine, the faculty practice, and the hospital
Important questions: is your hospital owned or affiliated? What’s the role of the dean in clinical matters? Who hires the doctors? How is the academic mission supported and how is it set?
Any governance model works only when the right people are in the right positions
There must be equal relationship/appreciation between hospital and medical school
Putting faculty on key committees (practice plan committees, financial committees, etc.) is key to keeping faculty engaged

18. The Opioid Dilemma
Moderator: VJ Periyakoil, MD, Director, Palliative Care Education and Training, Stanford University School of Medicine
Speakers:
Alison Holmes, MD, Vice Chair for Education, Department of Pediatrics, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and of the Dartmouth Institute
Robert Sokol, MD, Emeritus Dean and Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Session described extent of opioid epidemic, treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), and efforts to get more doctors certified in addiction medicine during training

19. The Opioid Dilemma Main points:
Opioid dilemma is concurrent feast and famine:
Feast: too much medication in certain places
Famine: Too little is available for patients in pain, especially chronic pain toward end of life
Unconscious bias in prescribing opioids leads to health disparities; under-represented minority patients systematically undertreated for pain
Pregnant women addicted to opioids or heroine need to be in a treatment program because it’s the withdrawal symptoms that hurt fetus
Rooming-in is very effective treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome

20. The Opioid Dilemma
America needs more physicians who are trained and credentialed in addiction medicine
CFAS can help in opioid crisis by:
Taking more informed, comprehensive approach back to our institutions – “We can’t just prescribe our way out of this.”
Focusing on better opioid education at the GME level
Closing gaps between health care and research by connecting clinicians to most current research on opioids

21. The Place for PhDs in the Medical Schools of Tomorrow
Moderator: Gabriela Popescu, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Anesthesiology, and Neuroscience, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo
Speakers:
Richard Eckert, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Lawrence Marnett, PhD, Dean of Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Lee Fleisher, MD, Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

22. The Place for PhDs in the Medical Schools of Tomorrow
Discussed current realities and challenges of being a scientist in academic medicine Future strategies to support new PhD faculty:
Create environments for clinical, basic science mingling
Give PhDs clinically relevant training
The optimal home for PhDs must be decided locally by each individual academic health center
Chairs of PhDs should cultivate relationships with clinical departments
Set aside money for bridge funding for research faculty and for seed grant support
Require them to write at least 4 grants per year
Advocate for NIH/NSF funding
Encourage meaningful participation in philanthropy

23. Leadership Plenary
Speakers: Darrell G. Kirch, MD, AAMC President and CEO; Karen Fisher, JD, AAMC Chief Public Policy Officer Update on AAMC initiatives of interest to faculty and residents, and the AAMC’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC
Achievements:
New AAMC reports and publications on best practices for interviewing residents
AAMC updated MSPE (“dean’s letter”)
AAMC had legislative language inserted in 21st Century Cures Act to say SES must be accounted for in Medicare payment policies
21st CC Act increases research funding for cancer, neurosciences, precision medicine

24. Leadership Plenary Achievements:
CFAS Communications Chair Amy Hildreth representing AAMC in National Academies of Medicine/ACGME/AAMC “Action Collaborative” focused on clinician wellbeing
CFAS Faculty Resilience Working Group Chair Mona Abaza now serves on ACGME Board of Directors
AAMC updating StandPoint surveys (formerly Faculty Forward) to look at satisfaction, culture, diversity, and inclusion among medical school faculty
Big challenge:
Boost in defense spending at expense of discretionary spending

25. Leadership Plenary AAMC’s 5 key advocacy issues::
NIH and research funding
ACA
Medicare VA
Student issues
AAMC has launched an online advocacy toolkit to help CFAS reps engage. New “Ask Me About My Research” buttons were debuted and distributed at the meeting to generate public conversations about science and academic medicine research
Contact Congressional representatives to support FY17 spending bill because if continuing resolutions persist, $2B increase for NIH disappears

26. Business Lunch

27. Business Lunch Select CFAS Committee and Working Group Updates:
Advocacy Committee developed an online advocacy resource linked to overall AAMC advocacy efforts
Basic Science Working Group developed a priority list of topics to address among members
Communications Committee developing letters that CFAS will send to medical school deans and academic society executive directors explaining meeting activity
Evaluation Committee is redeveloping its plan to measure the effectiveness of CFAS work; presented survey on “critical issues”

28. Business Lunch

29. Business Lunch CFAS Committee and Working Group Updates:
Faculty Resilience Working Group Continued to develop and promote content on the AAMC’s “well-being” website:
Mission Alignment Impact of Faculty Increasing alignment with work done by the AAMC’s Group on Faculty Affairs
Diversity Committee (newly established) developing long-term agenda
Value of Faculty as Educators Working Group Submitted a “framework” report highlighting the accomplishments of the group
Program Committee sending out detailed evaluation of meeting
Definition of Faculty Working Group Developed overarching white paper that will act as a guideline for project

30. Business Lunch CFAS Leadership Slate for November 2017
Scott Gitlin, MD, Chair, Professor of Hematology/Oncology, University of Michigan Medical School, Representing the American Society of Hematology
Gabriela Popescu, PhD, Chair-Elect, Professor of Biochemistry, Anesthesiology, Neuroscience, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo
Vincent D. Pellegrini, Jr., MD, Immediate Past Chair, Professor and Chair of Orthopaedics, MUSC

31. Networking Opportunities and Social Engagement
The meeting offered several networking opportunities including breakfasts with on-the-fly table topics (one session included an activity to write letters to Congress), receptions, and poster display in the break area

32. For More Details… Learn more about CFAS Membership Issues Leadership
Learn more about our spring meeting:
Full program of the conference, including speakers
Access to additional slides and other materials