Faculty engagement is important for any cardiovascular fellowship program. As per Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements, every program requires participation of core teaching faculty. Identifying and engaging core faculty is critical for a program to sustain its educational mission. It is also important to engage non-core teaching faculty in order to extend the diversity and available resources within the program.

Faculty engagement can take on a multitude of forms, ranging from participation in educational activities, creating curricula, faculty buy-in and leadership. Two primary ways of thinking about faculty engagement are by activity and faculty position.

Faculty engagement can look very different by faculty position, and this is important to recognize. For administrative leaders, such as your cardiology division chief, department of medicine chair or hospital CEO, faculty engagement is either their imprimatur, financial backing or both. When meeting with leaders, make sure to 1) always do homework, (2) understand competing interests, (3) know the ask, (4) make clear the conclusion and (5) document and follow up. This approach is vastly different from the one you would have for a young faculty that you hope to get involved with curriculum development. Also, do not forget the other side of the spectrum – the fellows. Keep your eye out for promising individuals who may become future faculty and start engaging them early.

Remember that there are many different strategies to engage faculty. One can employ the top-down, trickle-down effect, where buy in from leadership is critical. You can also decide when it might be most effective to use a “carrot” vs. a “stick” to provide motivation for faculty engagement. Know when to pick your battles, always understand where a faculty is in her or his enthusiasm for a task, meet the faculty where she or he is and align interests where possible.

Finally, know how to troubleshoot when attempts to engage faculty seem unsuccessful.

1. How are you asking? Lead with positive gains rather than the negatives.
2. Is the right person asking? Know when the ask should be from someone more senior than you.
3. Are you targeting the correct person? Know what to ask from whom.
4. Naysayers? They are not a bad thing – they identify problem areas to consider and may be great assets for engaging and swaying other naysayers.
5. How is your leadership? Know how to be a manager rather than a micro-manager in order to allow wins for your team members and colleagues. Look to see if participation lacks because of your leadership style.

Faculty engagement is critical for every cardiovascular fellowship program. These tips and tricks can be applied at any institution to help grow and improve your program via faculty participation.

This article was authored by Melanie S. Sulistio, MD, FACC, associate professor and general cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.