‘People look at your number of publications & count them.’ —Dr. Kahlenberg
Years 3–7
Dr. Kahlenberg noted that for years three through seven of that first job, there are benchmarks to keep in mind for seeking promotions. On the instructional track, for example, a promotion to associate professor generally requires 30–40 publications, an ability to obtain independent external funding for research, quality teaching based on learner evaluations, good organizational citizenship and a national reputation with a unique contribution to the field. A professor position generally requires 50–70 publications, with continued teaching quality and a national and international reputation.
You’ll need to get to work putting together a promotion packet, she said. It’s not a short list: a cover letter from the department chair, a summary
of your work and experience, a very detailed curriculum vitae (CV), an educator’s portfolio, teaching evaluations, bibliographic notes, a scholarly clinical portfolio, a research portfolio and other items.
“Organization is key to making promotion easy,” Dr. Kahlenberg said. She suggests keeping your CV updated regularly—she reserves time to update hers every Monday. It involves keeping a list of mentees, all publications, internal and invited talks, patients, awards, grants, consulting work and teaching work. She said you shouldn’t be afraid to ask your administrative assistant for help with this.
Good mentors are essential, she said. But remember, it’s a mutual relationship.
Take on assignments when asked, but not too many, keeping in mind what you need to do to achieve your goals, Dr. Kahlenberg advised.
“In years three through seven, you really have to get your nose to the grindstone and focus. So learning to say ‘no’—nicely—is an important skill. If you’re organized, smart people are going to ask you to do all kinds of stuff.”
Obtaining a coveted National Institutes of Health R01 grant should be a goal. Her advice: Think about applying for one in the third year of your career development award, which—if rejected, as most are—allows you to re-assess and apply again later. This means thinking about your aims early in the second year, and identifying preliminary data you’ll need and assessing your resources.
For building your publication numbers, make sure you collaborate, Dr. Kahlenberg said, and don’t be afraid to publish interesting cases, which count toward your total.
“This is really how you are judged,” Dr. Kahlenberg said. “People look at your number of publications and count them.”
Don’t forget, she said, to “toot your own horn,” by emailing your division chief about accomplishments and even letting your public relations department know about upcoming papers to give them time to publicize them.
“Your successes are not automatically registered by anybody else but you,” she said. “Don’t be shy about letting people know you’re doing good things.”
