Clinical Faculty Academic Appointments

Policy
Clinical Faculty Appointment Types
Application Process and Documentation Requirements
Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for an Academic Appointment
Department of Medicine Requirements for Appointment at the Rank of Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine Requirements for Appointment at the Rank of Lecturer
Foreign Trained Physicians  
DAC Meetings for the Academic Year

Policy

All clinical (MD) academic appointments are governed by the Policy for Clinical Faculty and Procedures Manual for the Policy for Clinical Faculty, available at Faculty of Medicine Clinical Affairs website.

All faculty members’ clinical activities fall under the jurisdiction of any relevant site(s) in which they practice and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO).

Clinical Faculty Appointment Types

Clinical faculty (MDs) may be appointed full-time, part-time, or as adjunct clinical faculty. As of January 2024, the distribution of clinical faculty by appointment type was: Full-time 52.5%, Part-time 14.3%, and Adjunct 33.2%.

An overview of these types of appointments is provided here:

Table 1: Description of Full-time, Part-time and Adjunct Clinical Appointment Types

Description Full-time Clinical Part-time Clinical Adjunct Clinical
Formal Search with University representation Required Not required Not required
Location of Practice Active staff at a fully-affiliated University of Toronto teaching hospital Hospital or other site affiliated with the University of Toronto Hospital or other site affiliated with the University of Toronto or at a non-affiliated site, e.g., private practice
Member of a conforming practice plan (financial structure that supports academic work) or equivalent Required Not required Not required
Percent of professional time devoted to academic activities (teaching and scholarship) 80%+ 20-79% <20%
Academic position description Required Required Required
Term of appointment Initial probationary period of three to five years, followed by Continuing Faculty Appointment Review (CFAR). After successful review continuing annual appointment, which can be terminated only for cause One year renewable appointment* with annual activity report and review. The Chair may terminate without cause** One year renewable appointment* with annual activity report and review. The Chair may terminate without cause**
CPSO disclosure*** Required Required Required
Rights provided by the Policy for Clinical Faculty**** May grieve against a University official and alleged breach of academic freedom May grieve against a University official, but not an alleged breach of academic freedom May not grieve against a University official or alleged breach of academic freedom
Access to University of Toronto library facilities Yes Yes Yes
Tuition waiver, scholarship program and joint membership benefits Eligible Not eligible Not eligible
Academic rank Faculty members may be appointed at the rank of lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor, based on education and demonstrated scholarship. Faculty members may be appointed at the rank of lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. A community preceptor or other part-time or adjunct clinical faculty will usually be appointed at the rank of lecturer. Faculty members may be appointed at the rank of lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. A community preceptor or other part-time or adjunct clinical faculty will usually be appointed at the rank of lecturer.

* Year-end refers to the end of the academic year (June 30). Requests for activity reports will be sent out in April of each year.

** For details, please refer to the Procedures Manual for the Policy for Clinical Faculty

Clinical faculty by appointment type and current rank chart

Application Process and Documentation Requirements:

The Office of the Chief of Medicine has overall responsibility for the assembly and submission of requests for appointment. Complete application packages must be submitted online via Laserfische. This includes:

Approval: Applications are reviewed by the Department Appointments Committee, which meets monthly. Recommendations from this committee are submitted to the Department Chair for approval, and subsequent approval from the Dean or Dean’s Delegate.

Requirement to Report all Information Relevant to Clinical Academic Appointment

As stated in the Procedures Manual for the Policy for Clinical (MD) Faculty, all faculty, irrespective of appointment type, must self-report to the University Department Chair all information relevant to the clinical academic appointment.

When applying for appointment, all faculty must self-report to the University Department Chair prior findings of negligence and investigation and/or finding of guilt of a criminal offence, academic misconduct, incompetence, or any form of professional misconduct by a court or the CPSO’s Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practice Committee (or its equivalent in any jurisdiction).

While holding an appointment, all faculty must self-report to the University Department Chair within seven working days of receipt of notification or knowledge of such a conviction, finding or investigation. 

For an investigation by the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practice Committee (or its equivalent in any jurisdiction), self-reporting must conform to all applicable policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, hospital by-laws and CPSO regulations.

Department of Medicine Requirements for Appointment at the Rank of Assistant Professor 

As stated in the Procedures Manual for the Policy for Clinical (MD) Faculty, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto requires the successful completion of advanced training AND demonstrated scholarship for initial appointment at the rank of assistant professor or higher. Both the advanced training and scholarship should be relevant to the proposed academic appointment/academic position description.

Advanced Training:

Requirements for advanced training varies by academic position description, as summarized in Table 2, below. Advanced training refers to successful completion of a recognized graduate program or an advanced training experience deemed equivalent in a field related to current academic work. In some cases, secondary level resident training or one to two years of fellowship training may be considered the equivalent to an advanced degree. For example, completion of the Department of Medicine’s Master Teacher Program is considered advanced training for Clinician Teachers.

Demonstrated Scholarship:

Evidence of scholarship ensures that the individual is not only knowledgeable but can apply this knowledge in the form of one or more of excellence in teaching, creative professional activities, and/or research.  

For appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor, it is expected that the candidate will have:

  • At least one or two published (or accepted) first authored peer-reviewed publications in well regarded journals in their field at the time of request for appointment (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews)

OR

  • Documentation clearly demonstrating educational and/or creative professional accomplishments that includes convincing evidence of one or more of the following: a) sustained excellence in teaching b) design and implementation of curricula, educational offerings and/or educational materials c) Creative Professional Activity (CPA), such as the setting of practice standards.

Demonstrating Scholarship in Teaching & Education:

Scholarship in teaching and education is based on the overall quality and quantity of teaching experience (types of teaching, learner levels, teaching evaluations, awards, teaching innovations, etc.). Individuals applying for appointment as a Clinician Teacher or Clinician Educator and all full-time clinical faculty recruits must complete the Summary of Teaching Experience form and include in the request for appointment submission all available teaching evaluations.

Scholarship through Research:

Research scholarship is demonstrated through traditional metrics, e.g., peer-reviewed publications and operating grants, graduate teaching supervision, the success of one’s trainees, receipt of research awards and honours, and invitations to speak at national and international research symposia. Excellence in research is also demonstrated by the impact the research has or has potential to have – directly or indirectly - on the health of the population.

Individuals seeking appointment as a researcher (CI, CE, CS, RS) should have at least one or two published (or accepted) first authored peer-reviewed publications in well regarded journals in their field (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews).

Scholarship through Creative Professional Activities (CPA):

CPA is a broad term that refers to: 1. Contributions to the Development of Professional Practices, e.g., health policy development, regulatory committees, setting of standards; 2. Exemplary Professional Practice, e.g., teaching techniques, educational innovations, curriculum development, models of care innovations (e.g. role of EMR prompts, standardized pathways, pre-printed patient ‘order sets’, on quality and safety of inpatient care or resident experience); leadership in development of professional practice (e.g. tools to enhance physician communication, professionalism); and 3. Professional Innovation and Creative Excellence, e.g., patient videos, curriculum innovations, use of digital technologies or other devices to improve care and outcomes.

Individuals seeking appointment to conduct CPA-related work should provide documentation clearly demonstrating CPA accomplishments.

Table 2: Department of Medicine Requirements for Appointment at the Rank of Assistant Professor
Academic Position Description Advanced Training Demonstrated Scholarship
Clinician Teacher (CT) Completion of training in health professions education, e.g., Master Teacher ProgramStepping Stones Teacher Development ProgramEducation Scholars Program, and  MSc-CH - Health Practitioner Teacher Education  Summary of Teaching Experiences demonstrating scholarship through teaching and education OR at least one or two relevant first authored peer-reviewed publications in well regarded journals (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews)
Clinician in Quality & Innovation (CQI) Graduate degree in QI or a related field, e.g., Public Health, Business Administration, or Informatics; a certificate course in QI may be acceptable if the candidate has a substantive existing track record of successful QI activities Demonstrated scholarship through CPA related to QI OR At least one at least one QI-related published (or accepted) first authored peer-reviewed publication (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews)
Clinician Educator (CE) Thesis based graduate degree in education At least one or two education-related published (or accepted) first authored peer-reviewed publications in well regarded journals (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews).
Clinician Investigator (CI) Thesis based graduate research degree or equivalent post-doctoral training At least one or two published (or accepted) first authored peer-reviewed publications in well regarded journals (excluding case reports, editorials, letters to editor, book reviews) relevant to their field AND/OR Other demonstrated scholarship through Research or CPA
Clinician Scientist (CS) Thesis based graduate research degree, usually PhD At least three first author peer-reviewed publications related to original research led by the applicant
Academic clinician (AC) Advanced clinical training relevant to the position, e.g., clinical fellowship. Most Academic Clinicians will be recruited at the rank of Lecturer Demonstrated track record of provision of high-quality patient care & interest in advancing evidence-based, innovative, person-centered clinical care, e.g., meaningful participation in the development and evaluation of a new model of clinical care

Department of Medicine Requirements for Appointment at the Rank of Lecturer

Individuals deemed not to have met the criteria for appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor may be considered for appointment at the rank of Lecturer.  A community preceptor or other adjunct or part-time clinical faculty will usually be appointed at the rank of lecturer. Individuals appointed at the rank of lecturer may be promoted to assistant professor via junior promotion, once they meet eligibility criteria or based on sustained commitment to the academic mission.

Foreign-Trained Physicians:

Currently, to be eligible for CPSO academic certificate of registration, foreign-trained physicians must be eligible for clinical full-time or (rarely) clinical part-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor or higher.

DAC Meetings for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

DoM application deadline

Monthly DAC Meeting

 Estimated Faculty Start Date

Sept 26, 2023 Nov 21, 2023 January 1, 2024
Oct 31, 2023 Dec 14, 2023 February 1, 2024
Nov 28, 2023 Jan  23, 2024 March 1, 2024
Jan 2, 2024 Feb 20, 2024 April 1, 2024
Jan 30, 2024 March 19, 2024 May 1, 2024
Feb 27, 2024 April 23, 2024 June 1, 2024
March 26, 2024 May 21, 2024 July 1, 2024
April 30, 2023 June 18, 2024 August 1, 2024
NO JULY MEETING    
June 4, 2024 August 20, 2024 October 1, 2024
Aug 20, 2024 Sept 17, 2024 November 1, 2024

Please contact the Department Academic Appointments Office at dom.academicappts@utoronto.ca with any questions.