CON Standards for Promotion for Clinical Rank

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Appendices

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER COLLEGE OF NURSING
Standards and Guidelines for Promotion for Clinical Rank	Subsection: Appendix A2
Section - Appendices	Originating Date: March 2011
Responsible Reviewing Agency: Promotion and Tenure Committee	Reviewed: February 2013 Revised: March 2014 Revised: May 2015 Revised: November 2018 Revised: September 2020 Revised: November 2023 (changes)
Related documents: 4.4.6(2) Promotion for Clinical Rank Promotion and Tenure webpage Section 4.3 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents AACN, 2018 UNMC Promotion and Tenure Guidelines for Submitting Clinical Promotion and Tenure Recommendations UNMC Academic Services website

Introduction

This document provides guiding principles to assist faculty in preparing their documents for advancement in clinical rank promotion (Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, or Clinical Professor). This is not a tenure leading track. Included are areas of accomplishment that the committee uses in their process of reviewing the faculty documents and forming a recommendation to the dean. The examples in this document are examples areas of evidence that the faculty will describe to demonstrate their accomplishments in their narratives. The committee anticipates that faculty members may have unique accomplishments to cite in their areas of evidence.

Promotion in clinical rank is available for masters or doctorally prepared faculty members holding a special appointment (SA). Those with a master’s degree in nursing and limited academic experience will start at the rank of clinical instructor; exceptions can be made for those with outstanding experience. The highest rank possible for the masters prepared individual is a clinical assistant professor. The highest rank possible for the doctoral prepared individual is a clinical professor.

If an individual has a clinical track appointment and wishes to seek an appointment on an academic track, the individual will need to request a change from a clinical track appointment to an appointment on the academic track given the individual’s accomplishments align with their current rank in the academic appointments. Consideration of transfer between tracks represents a major career decision and is pursued only after serious consideration of the implications of such a change, and careful deliberation between the faculty member and appropriate division assistant dean. If mutually agreeable, a one-time transfer is allowed between a clinical track appointment and an academic appointment.

The College of Nursing (CON) Promotion & Tenure (P&T) committee has developed these guidelines and tables of examples to assist faculty during the preparation of the application. Submission deadlines must be met in order to apply for promotion. All CON P&T materials can be found on the P&T webpage. All applicants must follow Standards and Guidelines for Promotion for Clinical Rank (Appendix A2) and policy 4.4.6 (2) for the preparation of the documents. Documents that do not follow all of the guidelines will not be reviewed.

Checklist

1. As a first step, faculty members should meet at least annually with their assistant dean or supervisor to discuss expectations and accomplishments (teaching, scholarly activities, clinical practice if applicable, professional service) for each area under review.
2. Faculty are encouraged to collect the required documents and carefully review the specific requirements for the preparation of an application. These are listed on the CON Promotion & Tenure webpage. An electronic copy of the promotion and/or tenure document must be provided to the dean’s office.
3. The most important of the required documents are the personal narrative and the Curriculum Vitae (CV). The personal narrative describes your accomplishments in the three areas of teaching, scholarly activity, and professional service.
4. As a starting point, faculty should review these guidelines for the College of Nursing. Included in these guidelines are examples of activities related to each of the areas of emphasis organized into levels of expanding scope of accomplishments to be included in your personal narrative.

General Issues

1. The division assistant dean or supervisor has the responsibility to assist every new faculty appointee in determining the amount of emphasis (percent of effort) to place on each area of academic endeavor in accordance with Section 4.3 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.
2. It would be expected that each faculty identifies a promotion goal to be discussed at the annual evaluation. A summary of progress toward promotion across the years since last appointment be provided and reviewed with the division assistant dean or supervisor on an annual basis. It is recognized that circumstances may make change in professional emphasis necessary.
3. You may want to identify someone who can provide guidance or help with the promotion process. Contact the Promotion and Tenure Committee chair.
4. It is recognized that not all faculty will fit unified or predefined profile and that each candidate will come forward with a unique blend of activities supporting the mission of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the College of Nursing. It is a primary responsibility of the candidate, through his or her written narrative(s) and the division assistant dean or supervisor through dean's accompanying letter, to clearly describe the significance of the candidate’s contributions and define how the candidate contributes in the chosen areas of emphasis to the mission of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the College of Nursing.

CON Clinical Promotion Deadline Dates

1. Faculty members will notify P&T Chair in writing (hard copy or email) of the intent to apply for promotion by April 15 in the year prior to when action regarding promotion will be deliberated. This should have been discussed with their division assistant dean or supervisor and acknowledged on the form prior to submission. Be specific on exactly what you are seeking; e.g. clinical associate professor. Please indicate your level of accomplishments in each of the areas. For example, clinical associate professor rank must be able to demonstrate a sustained record at Level II for two areas and Level I for one area. For example: My two areas for level two are ________ and the area for level one is ________.
2. Faculty members will complete the Contact Information for Clinical Rank Promotion for each of the five potential external reviewers and submit to the P&T Chair by May 15. Suggested external reviewers must be outside the University of Nebraska system and cannot be a recent or current collaborator, consultant, mentor or someone with whom the faculty member has another close professional or personal relationship. Generally, external reviewers in other universities should have professional ranks at or above that being considered for the candidate and be qualified to critically evaluate the importance of the candidate’s work and their status in the professional community. For reviewers in academia, reviewers must be at the requested clinical or academic rank higher that the applicant’s current level or equivalent if at professor rank.
3. The External Reviewer Waiver Form for Clinical Promotion must be signed and submitted along with the Contact Information for External Reviewer Forms to the P&T Chair by May 15.
4. The P & T Committee will meet to select external reviewers by June 15. The committee will use the applicant’s list but reserves the right to ask other nationally known experts in the applicant’s field to serve as an external reviewer. The applicant will not be told who the external reviewers are for their document. The P&T Committee Chair will contact the selected external reviewers and secure their willingness to serve by July 15.
5. Faculty will follow Application Guidelines for electronic submission of documents by August 15 to the dean’s office and to the P&T chair. The CON Clinical Promotion Transmittal Form must be completed. Three written narratives (see Narrative Guidelines) will a) include all relevant and important evidence to support the promotion, b) be consistent with the applicant’s curriculum vitae, and c) be written so individuals outside of the CON understand the significance. Applicants are encouraged to work closely with their division assistant dean in preparing the narratives and assuring that they are congruent with their curriculum vitae.
6. CON faculty members promotion tenure documents accompanied by the division assistant dean or supervisor’s letter of recommendation must be received in the Dean’s office by August 15 in order for duplicating and mailing of the document to the external reviewers by August 30. All policies and guidelines must be followed or documents will not be reviewed.
7. Letters from the external reviewers will be requested back by October 15. These will be added to the applicant’s document and the P&T Committee review will be scheduled. The P&T Committee review will be completed by January 15 with recommendations forwarded to the Dean of the College of Nursing by February 15.

Areas of Accomplishment

Clinical faculty contribute to the missions of the college and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). This document describes examples of accomplishments in teaching, scholarly activity and professional service that merit clinical track promotion.

• Teaching - Teaching activity recognizes significant accomplishments in classroom, clinical, and research supervision.
• Scholarly Activity - Nursing scholarship is defined as the generation, synthesis, translation, application, and dissemination of knowledge that aims to improve health and transform health care. Practice Scholarship is defined (AACN, 2018) as scholarship that “…interprets, draws together, and brings new insight to original scholarship. The practice scholar applies evidence to practice, incorporating implementation and translation science.” Scholarly dissemination includes not only peer-reviewed journals and presentations (can include non-peer reviewed presentations and media). Other forms of dissemination include legislative testimony, policy briefs, and consultations.
• Professional Service - Professional service recognizes significant accomplishments for the college, university, professional organizations, and practice arenas. The practice arena is broadly defined to include clinical practice or consultation services based on the faculty member’s area of nursing expertise.

Criteria for Accomplishments according to clinical rank:

Criteria for accomplishments defined by this document do not specify any set number that should be demonstrated for promotion to a specific rank; however, the majority of criteria need to be met for promotion to that clinical rank. Accomplishments are arranged in areas for the clinical rank and illustrate advancing achievement across the ranks. Consideration is usually a reflection of accomplishments during the last 5-7 years for promotion or since the last promotion date.

Required Accomplishments For Clinical Rank Promotion
Clinical Assistant Professor	Sustained record of outstanding accomplishments in at least two areas for Clinical Assistant Professor rank One area can be at Clinical Instructor rank
Clinical Associate Professor	Sustained record of outstanding accomplishments in at least two areas for Clinical Associate Professor rank and at the state/regional level. One area can be at Clinical Assistant Professor rank
Clinical Professor	Sustained record of accomplishments in at least two areas for Clinical Professor rank and at the national level One area can be at Clinical Associate Professor rank

The following table identifies examples of accomplishments for the corresponding rank.

TEACHING
Clinical Instructor	Clinical Assistant Professor	Clinical Associate Professor	Clinical Professor
Has an educational and clinical background that uses content knowledge and skills for effective classroom and clinical teaching Is recognized as an experienced clinician with defined expertise in an area of practice. Demonstrates critical thinking and evidence–based practice. Develops positive relationships with clinical sites. Mentors students in professional development, particularly as related to clinical practice.	Integrates clinical expertise and practice into all levels of education. Demonstrates effective and innovative classroom and clinical teaching. Is recognized as a skilled classroom and clinical educator at the local level. Documents direction of students’ application of critical thinking and use of evidence-based knowledge at the local level. Develops new learning opportunities/sites for students at the local level. Mentors new clinical faculty and students in professional development at the local level.	Applies clinical expertise and practice to innovative teaching/learning activities. Is recognized as an expert in classroom and clinical teaching at the regional (beyond state) level Leads programs or projects related to critical thinking and evidence-based practice at the regional level Leads development of new interprofessional learning opportunities with agencies at the regional level. Mentors clinical faculty and students (undergraduate and/or graduate) in professional development at the regional level	Recognized as a national leader and expert clinical teacher in the clinical learning environment or curricula. Leads development of innovative classroom and clinical teaching strategies or programs. Leads programs or projects related to critical thinking and evidence-based practice at the national level Leads development, evaluation, revision, and benchmarking of clinical learning environment or curricula at the national level Mentors clinical faculty and students (undergraduate and/or graduate) in professional development at the national level

SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
Clinical Instructor	Clinical Assistant Professor	Clinical Associate Professor	Clinical Professor
Demonstrates evidence-based practice in a focused clinical practice or clinical teaching area Participates in clinical practice improvement or clinical teaching projects Implements clinical guidelines or best practices. Participates in mentoring of students in scholarly clinically-focused activities	Beginning scholarship with publications and presentations in a focused clinical practice or clinical teaching area Co-leads an interprofessional team in clinical practice improvement or clinical teaching projects Participates in development of clinical guidelines at the local level Participates on clinical committees at the local level Demonstrates expertise and accomplishments in a focused area of clinical scholarship at the local level Engaged in academic practice partnership in local community. Mentors students (undergraduate and/or graduate) in clinically-focused scholarly activities	Maintains program of scholarship in a focused clinical practice, policy, or clinical teaching area with a specific clinical population. Secures internal or small grant funding for clinical practice improvement or clinical teaching projects. Leads an interprofessional team, in clinical practice improvement or clinical teaching projects Participates in development of clinical guidelines at the regional (beyond state) level Develops innovative academic-practice partnership that includes documentation of the impact of the partnerships on both the education and practice missions. Demonstrates expertise and accomplishments in a focused area of clinical scholarship at the regional level Mentors junior faculty and students (undergraduate and/or graduate) in clinically-focused scholarly activities at the regional level Secures a contract for a new program or new clinical service	Sustains program of scholarship in a focused clinical practice, policy, or clinical teaching area with a specific clinical population Secures external funding for clinical practice improvement or clinical teaching projects, including successful funding of business plans or contracts. Leads development of clinical guidelines at the national level Disseminates examples of successful academic-practice partnerships to national audiences. Demonstrates expertise and accomplishments in a focused area of clinical scholarship at the national level Develops and implements a successful business plan for sustainable clinical systems change. Provides federal or other national testimony related to clinical practice issues. Mentors junior faculty and students (undergraduate and/or graduate) in clinically-focused scholarly activities at a national level

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Clinical Instructor	Clinical Assistant Professor	Clinical Associate Professor	Clinical Professor
Participates in CON and UNMC committees and task forces Maintains national certification in clinical specialty/nursing administration. Participates in professional service practice activities consistent with clinical nursing expertise Engages in evidence-based practice/quality improvement	Participates on clinical committees at the local level. Contributes actively on CON and UNMC committees and task forces Contributes as content expert or item-writer for professional certification exams. Receives recognition for professional service/practice at the Local/state level Implements and evaluates evidence-based practice/quality improvement at the local level Actively engaged in system-level activities with the clinical partner Able to document the impact of practice or service on clients/patient.	Leads CON, UNMC, state and regional Committees and/or professional organizations Serves as a member of national certification or practice guideline committees Receives recognition for professional service/practice at the regional level Able to document the impact of their practice partnership on the system and/or populations of patients Leads or provides consultation for evidence-based practice/quality improvement at the state/regional level. Secures contracts to expand clinical services. Develops clinical initiatives to address population health.	Leads national professional organizations Leads national certification or practice guideline committees Receives recognition for professional service/practice at the national level Leads or provides consultation in their area of nursing expertise at the national or international level. Participates in development of national policies related to clinical practice. Disseminates practice scholarship at the national level

 

Guidelines for Submitting Clinical Track Promotion Document

The following summary provides procedural descriptions to assist faculty with developing their clinical track promotion document.

1.   College of Nursing Clinical Track Promotion Form: This is the form on which you indicate whether you are applying for promotion to Clinical Assistant Professor or Clinical Associate Professor. The faculty member is encouraged to discuss promotion with their division assistant dean and seek a recommendation and a signed transmittal form well in advance of application deadline.

2.   Division Assistant Dean/Supervisor Letter: There must be a letter of recommendation following a comprehensive evaluation of the applicant. The letter reflects the division assistant dean or supervisor recommendation on the CON Transmittal Form for Recommending Clinical Promotion (P&T webpage). The division assistant dean’s letter should identify the areas of academic endeavor (i.e., teaching, professional service and/or scholarly activity) upon which the recommendation is based. The division assistant dean’s letter should contain the summaries of teaching evaluations. In the case of a faculty member who also holds an administration position and is seeking promotion and/or tenure, the chair of the P&T Committee will determine in consultation with the Dean of the CON, an appropriate individual to write the letter of support. This is not the applicant’s decision.

3.   Curriculum Vitae: All candidates must submit a current curriculum vitae in the specified format. Specific teaching activities should include:

1. Listing of lectures given in team-taught courses (include number of lectures)
2. Listing of courses for which you were coordinator/supervisor
3. Listing of courses (course number and name, only) taught by you giving the total number of hours involved in course/courses.
4. Information on teaching of graduate students, especially as pertains to supervision of scholarly products.
5. Information on teaching activities related to those in residency training (medical, pharmacy, etc.)
6. Listing of continuing education lectures/courses given
7. Course/lecture/training evaluation materials and outcome assessments

4.   Narratives: The narratives must summarize the accomplishments for each of the three areas: Teaching, Scholarly Activity, and Professional Service. The narratives should not exceed two pages for each area of accomplishment and should focus on the impact of the activities. See below for the guidelines for developing the narratives.

5.   Potential External Reviewers: Faculty members must provide a list of five names of individuals who have expertise in their areas of strength. Suggested external reviewers must be outside the University of Nebraska system and cannot be a recent or current collaborator, consultant, mentor or someone with whom the faculty member has another close professional or personal relationship. For reviewers in academia, reviewers must be at the requested clinical or academic rank or higher than the applicant’s current level or equivalent if at clinical professor rank. The applicant must complete a Contact Information for External Review Form for Clinical Rank Promotion. Each of the 5 forms must be completed by the applicant and submitted to the chair of the CON P & T by the specified deadline date.

6.   Copies of Publications. Candidates for promotion should submit copies of not more than five (5) of the most important publications which were printed or accepted for publication since their last promotion.

Guidelines for Developing the Narrative Part for Clinical Promotion Application

Preparation of Narratives:

Prior to developing your narratives you need to discuss rank and your specific areas of accomplishments (teaching, scholarly activity, professional service) with your supervisor. Also if you would like a coach for the promotion application process, contact the Promotion and Tenure chair.

The Clinical Promotion application includes a two page description of the evidence supporting your accomplishments in each of the three areas. This is where you must highlight your accomplishments to assist others reviewing your application to understand the significance of your contributions to the college, university, and profession. The narratives focus on the last 5-7 years, not your entire career. As you prepare your narrative be concise and state specifically your accomplishments and the impact you have in the areas of focus (teaching, scholarship, or professional service).

Prepare the narratives in chronological order to illustrate how one activity leads to the next so that any reviewer will be able to clearly see the sustained contributions or outstanding record. The following are trigger points for you to consider when developing your narratives according to the three areas of evidence. Use Appendix A2’s listing of accomplishments as guides that represent the level of achievement. Not all accomplishments are required but the application for clinical assistant and associate rank must demonstrate a sustained record of excellence and for professor there must be national recognition and outstanding achievements.

Teaching

Teaching evidence represents the value of and contributions to student educational experiences:

1. Identify courses taught for at least the last two years
   • Describe your responsibility for the course
   • Identify any innovative strategies to deliver the course, consider CON mandates to incorporate specific strategies — remember the application will be read by others outside of the CON and contributions must be described specifically for them to grasp the significance
   • Be concise.
   • If appropriate, include student comments regarding the revisions/new strategies.
   • Student evaluations for your teaching in the classroom and/or clinical area.
   • Include a summary of evaluations stating the range of scores on the specific rating scale; do not include the print outs.
   • May a sample of student comments from evaluations — representative but not excessive, select statements that describe the quality of teaching.
   • If there are some areas that the student evaluations identify as areas for improvement, state how you are trying to change these categories.
2. Course coordinator role.
   • Describe responsibility in terms of class size, use of learning management system, distance students.
   • If undergraduate course, discuss involvement with other divisions
   • Describe leadership in promoting course quality and/or faculty development.
3. Clinical instruction
   • Describe number of students in clinical setting, type of patients, innovative strategies used in the clinical area for assisting the students to gain skills and critical thinking
   • If you must provide experiences when patient availability is limited, describe what strategies or alternative experiences are used — e.g. simulation and if available student evaluation of this experience.
   • Clinical coordinator role.
4. Note: Information for developing a teaching portfolio is available and detailed on the UNMC Academic Services website: http://www.unmc.edu/academicservices. A teaching portfolio is not required, it is intended to help with documenting teaching activities that can be helpful for annual evaluations and in the development of the two-page narrative on teaching activities for Promotion and Tenure Committee review. The Teaching Portfolio is optional and is not submitted with promotion application materials.

Scholarly Activity

Scholarly Activity is not limited to clinical achievements but reflects the applicant’s contributions to the profession. Nursing scholarship is defined by the AACN as “the generation, synthesis, translation, application, and dissemination of knowledge that aims to improve health and transform health care” (AACN 2018). Practice scholarship is defined (AACN, 2018) as scholarship that “…interprets, draws together, and brings new insight to original scholarship. The practice scholar applies evidence to practice, incorporating implementation and translation science.”

Scholarship should be in a focused clinical practice or clinical teaching area with a special population. Narratives should demonstrate sustained growth in scholarship that is disseminated from a local level progressing to a national level.

Presentations (paper or posters) may be an intermediate step in dissemination but published articles with you as first author are preferable. Publishing in clinical practice journals is acceptable.

Scholarly activities can be connected with a professional organization in terms of development or revisions of practice guidelines or organizing symposiums/conferences.

Professional Service

Professional Service includes exemplary service and contributions to the CON, the university, and professional organizations.

CON: Description of committee functions and your specific role, scholarly outcomes from committee work or impact on the organization, if appropriate. Appointments to a task force or ad-hoc committees are included and describe the outcome from the committee in relation to the CON’s mission and vision and to university as a whole.

University Medical Center/the Nebraska Medical Center Hospital/University of Nebraska: Identify the committee, contribution you made as a member or leader of the committee, and any specific outcome that was important to any of the listed entities. It may be appropriate to connect the committee to strategic plan objective or new enterprise development.

State of Nebraska: Identify the committee, the contribution you made as a member or leader of the committee, and any specific outcome that was important to any of the listed entities. Include the significance of the committee’s function to the citizens of Nebraska.

Professional Organization: Local, state, regional and national professional organization (appointed or elected) service is important to demonstrate sustained or outstanding contributions to the organization. Describe the significance of the committee to the organization and any recognition associated with the committee’s participation.

Practice: Individuals who engage in practice as part of their professional service will provide a description of exemplary contributions. Describe your practice including population served, role, and members of the team providing service (interdisciplinary.) Describe any consultations and/or program development that exemplifies contributions to patient care focused programs for a targeted population. Describe the clinical outcomes or impact of practice on patient/population health outcomes, satisfaction, or cost effectiveness (i.e. Triple Aims). Describe your specific contributions and role in revising policies, procedures, standards of care, and staff orientation and development.