Faculty Factory

Heather Brod visits the Faculty Factory podcast this week with some high-level takeaways from a recent talk she has developed and presented called, "What You Should Know About Academic Medicine (But No One Tells You)." We hope you are familiar with the style of commentary and wisdom Heather brings to the table as a “frequent flier” on this show. She is also the coauthor of "The Insider’s Pocket Guide to Navigating a Faculty Career in Academic Medicine,” alongside Faculty Factory podcast host and co-author Kimberly A. Skarupski, PhD, MPH. The “hidden curriculum,” which encompasses the important, often unspoken aspects of a career in academic medicine, are covered throughout this discussion. This includes salient items like negotiating for a job and making an impact.  Learn More: http://facultyfactory.org/hidden-curriculum 

Anumeha Bhagat, MD, DNB, joins the Faculty Factory Podcast this week for a timely interview on medical education, innovative teaching skills, and building a new generation of well-rounded leaders in the field worldwide. As mentioned in this interview, Dr. Bhagat is a fellow of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) Institutes. She also serves as an Assistant Professor of Physiology and is a member of the MEU faculty at Government Medical College in Chandigarh, India. She is a major proponent of measuring impact in faculty development, and as an international podcast reaching over 100 countries, we are hopeful that learning about global best practices will be a key benefit of having Dr. Bhagat joins us this week! Her work aims to enhance the quality of medical training, cultivate well-rounded future leaders in medicine, and promote innovative teaching methods to better prepare faculty for the demands of this beautiful calling of academic medicine.  As discussed in the opening moments of this interview, getting trained in basic medical education technologies is a mandatory requirement for promotion in India. This contrasts with the United States, where education can be a pathway or track, or even supplementary. “The governing bodies have made this a mandatory requirement. So, once you become a faculty member, you need to complete this basic course in medical education to be promoted to the next level,” she explained.  We would like to thank a dear friend of the Faculty Factory, Page S. Morahan, PhD, a founding co-director of FAIMER, for connecting us with Dr. Bhagat, who helped paved the way for this enriching discussion with Dr. Bhagat.

Our fantastic guest, Gulshan Sharma, MD, MPH, discusses key elements of leadership, such as teambuilding, applied knowledge (or intelligence), situational awareness, authenticity, and the role of brain chemistry, this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast. Dr. Sharma is the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical & Clinical Innovation Officer at UTMB Health in Galveston. He also serves as a Professor in the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine within the Department of Internal Medicine at UTMB. “What leadership should bring is a vision for the organization and a main thing for a leader is to manage and de-escalate crisis,” Dr. Sharma told us. Since leadership is personal, coaching becomes vital for leaders because it helps individuals build self-awareness. Additionally, dedicating time to clearing your mind is important, as an uncluttered thought process is essential for personalized leadership. “Leaders should lead; they should not be doing tasks. If leaders start doing, it invites trouble,” Dr. Sharma states.

Remembering why you first entered the wonderful and challenging world of academic medicine might be just the boost of joy you need to stave off burnout. Our guest this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast is Geeta Singhal, MD, MEd, FAAP, whom we warmly welcome for her first-ever (and very memorable) appearance on our program. She does a brilliant job painting a picture for us of ways to uncover joy amidst the challenges of patient care, teaching, research, and many other rich, rewarding, and difficult tasks of the academic medicine journey. Dr. Singhal currently serves as Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Academics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Attending Physician, and Co-Director of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). She is also a Faculty Leadership Development Program Partner at BCM and a Professionalism Partner at Texas Children's Hospital.  Learn more: http://facultyfactory.org/Geeta-Singhal 

Daniel Almeida, PhD, also known as the “Strengths Professor,” visits us this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast. Dr. Almeida is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California. As mentioned throughout this interview, he works diligently to incorporate Clifton Strengths into his teaching, coaching, and research. Learn More: https://facultyfactory.org/daniel-almeida 

This week's episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast features a rebroadcast of "Rethinking Success in Academic Medicine," a webinar that was co-presented by Heather Brod and Kimberly Skarupski, PhD, MPH in May 2025. This broadcast has been edited and shortened to enhance the podcast listening experience. Learn more:  https://facultyfactory.org/rethink-success/ For more visuals, you can watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oClCmjhs1V4 You can also access handouts that accompany the session: Rethinking Success in Academic Medicine Case Studies [pdf] Clarify Shift Explore Template [pdf]

The vital role of the humanities in shaping empathetic communication skills and critical-minded healthcare professionals is explored today with our guest, P. Ravi Shankar, MBBS, MD. Dr. Shankar, MBBS, MD, currently serves as faculty and program coordinator at the IMU Centre for Education in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is a Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) Institutes Scholar and a prolific researcher. Read more: http://facultyfactory.org/ravi-shankar 

The Faculty Factory podcast is back this week with a deep exploration of academic promotions for clinicians as we interview Anne Walling, MB, ChB, who has written extensively about the topic. Her writings are based on her years of practical on-the-job experience with faculty. Dr. Walling is a professor emerita at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita in Wichita, Kansas and is the author of Academic Promotion for Clinicians: A Practical Guide to Promotion and Tenure in Medical Schools. She joins our show this week as a first-time guest to discuss the second edition of this book, along with exploring a variety of aspects related to promotions in academic medicine from many different angles. You can learn more about her book here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-84036-4

The five keys that will lead you toward a successful clinical education career are outlined in-depth this week on the Faculty Factory Podcast, featuring our first-time guest, the amazing and encouraging Carla L. Spagnoletti, MD, MS. With the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Spagnoletti serves as Professor of Medicine and holds the George H. Taber Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine. In addition, she is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, the Associate Division Chief for Education in GIM, and the Associate Director of the Masters and Certificate Programs in Medical Education within the Institute for Clinical Research Education. The five tips that Dr. Spagnoletti encourages us to employ for building a successful clinical education career are as follows: Proactively develop your skills. Let your mission drive your career. Turn everyday work into scholarship. Face and embrace failure. Build and maintain relationships. Make sure to tune into today's episode for a deep dive on each of the five tips. You will also learn the story of how Dr. Spagnoletti's unique career journey led her to this wisdom.

Today’s episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast explores strategies for embracing a new career challenge or retirement itself. This broadcast features a recording from a recent lecture led by Faculty Factory Podcast host Kimberly Skarupski, PhD, MPH. Dr. Skarupski is Associate Vice Provost, Leadership Development, in the Office of Faculty Affairs with UTMB Health in Galveston, Texas. She is a tenured Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics in the John Sealy School of Medicine and in the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public and Population Health. If you'd like to see the slides from the lecture that this podcast is based on, you can access them here. More Faculty Factory Resources: https://facultyfactory.org/