How to Apply
Mayo Clinic employees and trainees within Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science who have an academic appointment (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor) and meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:
- Applicants must engage in sufficient hours of educational skill development
- Applicants must demonstrate excellence in one of four categories: teaching, curriculum design and assessment, educational administration or leadership, or education research and dissemination
Important dates
- Each quarter the applicant must submit their application on the last Monday in: January, April, July, and October
- Each quarter the review committee will review submitted applications in: February, May, August, and November
- Each quarter Membership is awarded to the accepted members in: March, June, September, and December
Application criteria
In addition to academic rank, you must meet both criteria to achieve a given Academy membership level. If you have met one criterion but not the other, you’re not eligible to apply to that particular level. Membership does not expire; you can apply to any level and progress through the levels over time.
- Not sure which Academy level you can apply for? Review our Track Level Checklist and Summary of Criteria for Membership to help you determine which one is most appropriate.
- For step-by-step guidance on how to submit your application, review this downloadable application walkthrough presentation.
Academic rank/appointment
Academic rank is required and is taken into consideration in your application to the Academy. Visit the Academic Appointment and Promotions intranet website to learn more about achieving academic rank. Your membership level in the Academy can also enhance your proposal for academic rank through the impact of scholarly activities.
Criterion 1: Educational skill development
Membership is based on time spent honing your skills in an education role and demonstration of excellence within that role. Time investment for educational skill development includes:
- Time spent developing education-related knowledge/skills in yourself
- Time spent developing the education-related knowledge/skills of others
Requirements for each membership level are as follows. Review the Track Level Checklist for more details.
Associate | Fellow | Senior Fellow | Legacy |
---|---|---|---|
20 hours within five years | 40 hours total | 60 hours, or master’s degree in education | 80 hours or doctorate degree in education |
Documenting your time spent investing in your skills as an educator
There is one application link for applying, but three options for demonstrating that you meet criterion when you fill out your application:
Option 1: Document in RE-AIMS. Document in RE-AIMS (login required) the courses, seminars, or similar activities on education-related topics you have attended under "Courses Attended."
- Use the 2021 REAIMS electronic application instructions document to learn how to document faculty development in RE-AIMS.
- The review committee will run your RE-AIMS Report during the review process. It is best practice to run your report to determine what it looks like before selecting this option.
- Click here for instructions on how to run a REAIMS Report. Please be sure to use Microsoft Edge and save the report as an Excel file.
- If you are a colleague from the Arizona campus and elect option 1 for documenting within REAIMS, please contact the Academic Support Office for instructions on how to maintain your CV information in the REAIMS database.
- Option 2: Document in the Academy Application. Individually list the courses, workshops, and seminars that you have completed to develop your teaching and education skills within the Academy application itself.
- Option 3: Provide a Narrative. Alternatively, if you have been teaching/educating in a professional role for more than 15 years, you may provide a narrative, in lieu of an itemized list of educational skills development hours (for criteria 1). The narrative should describe how you have developed yourself for this role and include the following information:
- How many years you have been a medical educator
- Specific hours and workshops you have attended to better your skills as an educator
- How you are demonstrating or utilizing these developed education skills in your career
- This should not include time spent teaching medical or scientific content and skills to others, mentoring learners, or attending medical education meetings.
You may provide the narrative only one time. Once you are accepted into the Academy of Educational Excellence, all members are asked to continue to document hours through RE-AIMS in order to apply for progressive levels of membership or alternative tracks. See an example narrative.
Criterion 2: Demonstrated excellence as an educator
Demonstrating excellence in one of the following four categories can be completed in a number of ways. Review the Track Level Checklist for more details.
Category | Associate | Fellow | Senior Fellow | Legacy |
---|---|---|---|---|
Teaching | Delivers didactics, teaching rounds, OR assesses learners | Divisional or program-level award for excellence in education shield OR has delivered 5 or more external workshops on improving teaching competencies/skills | Departmental teaching award OR Mayo Clinic Fellows Association Teacher of the Year award OR has delivered 20 or more external workshops on improving teaching competencies/skills | Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award OR National teaching award |
Curriculum Design & Assessment | Develops curriculum, simulation scenarios OR Develops assessments | Developed curriculum or assessment(s) currently utilized by others at Mayo Clinic, including simulation scenarios OR has led 5 or more internal workshops to disseminate the content | Has led 20 or more external national workshops on how to develop curriculum design and assessment OR has been an examiner/item-writer for national boards/exams | Created curriculum/assessments utilized by individuals outside of Mayo Clinic on a national level OR Education innovation licensed |
Administration and Leadership | Divisional or program-level award for excellence in education shield OR has delivered 5 or more external workshops on improving teaching competencies/skills | Holds educational leadership role within Mayo Clinic (e.g. Program Director, Division Chair), OR Chair of a Mayo Clinic educational related committee OR Serves on an external education related committee | Holds major education leadership role within Mayo Clinic (e.g. Assistant/Associate Dean, Departmental Education Chair) OR Serves as a committee chair on an education committee of a national organization OR 20 or more education related presentations at national/international meetings | Has major leadership role in an accrediting body or certifying body (e.g. NBME, LCME, ACGME, HLC, or equivalent) OR 10 or more plenary presentations at national/international meetings related to education leadership |
Education Research & Dissemination | Non-peer reviewed or web-based publications related to education OR First author on letter to editor related to education | 5 or more external presentations related to education research OR 1 or more first authored publication related to education published in peer-reviewed, indexed journal OR 5 or more book chapters related to education | Is principal investigator or mentor on external peer-reviewed grant related to education OR Serves as a member of 1 editorial board of journal with a focus on education OR 10 or more first or senior authored publication related to education published in peer-reviewed, indexed journal OR 20 or more external presentations related to education researchPI or Co-PI on external peer reviewed grant related to education OR member of an editorial board of journal with a focus on education OR 10 or more first or senior authored publications related to education published in peer-reviewed, indexed journal OR 20 or more external presentations related to education research OR 20 or more publications related to education published in a peer reviewed journal. | 50 first/senior author peer-reviewed journals related to medical education OR Serves as a member of >2 editorial board of journals with a focus on education OR 10 or more plenary presentations at national/international meetings related to education research |
The Academy of Educational Excellence has provided me the opportunity to network with expert educators across multiple disciplines at Mayo Clinic. The Academy provides references and resources to develop my skills as a program director and to enhance the skills of faculty members in my department as educators and education scholars. I fully encourage membership in the Academy as it provides recognition and support for those clinicians dedicated and engaged in the shield of education.
Leila Tolaymat, M.D.
Associate level member, assistant professor of dermatology