Tips For Getting Promoted in an Academic Center:

• Learn the dossier system that your center uses: Most universities will have some program (e.g., Research in View) that is used to compile a dossier. Familiarize yourself with this system within the first year of your career so that you can add your achievements to this as you accomplish them (e.g., publications, speaking engagements) rather than scrambling at the last minute to add everything that you have done over the last five to 10 years. Many systems can also generate a curriculum vitae (CV) for you with this information, so this is a nice way to keep your CV up-to-date as well.   – Sharon L. Roble, MD, FACC, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
• Know your academic track/title and the criteria for success in that track/title group and know both the formal and informal criteria for promotion in your institution.  – Anne L. Taylor, MD, FACC, the John Lindenbaum Professor of Medicine/Cardiology  at Columbia University Medical Center, senior vice president for  Faculty Affairs and Career Development, vice dean for Academic Affairs at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, NY.

Tip For Success in a Private Practice:

• When looking to join a private practice, an important question to ask is how decisions are made in the group. Some are run by executive councils (depending on the size of the group) with elected physicians on the council. Other smaller groups may be run by collective voting and yet others are run by one physician who makes decisions for all. On the other hand, some hospital-run groups may lose control over decision-making altogether as the hospital may make decisions for its own benefit.  – Riya Chacko, MD, is a cardiologist at the Cardiovascular Group of Syracuse in Syracuse, NY.