In October of 2025, the Hospital Medicine Faculty Development Committee held its biannual Roads to Success Workshop, which provides tools for educators in medicine to develop their careers and goals. The course highlights four aspects of success: career, teaching, wellness, and quality improvement/patient safety, diving into how each aspect is important for faculty development and career advancement.
Hospitalist Alex Thomas, MD, provided the opening lectures on creating an inclusive learning environment and establishing expectations in academic spaces. He was followed by Rakhee Bhayani, MD, Vice Chair of Career Advancement, and Abby Spencer, MD, Vice Chair of Education Dept of Medicine, who provided important skills for cultivating belonging and wellness. Dr. Bhayani, who is a member of the Academy of Educators, and Dr. Spencer, Director of the Academy of Educators, have been involved in several iterations of the Roads to Success Workshop.
Eileen Lee, MD, is a member of the Faculty Development Committee, as well as the WashU Academy of Educators. She has been highly involved in the planning and execution of Roads to Success since its inception in 2023. Dr. Lee provided two insightful lectures on providing effective feedback and navigating the promotions process. Dennis Chang, MD, is the lead of the Faculty Development Committee, and member of the Academy of Educators. He shared a lecture on how to seek a mentor and be a successful mentee. The day’s lectures finished off with doctors Tony Dao and Zach Morgan speaking on creating impactful lectures and improving public speaking skills.
The following day included an activity wherein attending faculty practiced putting together lectures about clinical topics and presented them. After this activity, the course focused on teaching and clinical reasoning. Dennis Chang, MD, gave a lecture on general teaching principles, followed by hospitalist Francis Loh, MD, who presented on teaching and mastering clinical reasoning. Finally, Safa Farrag, MD, shared her lecture on quality improvement projects. Overall, the workshop was very rewarding for the faculty who attended.
Stay tuned for another Roads to Success Workshop in early 2026, that will be open to all faculty members in the Department of Medicine.