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UW Health SMPH

Frequently Asked Questions

UWMF Physician Recruiters Amy Moen and Bette McCarthy represent UW Health at the CareerMD Job Fair in Chicago, Illinois.
UW Health physicians are are faculty members of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, which includes a coinciding appointment with the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation. As such, UW Health physicians enjoy a rewarding clinical practice combined with enriching teaching and research opportunities. 

Use the FAQ below to answer questions common to physicians interested in joining UW Health.
 
Questions about:
 
Compensation
 
How is physician compensation determined within UW Medical Foundation?

All physicians who work for University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation (UW Medical Foundation) are also faculty of University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH). Total compensation includes pay from UWSMPH, from UW Medical Foundation and, in a few cases, from the VA Hospital.
 
Compensation is determined through the individual academic department compensation plan. Each department has a unique written compensation plan for clinical and academic work, as well as a compensation committee which decides how the various funds the department receives for clinical, academic and administrative work will be allocated to faculty members within the department.
 
Compensation plans were reviewed and approved by the Compensation Development Committee of UW Medical Foundation. There is not one system of compensation across the organization; however, UW Medical Foundation bylaws require that compensation plans must have clinical and academic components. Compensation plans are expected to correlate to clinical productivity which can be measured in different ways. Each department plan is different.
 
How is the amount of money available for physician compensation determined for individual departments?
 
Departments have a variety of sources of funding for compensation. Each department is different, which makes it difficult to answer this for all departments. The basic formula is that each department generates clinical dollars through UW Medical Foundation. All clinical departments pay overhead to UW Medical Foundation and UWSMPH and then must cover department expenses. The amount remaining is available for physician compensation.
 
"Tracks"
 
What is the difference between the three physician "tracks" within the medical school?
  1. Tenure Track: Tenure track faculty members are members of the legal faculty of UWSMPH. This means they have full voting rights on University committees and are the only Medical School faculty who can serve on certain committees. Their appointments are governed by the Faculty Policies and Procedures established by UWSMPH. The expectations for this track include significant research and educational activity, in addition to clinical activities. Certain leadership roles, such as department chair or membership in the faculty senate of UWSMPH, may be restricted to tenure track faculty.
  2. CHS Track: CHS track faculty members contribute to UWSMPH missions through a scholarly approach to patient care, teaching, and/or clinical research. Individual faculty will have varying percentages of effort devoted to each of these components. Individuals on this track are considered academic staff by UWSMPH, and their appointments are governed by Academic Staff Policies and Procedures.
  3. Clinician-Teacher Track: Clinician-Teacher track faculty members contribute to the mission of UWSMPH through the provision of patient care as their primary responsibility. Medical student and resident education within the context of the clinical practice is expected. Clinician-Teacher faculty may participate in research such as accrual of patients to clinical trials. Service may also be part of this role through participation in the governance of the department and UWSMPH and through medical community service. Individuals on this track are considered academic staff by UWSMPH, and their appointments are governed by Academic Staff Policies and Procedures.

Mentoring, Development and Support

 

What resources are available for women faculty?

 

There are a variety of resources and programs in the area of mentoring, development, and support. Some are specifically for women faculty and some are available to all faculty. A listing of these programs is provided below. More information regarding each of these programs can be found at http://www.med.wisc.edu/admin/hr/fac_res_man.php.

 

Development Programs and Opportunities

 

UWSMPH

UW-Madison

Extramural Development Programs

Diversity

Faculty Equity and Diversity Committee

  • FEDC 2002 Year-End Report
  • FEDC (Faculty Equity and Diversity Committee) Membership Roster
  • FEDC (Faculty Equity and Diversity Committee) Charge
  • EDRC (Equity and Diversity Resource Center)

Mentoring and Guidance

What resources are available for minority faculty?

There are a variety of resources and programs in the area of mentoring, development, and support. Some are specifically for minority faculty and some are available to all faculty. A listing of these programs is provided in Question IX. More information on each of these programs can be found at http://www.med.wisc.edu/admin/hr/fac_res_man.php.

 

Decision-Making Process

 

How is decision-making supposed to take place within departments?

The governance of departments, including decision-making, is outlined in Faculty Policies and Procedures (FP&P). The Department Executive Committee is charged with the responsibility of governing the department and has broad authority for decision-making on issues such as recommendations concerning faculty appointments, recruitment, leaves, non-retentions, dismissals, promotions, salaries and other departmental budget matters. Departmental executive committees also have authority to review and make recommendations concerning the appointment, recruitment, non-retention, dismissal, promotion, appointment to indefinite status, or salary of academic and classified staff and other persons appointed within the department itself; or, for duties not departmentally administered, whenever those personnel actions affect the instructional activities or budget of the department.

 

Departments are also able to delegate some of this authority to their Department Chair. The Department Executive Committee may, by annual vote, delegate to a subcommittee or to the chair the authority to make recommendations with respect to any or all of the following matters, except as noted below:

  1. Salaries
  2. Faculty recruitment
  3. Non-faculty personnel actions
  4. Equipment and supplies

The Departmental Executive Committee may delegate to the full professors of the department the responsibility to communicate the department's expectations for promotion to the rank of full professor and the authority to make such recommendations.

The Executive Committee may not delegate to a subcommittee or the chair the following:

  1. Authority to make recommendations on probationary faculty appointments
  2. Authority to make recommendations on retention or non-retention of probationary faculty
  3. Invitation or renewal of invitation to academic staff to vote and participate in departmental meetings as allowed in FP&P 5.10
  4. Invitation or renewal of invitation to academic staff to participate in annual preference balloting for departmental chair as allowed in FP&P 5.10.
  5. Authority to make recommendations for the appointment of academic staff to indefinite status, or for the conferral of modified professorial titles to academic staff

The actual process used by the Executive Committee to make such decisions is determined by the Executive Committee as long as they do not conflict with FP&P. The details of the governance process can be found in FP&P Chapter 5.

 

Immigration

 

How is the immigration process handled?

 

Physicians are required to obtain an employer-sponsored visa with each of the organizations for which they hold an appointment. Appointment specifics will be confirmed with the physician. The physician is then asked who they have been working with on their visa issue, the physican will then be referred appropriately.

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH) will refer the physician to their Department Administrator and/or Department HR Representative.

Petition filed by:
UWSMPH, International Faculty & Staff Services

Jennifer Taylor

(608) 263-5689

jtaylor@ohr.wisc.edu