The Junior Faculty Professional Career Development Program (PCDP) is a highly interactive curriculum designed to engage primarily Assistant Professors (or other School of Medicine faculty new to UC Davis Health System) in learning core competencies necessary for effective career development and professional advancement. The PCDP concretely examines what is required both professionally and personally to advance in academic medicine. The signature style of the sessions is collaborative and collegial, allowing participants to interact and fully explore the various topics of discussion.

Program format

The program includes eight half-day sessions held one Friday per month from October to April. Sessions include both formal presentations and interactive workshops and are held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Location: Courtyard by Marriott - Gardenia Room
4422 Y Street, Sacramento

Working and leading with emotional intelligence

Leader: Diana Wright, Ph.D.
October 5th and November 2nd

Working with Emotional Intelligence will explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and high performance, as well as leadership effectiveness. The course will use the EQ in Action Profile, which measures the core elements of emotional intelligence and provides a glimpse into how our brains interpret "reality," especially in difficult relationship situations at work. This tool provides a focused mirror for individuals to use for personal and leadership development. The profile will be used throughout the course as a means for developing strong leadership through emotional intelligence.

A mentee's guide to being mentored: how to identify and nurture your goals

Leaders: Jesse Joad, M.D., M.S. and Fred Meyers, M.D.
October 12th

Do you remember why you chose to get involved in academic medicine? Does that fundamental experience nurture and sustain your career choice today? This session will provide participants the opportunity to clearly establish career goals aligned with that fundamental option, and develop a plan to achieve those goals utilizing both short and long term development strategies. In this reflective process, participants will learn best practices, discuss how to build and leverage mentoring relationships, and utlize the expertise of peers to help create realistic expectations and assess milestones from various viewponts. Participants will use the Individual Development Plan and other resources included in the Career Mentoring Handbook of UC Davis School of Medicine.

Scientific writing for publication

Leader: Amy Clarke, Ph.D.
November 30th

The most common misperception about professional writers is that writing comes easily to them. The truth is writing is often a confusing and messy process. Yet understanding it as a process-something done in stages rather than in one inspired afternoon-is the key to making writing more efficient and effective. This session will cover the basics of understanding writing as a process. It will do so in the context of scientific writing, emphasizing the conventions of the genre and analysis of target publications. We will discuss the steps to making your writing process more effective, whether you are writing alone or collaboratively.

Time management and presentation skills (PowerPoint)

Leaders: Gene Crumley and Este Geraghty, M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
January 4th

There is no point in being brilliant if you can't effectively communicate your ideas to others. While there are many ways to communicate information, giving an oral presentation has the benefit of speaker-audience interaction. Discussions either during or following a talk can provide valuable insights for both the presenter and the audience. So it is highly worthwhile to become facile in the art of public speaking. Since our presentations tend to be dominated by PowerPoint, this talk will focus on effective us of that methodology. Participants will learn tips and techniques related to oral presentations and the preparation of clear, consistent, and focused PowerPoint slide shows.

Mental models: an exploration of human paradigms

Leader: Neil Bodine, J.D.
February 1st

The first job of leadership is to define "reality" in the organization. Defining "reality" is more than setting goals, however, and it is more than developing a strategic plan or vision. It is first and foremost understanding how different people see and respond to the world differently; and, from that knowledge, developing a "common view" of what is important, what is critical, and what is vital to the organization's well being. The first step in this challenging leadership task is to understand how people make sense of the world. In other words, the first task is to ask the question, "How do people construct worldviews, paradigms and mental models?" In this course we will explore that question in depth, beginning with an exploration of each leader's own worldviews, paradigms and mental models.

Difficult conversations

Leaders: Gene Crumley and Este Geraghty, M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
January 4th

See flyer for more details: Junior faculty professional career development program flyer