Faculty

Table of Contents Voluntary Faculty Chapter IV: Faculty Chapter V: Faculty Appointments and Promotions and Non-Faculty Titles Chapter III: Organization and Governance Search the Faculty Handbook

Faculty Handbook

Chapter IV: Faculty

Full-Time Faculty

  1. Definition

    Full time faculty are those who devote their primary activities to academic pursuits, which include teaching, research, and the delivery of health services. Full-time faculty may participate in certain other academic-related activities (as detailed below), but only to the extent that these activities do not interfere with their primary academic responsibilities to the institution.

    Full-time faculty may not accept an appointment or other position at any other educational, medical, or scientific institution (school of medicine, hospital, research organization, college, or university) unless prior written approval has been granted by the Dean. The Dean's approval will not be required for those appointments or positions that are traditionally held by full time faculty at other institutions such as "adjunct", "lecturer", or "visiting" appointments. In addition, full-time faculty may not be employed by or hold any other paid or unpaid position in a scientific or medically related business, foundation, supporting entity, or other organization or other institution except as provided in the section on Consultative Arrangements (Section F, below), or unless prior written approval has been granted by the Dean. (See also policy on Business Conflicts of Interest.)

    Faculty are eligible for secondary faculty appointments at New York University (NYU) with the following conditions:

    1. The appointment process would be initiated by an NYU department/school;
    2. The application would require the approval of the Deans of both Mount Sinai and NYU School of Medicine;
    3. The MSSM faculty member's title at NYU would be "Assistant/Associate/Professor of XXX (part-time)", where the faculty rank would be identical at both schools;
    4. NYU would have no responsibilities regarding tenure and promotion;
    5. Salary decisions and all other personnel decisions, e.g. granting of leave of absence, would be made entirely by MSSM;
    6. All faculty benefits would be provided by MSSM;
    7. NYU would have the option to permit the faculty members to participate in departmental or school-level faculty meetings. However, there would be no participation in promotion and tenure committees at NYU;
    8. The secondary appointment at NYU would be contingent upon the continued primary appointment at MSSM.

    Physicians with full-time faculty appointments at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and clinical privileges at The Mount Sinai Hospital are eligible for privileges at Tisch Hospital (the major teaching hospital of New York University School of Medicine) without obtaining an academic appointment at NYU. The cross-campus privileging policy requires that:

    1. the privileges are necessary for program development;
    2. the two department Chairs in the physician's specialty at both campuses approve the second hospital appointment;
    3. the Deans of both Mount Sinai and NYU School of Medicine approve the second hospital appointment;
    4. the Health System Organization President approves the appointment;
    5. the host Medical Board determines the appropriate credentialing category and the Credentials Committee of the Medical Board approves the appointment.

    Full-time faculty may render services to private patients at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital, and other affiliated institutions, and to private patients outside these facilities as part of the Faculty Practice Associates, but they may not maintain offices outside of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine or its affiliated institutions unless prior approval is obtained from the Dean. All income from patient related activities, and any other form of consideration (other than de minimis gifts) from patients, former patients, and their relatives and friends, may not be retained by members of the full-time faculty. Similarly, any income or consideration from other clinically related activity wherever performed may not be retained by members of the full-time faculty. All such income and consideration is the property of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

  2. Salary

    The base salary of full-time faculty must be within the range established by institutional guidelines for specific academic ranks. Financial obligation to all faculty is limited to the minimum rate for rank established by the School of Medicine. Full-time faculty may not retain any fees that derive from patient related activities; however, full-time faculty may receive supplemental income as permitted by institutional policy.

  3. Other Income

    Full-time faculty may retain income that derives from participation in such non-patient related professional activities as:

    1. honoraria for lectures;
    2. visiting professorships;
    3. royalties from books, prizes, editorships;
    4. per diem payments for government consultantships, functioning as a board examiner;
    5. expert opinion in litigation procedures (see Section E below for the detailed, specific requirements that must be met prior to entry into such arrangements);
    6. consultative arrangements with, and service on advisory boards of extramural agencies (see Section F below for the detailed, specific requirements that must be met prior to entry into such arrangements).
  4. Faculty Practice Associates

    The Faculty Practice Associates (FPA) is the faculty practice program of the School of Medicine. Its primary purpose is to foster and support full-time faculty practice activities, thereby facilitating the recruitment and retention of excellent full-time faculty; enriching the training opportunities available to Mount Sinai's house staff and students; furthering Mount Sinai's clinical research programs; and promoting high quality patient care.

    Rules and Procedures governing participation in FPA are applicable to all faculty participants. Income generated by full-time clinical faculty for professional services (fee for service) is deposited into discrete accounts maintained in the Financial Division of the School of Medicine. Disbursements from these accounts are made in accordance with established guidelines governing participation in the FPA. Copies of FPA Governance Documents and other relevant material pertaining to FPA are available from the FPA Administration Office.

  5. Financial Arrangements with Extramural Entities

    An extramural entity is defined in this section as any entity other than Mount Sinai School of Medicine and its affiliated institutions.1

    A faculty member may enter into an agreement to act as a private individual in a consultative or other financial arrangement with an extramural entity, or serve as a member of an advisory board of an extramural entity or as an expert witness, and retain all income that derives from such arrangements providing that the following provisions are met2:

    1. All arrangements involving external activities of any kind with an extramural entity must be set forth in a written agreement. The agreement must be submitted to the Department Chairperson, accompanied by a written attestation by the faculty member that he or she has read this institutional policy on financial arrangements with extramural entities, and that the proposed arrangement complies with this policy. The written attestation must also disclose any conflict of interest and identify intellectual property provisions in the agreement.

      Attestation of Compliance Word Document

    2. The arrangement does not encompass situations in which the faculty member functions directly or indirectly as a practitioner of medicine or as an employee of a third party, including functioning as the principal investigator of a research project or as the director of a research effort of the third party; such arrangements are governed by separate institutional policies.
    3. The faculty member must be in compliance with all institutional policies, including those on conflicts of interest, use of Mount Sinai name, and intellectual property/patents.
    4. The arrangement may not take precedence over or conflict with any responsibilities or requirements made on the faculty member by the School of Medicine.
    5. The aggregate number of days allocated to financial arrangements with extramural entities, including expert witness or medicolegal consultant arrangements, may not exceed fifty-two (52) per school year (July 1 - June 30). All continuing financial arrangements, in which the commitment extends beyond one year, must be reviewed annually.
    6. With the exception of the use of the library facilities of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the de minimis use of the individual's own office and personal computer, no facilities or personnel of Mount Sinai School of Medicine may be used in the performance of the extramural arrangement.
    7. Some affiliates of Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have rules that restrict a faculty member's right to enter into arrangements with outside entities; faculty should check the policy at their particular institution. Faculty must comply with policies at Mount Sinai and the affiliate institution.
    8. All arrangements must be approved by the Department Chair, see grid summarizing review and approval requirements.pdf Chairs must obtain direct approval from the Dean before entering into arrangements with outside entities. Chairs are encouraged to seek guidance from Risk Management, Office of the General Counsel or the Compliance Office as appropriate on any outside arrangements for themselves or their faculty.
    9. Approval by the Dean is required in addition to approval by the Department Chair for arrangements reviewed by the Office of Industrial Liaison (OIL) or the Institutional Conflict of Interest Committee under the following circumstances:
      1. The Office of Industrial Liaison will review:
        • All agreements with commercial entities3
        • Any arrangement with non-commercial entities in which the agreement includes intellectual property provisions.

        OIL will identify intellectual property provisions, will negotiate necessary changes to the agreement language, and will recommend or not recommend the arrangement to Dean.

      2. The Institutional Conflict of Interest Committee will review all agreements with identifiable conflicts of interest, and will recommend or not recommend the arrangement to the Dean.
    10. Chairs will submit a copy of each signed attestation form for an approved arrangement to the institutional Compliance Office for inclusion in the compliance database.
    11. All income or compensation in whatever form will be independent of any compensation arrangements that the faculty member has with Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Insofar as a faculty member will act as a private individual in an agreement with an extramural entity, all income that derives from the arrangement must be paid directly to the faculty member.
    12. Insofar as a faculty member will act as a private individual in an arrangement with an extramural entity, such agreement is outside the scope of employment as a faculty member of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and therefore the faculty member will be solely responsible for his/her actions and any litigation that may arise. Mount Sinai School of Medicine will not be liable for any actions of the individual or any litigation that may arise as a result of the consultative arrangement with the extramural agency. The faculty member will so inform the extramural entity.
  6. Sabbatical Leave

    Leaves of absence for scholarly and educational purposes may be granted to eligible faculty to increase their knowledge and scientific achievements and thereby enhance the faculty members' value to Mount Sinai School of Medicine as teachers and scholars. Each sabbatical leave may be granted for a period of up to twelve months.

    1. Eligibility Requirements:
      • 1.1.
        Full-time Associate Professors and Professors who are employed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine or its affiliates will be eligible for sabbatical leave.
      • 1.2.
        Eligible faculty must be employed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine or its affiliates for an aggregate of at least six years of full-time service before an initial sabbatical leave may be taken. Thereafter, faculty will be eligible for additional sabbatical leaves after each six years of full-time employment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
      • 1.3.
        Sabbatical leave will not be available to faculty whose appointments are terminal or to faculty who plan to retire at the termination of the leave.
    2. Application for Sabbatical Leave:
      • 2.1.
        The faculty member must submit a written request for sabbatical leave to the Department Chairperson or Center Director at least six months in advance of the leave. The application must provide the name of the sponsor, institution and/or laboratory in which the sabbatical period will be spent, the duration and specific months of the leave, and a proposal that delineates the goals and scholarly activities that will be undertaken during the leave.
      • 2.2.
        If the Chairperson or Center Director approves the application, then the Chairperson or Center Director must submit the faculty member's application to the Dean along with an accompanying letter that supports the scholarly value of the sabbatical, indicates the potential benefit to Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and provides plans for covering the academic and clinical responsibilities of the faculty member during his/her absence without increasing the total financial burden of the Department. If a faculty member will hold a non-primary appointment in a Department or Center during the sabbatical leave, then the Chairperson or Center Director of the non-primary Department must also submit a letter to the Dean indicating approval of the sabbatical leave.
    3. Approval of Sabbatical Leave:
      • 3.1.
        The Dean will grant final approval for sabbatical leave. Approval will be based on a review of the application, the Chairperson's letter and the academic requirements of the institution. The Dean may request the Committee on Special Fellowships and Grants to review the applications and rank them in order of priority.
      • 3.2.
        The Dean may postpone a faculty member's sabbatical leave for up to one year. This decision will be based on the total number of faculty requesting sabbatical leave in any one year, the need to maintain an equitable distribution of faculty granted leave amongst the various Departments and Centers in any one year, and the availability of funds.
    4. Salary during Sabbatical Leave:
      • 4.1.
        Faculty taking sabbaticals of up to six months will receive their full bi-weekly base salary for the duration of the sabbatical.
      • 4.2.
        Faculty taking sabbaticals greater than six months will receive a total sabbatical salary equal to six months annual base salary for the duration of the sabbatical. The salary can be paid on a schedule agreed upon in advance by the faculty member and his/her Chair/Director.
    5. Benefits during Sabbatical Leave:
      • 5.1.
        Mount Sinai will continue to provide the faculty member with his/her usual benefit coverage for the full length of the sabbatical. However, the faculty member must pay his/her current cost share each pay period.
      • 5.2.
        Employer contributions to the Tax Sheltered Annuity plan are tied to actual salary payments for each pay period during the sabbatical.
    6. Responsibilities of Faculty:
      • 6.1.
        Arrangements must be made with the Department Chairperson or Center Director to ensure that the faculty member's academic duties and clinical responsibilities are fulfilled during the period of the sabbatical leave so that educational programs and other responsibilities are not disrupted.
      • 6.2.
        Upon completion of sabbatical leave a written report must be submitted to the Department Chairperson or Center Director and Dean that summarizes the faculty member's activities during the leave.
    7. Faculty with Term Appointments:

      For eligible faculty who hold an appointment of defined term (e.g., five years) the period of sabbatical leave will be counted as part of the accumulated time spent in that term appointment.

Footnotes

1. Commercial entities include but are not limited to: pharmaceutical, biotechnology, office supply, and medical device/supply companies; research supply and equipment companies; medical service providers; billing and collection companies. Non-commercial entities include but are not limited to: academic institutions, professional organizations, non-profit organizations, philanthropic organizations and non-commercial data safety monitoring boards.

2. The provisions of this policy do not pertain to:

  • Participation as a reviewer of scientific proposals or membership on study sections for not-for-profit or governmental extramural entities that sponsor non-profit scientific research. Faculty may retain any fees earned by such activities, and the time devoted to such activities will not reduce the number of days that may be allocated to outside arrangements. Chairs should be informed of participation in these activities, and Chair approval of planned travel relating to these activities is required.

  • Occasional lectures given at other academic institutions, provided that the honorarium and travel costs are paid directly by that institution, there is no conflict of interest and there are no intellectual property issues. Such engagements must be approved in advance by the Chair, although financial disclosure is not required. In addition, Chair approval of planned travel relating to these activities is required.

3. Commercially-sponsored lectures that present no actual or perceived conflict of interest do not require OIL review.

Documents above marked pdf are viewable with the free AdobeTM AcrobatTM Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, click on the image below to download it.

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Print Page

    ©2008 The Mount Sinai Medical Center