Hospitalist Scholars Program

We are delighted to announce the initiation of the Johns Hopkins Hospitalist Scholars Program, an innovative program designed to provide academic funding (up to $12,000 per year) for each faculty member who seeks to build an academic career at Hopkins. Please contact Dr. Daniel Brotman, Director, Hospitalist Program (brotman@jhmi.edu), for more information.

Program: 

Academic funding tied to a specific career development plan.

Key Program Features: 

1) Eligibility: Salaried faculty members are eligible for the program, including part-time salaried faculty. Part-time casual faculty members are not eligible.

2) Amount and source of funds: Funds will be derived from the Hospitalist clinical surplus, and will accrue at an annual rate of up to $12,000 for each full-time faculty member. If the clinical surplus does not allow for a disbursement of $12,000 to each faculty member, the disbursement will be reduced proportionately for each hospitalist.

3) Disbursement amount depends on the faculty member’s clinical commitment to the Hospitalist Program:

a) Full-time faculty whose salaries are supported at least 70% by clinical funds are eligible for full benefits. 

b) Eligible faculty with <70% commitment will receive benefits that are prorated in proportion to their clinical commitment to the program:

Example 1: A full-time faculty member who has a joint appointment with Geriatrics and receives 50% of salary support from that Division is eligible for half of the benefit.

Example 2: A full-time faculty member who has 20% salary support through the Colleges and 20% salary support from research is eligible for 60% of the benefit.

Example 3: A part-time faculty member with a 50% clinical commitment and no external support is eligible for half the benefit.

 4) Funds vest after 2 years on faculty, such that accrued funds are available at the beginning of year 3.  Faculty who spend fewer than 2 years at Hopkins are not eligible for any disbursements.

5) The funds must be used solely for academic and career development within the Hospitalist program.  Faculty members who fail to submit acceptable proposals cannot use the funds for other purposes, such funding financial bonuses, sabbaticals, or buying “protected time” that is not earmarked for a specific academic endeavor.

6) Requires formal application and approval

a) Application indicates how funding would accelerate career development as a Hopkins Hospitalist

b) Application must identify committed scholarly mentor

c) Approval is required from the Hospitalist Program director, the Division Director, and the mentor

d) Approval based upon the likelihood of leading to promotion and/or external funding at Hopkins

7) Multiple applications may be submitted and funded provided that the funds are available in the individual faculty member’s account. 

8) Funds are not portable beyond JHU; if the funds are not used, they are returned to the Hospitalist Scholars Program and are not disbursed to the individual upon termination of employment at Hopkins. 

9) Unused funds for approved projects are available to the individual faculty member for future use. For example, if a faculty member obtains $20,000 from the program to fund a pilot study and preliminary results after expending $5,000 suggest that the project is untenable, the remaining $15,000 would be returned to the individual’s Hospitalist Scholars account.  Access to these funds requires a subsequent formal proposal.

10) Unused funds expire after 10 years and are returned to the Hospitalist Scholars Program.

11) Funds are maintained in an individual faculty member’s account for a total of 18 months following transient termination of employment from Hopkins (to allow the faculty member to take a sabbatical from clinical practice for coursework, for example).  If the faculty member has not returned to Hopkins as a Hospitalist within 18 months, the remaining funds are returned to the Hospitalist Scholars Fund.  For individuals who seek to use funds to obtain formal training (such as tuition for a full-time advanced degree that precludes continued full-time clinical employment), the funds will be disbursed upon return to Hopkins as a reimbursement for the incurred expenses.

Examples of Suitable Plans:

-Tuition for masters program

-Stipend supplement while on T32 Training Grant

-Seed money for research

-Protected time for research or writing for well-defined project

Sources of Funding and Estimated Program Budget:

The Program is intended to be self-sustaining, and will be funded exclusively via the Hospitalist surplus. If the Hospitalist surplus does not allow for a full $12,000 to be deposited annually for each faculty member, the deficit will be covered by unused funds that have reverted back to the Program and interest on the main Program account. Should there be insufficient funds available during any given year, the contribution to the fund for that year will be reduced proportionately for each Hospitalist.  Funds will be deposited once annually for each Hospitalist, following finalization of the prior year’s budget cycle. Initial funding will derive from the current FY06 Hospitalist surplus.