Center for Professionalism Creation of Community

Professionalism Partner nomination process

Professionalism Partners are nominated by the leadership of the school or clinical affiliate, through written communication to the Director of the Center for Professionalism. Nominations must be approved by the Center for Professionalism Director, and a letter confirming the Partner designation will be sent to the Partner and her/his supervisor.

Requirements of Professionalism Partners

Professionalism Partners support and promote the Center’s mission by:

• Representing the interests and concerns of identified stakeholders
• Facilitating communication about, and participating in, Center initiatives, activities and events
• Providing leadership in educational, research and clinical efforts that advance professionalism and professional identity formation
• Recognizing exemplary professionalism

To facilitate these efforts, Partners are asked to attend at least 50% of quarterly meetings with the Center for Professionalism leadership.

Professionalism Partner title, resources, responsibilities and privileges

• Title – The title for Professionalism Partners of the Center should read: “Professionalism Partner, Center for Professionalism, Baylor College of Medicine” and may be used in one’s CV or email signature.
• Resources – Professionalism Partners of the Center for Professionalism do not receive financial compensation.
• Responsibilities and/or Privileges – Professionalism Partners of the Center for Professionalism are expected to maintain involvement in endeavors that further the mission of the Center for Professionalism. While Partners of the Center for Professionalism will not receive financial compensation, they may receive advanced notice of opportunities related to the Center for Professionalism, and opportunities to network with other individuals in the BCM Community with a commitment to Professionalism.

Professionalism Partner terms and renewals

Professionalism Partner designations are made for a three-year term.

• Professionalism Partners will automatically receive Faculty Ambassador designations; when a faculty member completes their three-year term as a Professionalism Partner, they will maintain Faculty Ambassador status and will be required to submit the renewal application following a two-year term, as outlined in the Faculty Ambassador information.
• Professionalism Partners may discontinue their designation at any time by sending a written requesting to the Director of the Center for Professionalism. The Center will notify the school or affiliate leadership of the change in status, and the leadership will be asked to nominate a new Partner to represent that entity.

Ellen M. Friedman, M.D., is the senior associate dean of Professionalism and the Director for the Center for Professionalism in Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. She is a Professor in the department of Otolaryngology.

Stacey Rose, M.D., is associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases. She has a long standing interest in professionalism, humanism in medicine and provider well-being. She has been involved with professionalism activities such as the Back to Bedside ACGME program, and co-directed a medical student elective facilitating clinical observation skills through exposure to fine art (in collaboration with MFAH). She now serves as Associate Director for the Center for Professionalism. 

Melissa Carbajal, M.D., is associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology.  She has been the Fellowship Program Director for the Neonatal Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program for 10 years and her academic pursuits and interests include the Role of Spirituality in Clinical Care (a Pediatric Resident elective), medical education research, and Professional Identity Formation for physician trainees.  She now serves as a Partner in Professionalism at the BCM Center for Professionalism.   

Kim-Lan Czelusta, M.D., is associate professor and the Brown Foundation Chair for Psychiatric Education in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  Her areas of interest include professionalism, empathy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy.  

Paige Farinholt, M.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and provides palliative care within the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her work with patients centers around finding meaning and improving quality of life and she works with colleagues to achieve these same goals by fostering professional satisfaction and building community in order to prevent burnout. Her interests include improving communication skills for faculty and students and supporting interdisciplinary teamwork. She now serves as a member of the Professionalism Partners.

Holland Kaplan, M.D., is an assistant professor of general internal medicine and clinical ethics. She practices hospital medicine at Ben Taub General Hospital and sees clinical ethics consults at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and Ben Taub. In addition to ethics, her interests include medical education, professional identity formation, and medicine after the Holocaust. 

Bani Ratan, M.D., is an Associate Professor in OB/GYN and a director in the Graduate Medical Education Office. She has completed the Master Teachers Fellowship Program at Baylor in 2019 and has been awarded the Early Career Faculty Award in Clinical Excellence in 2019, the Women of Excellence Award in 2020, the Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching and Evaluation in 2020, and Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award in Educational Research in 2022. She has also completed a three year Executive Doctorate (EdD) in Professional Leadership with an Emphasis in Health Science Education through the University of Houston. Her research interests include teaching and leadership skills development in resident physicians.

Shannon Ronca, Ph.D., MPH RBP(ABSA) is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Tropical Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology and a member of the National School for Tropical Medicine. She has interests in professionalism, education, and solving infectious disease research questions using interdisciplinary science.

Geeta Singhal, M.D., is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She has a long-standing interest in faculty development, in education and communication at the bedside with patients and their families. She has worked on professionalism projects for over a decade. 

Jeffrey Khan, M.D., is an associate professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Director, an Associate PD for the Psychiatry Residency, and the medical director for the Baylor Psychiatry Clinic. Clinically, he primarily works with patients with mood, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD disorders. In addition to this clinical work, he has particular interests in medical education, assessment, professionalism, faculty development and engagement, and fitness for duty. 

The POP award Committee receives and reviews every POP Award nomination to ensure it includes a specified example of an observed professional behavior. Once approved the nomination is passed to the nominee's chief to confirm the individual is a member of good professional standing within their department. 

The Mini Grant Committee receives and reviews all Mini Grant Applications to ensure applications support the mission of the College and have a direct impact on learners. 

Faculty Ambassador requirements and approval process

Designation as a Faculty Ambassador of the Center for Professionalism requires:

• Demonstration of a sustained commitment to promoting Professionalism at BCM, as evidenced by at least two of the following:
  • Regular attendance at Center for Professionalism activities
  • Efforts to increase awareness of the Center’s activities throughout the College
  • Collaboration with the Center for Professionalism on educational initiatives or other special projects
  • Serving as a teacher or mentor for activities that promote Professionalism, either within one’s department or in connection with the Center for Professionalism
  • Participation in a Center for Professionalism committee or task force, such as the Professionalism Partners.
• Support of the primary Department Chair, acknowledged in the application form.

Approval Process

• Faculty Ambassador status may be requested through self-nomination or through nomination by the Chair of one’s primary department, or by the Center for Professionalism leadership.
• The applicant must complete an application expressing interest in serving as a Faculty Ambassador of the Center. The application should outline the applicant’s related professionalism interests, and how the applicant will contribute to the Center’s mission and activities. The application must include a statement that the faculty member’s primary department Chair has given support for the Faculty Ambassador application.
• The Center for Professionalism’s Committee on Ambassadors will review the application and will make a recommendation regarding an applicant’s designation.
• When a Faculty Ambassador designation is approved, a letter will be sent to the faculty member from the Director of the Center for Professionalism.
• The Center will maintain a record of Faculty Ambassador designations.

Faculty Ambassador title, resources, responsibilities and privileges

• Title – The title for Faculty Ambassadors of the Center should read: “Faculty Ambassador, Center for Professionalism, Baylor College of Medicine” and may be used in one’s CV or email signature.
• Resources – Faculty Ambassadors of the Center for Professionalism do not receive financial compensation.
• Responsibilities and/or Privileges – Faculty Ambassadors of the Center for Professionalism are expected to maintain involvement in endeavors that further the mission of the Center for Professionalism. While Faculty Ambassadors of the Center for Professionalism will not receive financial compensation, they may receive advanced notice of offerings related to the Center for Professionalism, and opportunities to network with other individuals in the BCM Community with a commitment to Professionalism.

Faculty Ambassador terms and renewals

Faculty Ambassador designations are made for a two-year term, which is renewable based on the following conditions.

• At the conclusion of the two-year term, Faculty Ambassador status may be renewed upon request of the faculty member and with the approval of the Center’s Committee on Ambassadors and the Chair of the faculty member’s primary department.  
• The renewal form submitted by the applicant shall include a summary of a) contributions the faculty has made to the Center for Professionalism during the previous term and b) proposed contributions for the subsequent term. The Center’s Committee on Ambassadors will review the renewal request and notify the applicant in writing of the decision.
• Faculty Ambassadors may discontinue their designation at any time by sending a written requesting to the Director of the Center for Professionalism. The Center will notify the Chair of the primary Department of the change in status.

The Sound of Well-Being Series, in collaboration with BCM BeWell, was a musical journey to well-being that covered topics such as increasing resiliency by creating music, music in family life, and the impact of music on the brain. The mini-series was presented by the award-winning Texas Medical Orchestra includes members of the BCM community and features musically inspired presentations, conducted by Libi Lebel.

Due to the success of the project, and because the BCM community requested, the Texas Medical Orchestra has continued this lunchtime series for your enjoyment. 

These sessions are in person, live at Noon in the Cullen Auditorium, and are available via Zoom. Check your recent Newslink for announced concerts.

The Center for Professionalism and BCM BeWell groups joined together to help participants think about their current definition of success and shift these goals to internal rather than external ones. This was a four-session series during the month of August 2021, National Happiness Month. The Hap-PIE-ness Project’s distinguished speakers guided participants through creating a new mindset for enhancing personal happiness, healthy mind, physical health, success, and well-being.

View the following videos as informational learning tools: 

• Introduction
• Mental Health (Temporarily unavailable)
• Physical Activity
• Final

There have been several previous successful Education and Training Initiatives from the Center for Professionalism under the umbrella of the Physician and Scientist Satisfaction Initiative, which helped create community, engagement, and trust among members of the Baylor College of Medicine community.

Lunch with the Boss

Every other month, 10 faculty members were invited to eat lunch with President and CEO, Dr. Paul Klotman. The goal was to increase faculty exposure to senior leadership; open lines of communication between senior leadership and faculty; and improve the sense of connection and purpose with the Baylor mission, vision, and values.

Walk in My Shoes

Once a quarter selected administrators/clinic managers throughout Baylor were invited to shadow a faculty member for three hours of a routine day. The goal was to build stronger relationships between faculty and administrators and foster a better understanding of each pair’s daily work.

Physician engagement is critical and its success was reflected in various ways: Retention/Turnover, Patient Safety/Quality, and Patient Satisfaction | Press Ganey Scores

P E E P S S

Six groups of 12 members of the Baylor faculty assembled into Professionalism and Engagement Elevating Physician and Scientist Satisfaction (PEEPSS) groups that met once a month for six months to build a network of colleagues and socialize.

The goals were to increase familiarity among clinicians, decrease referral leakage, and improve the sense of connection. The Burnout index tool was used as a measurement tool.