Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Faculty Affairs Office

For Northwestern Medicine Regional Hospitals

Chief Medical Officers at Feinberg-affiliated hospitals may recommend physicians at their hospital for appointment to the Feinberg faculty as a Health System Clinician (HSC). Recommendations must be approved by the relevant Feinberg department chair and the Feinberg dean's office before an appointment is granted.

Health System Clinician Description

The Health System Clinician track is for faculty who contribute to the mission of the medical school by practicing in affiliated hospitals or clinics. Health System Clinicians are typically employed by affiliated clinical entities such as the clinical practice plans of Northwestern Medicine, the Pediatric Faculty Foundation, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, or their hospitals, as they exist from time to time, but some clinicians may be in private practice. These clinical entities will provide oversight regarding the clinical performance of Health System Clinicians with admitting privileges.

These faculty support the clinical mission of our academic healthcare system and while their major effort is in clinical practice and practice-related activities, they may also participate in scholarly activities within their designated areas of concentration (education, research, health services management, community engagement). Departments will be responsible for evaluating the academic education and scholarship of their Health System Clinicians desiring promotion. Faculty in this track will complete annual conflict of interest surveys provided by the University as well as pursue continuing medical education, earning at least enough credits to maintain licensure. Health System Clinician appointments are unpaid by the University and non-tenure eligible. Faculty in this track will be titled using their rank preceded by the word “clinical”: Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, or Clinical Professor. 

For additional information, please view the following:

Nomination Process

HSC nominations may be initiated by either the Feinberg Department Chair or a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at a Northwestern Medicine regional hospital. Regardless of who initiates the nomination, the Department Chair and CMO both need to endorse the appointment for candidates based at NM regional hospitals. CMO endorsement is evidenced through provision of a separate recommendation form or through co-signing the HSC cover sheet for new appointment, as described further below.

Nomination Initiated by NM Regional CMO

  1. CMO collects documents from candidate:
  2. CMO prepares the NM Regional CMO's Recommendation for HSC Appointment
  3. CMO sends the documents from step 1 and step 2 to the appropriate Feinberg department chair's office (view departmental contact list) at least 8 weeks in advance of proposed start date.
    • In determining which department to work with, check the board certification of the HSC candidate. Physicians are granted faculty appointments in the Feinberg department that corresponds to their board certification. View departmental contact list.
  4. Feinberg Department Chair reviews the request:
    • If the Chair is not supportive, they will inform the CMO and the nomination will not go forward.
    • If the Chair is supportive, they (and their staff) will take the following actions to complete the nomination packet:
  5. Feinberg Chair's Office submits the completed nomination packet to the Faculty Affairs Office (FAO) via OnBase at least three weeks in advance of the proposed start date.
  6. Feinberg Vice Dean reviews the HSC appointment request:
    • If not approved, communication will be sent to the Feinberg Department Chair's Office and they will communicate the outcome to the CMO.
    • If approved, FAO will issue an appointment letter and distribute to the Feinberg Chair's Office for sharing with the candidate and CMO.

 

Nomination Initiated by Feinberg Department Chair

When the Feinberg Chair initiates the HSC nomination for a physician based in an NM regional hospital, the Feinberg Chair's Office takes the lead on assembling/preparing the full appointment packet, engaging the CMO's office as needed. The NM Regional CMO needs to co-sign the HSC Cover Sheet for New Appointment prepared by the Department Chair's office to show support for the request.