The Scholar Development Pathway guides you through each stage of your scholarly journey, from building essential skills to leading at the national level. This flexible framework allows you to progress step by step or to focus on specific areas that match your career goals. Explore each stage below and discover resources to support your growth.
Stage 1: Cultivate Scholarship Skills
Gain exposure and practical experience in key areas like research design, data analysis, and writing to build a strong base for your scholarly journey.
Development Activity
Medical Education Research Certificate (MERC) Program
The MERC program enhances the research skills of medical educators with limited research experience, providing a structured pathway to understanding and participating in medical education research (e.g., research design, data analysis, scholarly writing). You will earn a certificate recognizing your research skill development.
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Key Resources
- The Conducting Research in Health Professions Education: From Idea to Publication eBook is a collection of one-page infographics offering guidance on each step of the process of conducting and publishing medical education research from writing effective research questions to analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to responding to reviewer feedback and promoting your published work.
- This article, Writing for Academia: Getting Your Research Into Print: AMEE Guide No. 74, presents strategies for writing for publication, including how to choose a topic, write up your work, decide where to submit your paper, and successfully navigate the review process.
- The Research in Medical Education: A Primer for Medical Students includes an overview of medical education research as well as strategies and recommendations for getting started.
For additional resources, check out the Fostering Scholarship in Medical Education: Resources for Authors and Reviewers collection.
Stage 2: Enhance Peer Review Expertise
Improve your ability to review and provide feedback on scholarly work, helping you and others advance in the field.
Development Activities
MedEdSCHOLAR Program
This comprehensive scholar development program offers mentorship and development opportunities for enhancing skills in peer review and feedback for scholars from backgrounds historically excluded from medicine.
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Coached Review
This development initiative through MedEdPORTAL aims to foster peer review skills through coaching, designed for learners and early-career educators.
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Engagement Opportunity
Become a Reviewer for the AAMC’s Journals and Other Calls
Annually, the AAMC seeks reviewers for submissions to Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL as well as for submissions to Learn Serve Lead: The AAMC Annual Meeting and the Group on Educational Affairs (GEA), Group on Student Affairs (GSA), and Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) regional meetings.
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Key Resources
- The Review Criteria for Research Manuscripts, Second Edition is a manual for reviewing each section of a research manuscript and includes a helpful one-page checklist of reviewer criteria.
- The Academic Medicine For Reviewers webpage and the MedEdPORTAL Reviewer Center are “hubs” for the journals' reviewer instructions, guidelines, and additional resources.
- The Tips and Tricks for Reviewing Conference Abstracts module offers guidance to new reviewers based on the Group on Educational Affairs’ (GEA's) expectations and criteria for innovation and research abstracts. This module, created by the GEA Medical Education Scholarship, Research, and Evaluation (MESRE) Section, concludes with a sample abstract review exercise along with expert feedback for those who want to practice prior to conducting an official review.
For additional resources, check out the Fostering Scholarship in Medical Education: Resources for Authors and Reviewers collection.
Stage 3: Publish for Greater Impact
Learn how to write, submit, and share your scholarly work with the wider medical education community.
Development Activities
MedEdPORTAL Author Development Program
This program offers comprehensive support and guidance for educators aspiring to publish in MedEdPORTAL.
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Scholarly Publishing Webinar Series
Sponsored by Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL, this free webinar series covers the importance of publishing education scholarship and practical suggestions for success.
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Engagement Opportunity
Submit Your Medical Education Scholarship for Publication
The AAMC hosts a number of calls for submissions throughout the year to advance and share the work of all those engaged in improving academic medicine. Learn more about the AAMC’s current and recurring calls for submissions, including for Learn Serve Lead: The AAMC Annual Meeting, the Research in Medical Education (RIME) supplement, and the Group on Educational Affairs (GEA), Group on Student Affairs (GSA), and Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) regional meetings. Information about submitting to Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL is also available.
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Key Resources
- The Medical Education Scholarship, Research, and Evaluation (MESRE) Annotated Bibliography of Journals for Educational Scholarship includes information about the manuscript types, topics, and audience for more than 75 journals that publish educational scholarship.
- The Academic Medicine For Authors webpage and the MedEdPORTAL Author Center are “hubs” for information about the journals, submission types and instructions, and writing and editing in general.
- The Writer’s Craft section in the journal Perspectives on Medical Education offers simple tips to improve your writing. These articles are meant to be accessible and instructive and cover grammar, writing persuasively, giving feedback on others’ writing, and more.
For additional resources, check out the Fostering Scholarship in Medical Education: Resources for Authors and Reviewers collection.
Stage 4: Develop Effective Mentorship Abilities
Gain the skills to support and guide others as they begin their own scholarship journey.
Development Activity
Medical Education Mentorship Development Program (coming in 2025)
This program is designed to enhance your confidence and ability to serve as a mentor to colleagues and learners interested in developing as medical education researchers and scholars.
Key Resource
Mentor Match Program
This program, hosted through the AAMC Communities, offers an online networking and career development platform designed to facilitate meaningful connections, foster mentorship relationships, and promote collaboration within the academic medicine community.
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Stage 5: Promote and Lead Collaboration and Innovation
Lead new projects and collaborate with others to bring fresh ideas to medical education.
Engagement Opportunities
Team Up for Scholarly Collaboration
Organized by the Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) Medical Education Scholarship, Research, and Evaluation (MESRE) Section, this program fosters collaboration among medical educators. It connects junior and senior researchers, enabling them to form multi-institutional teams and work on innovative projects together. Senior members provide mentorship and guidance to junior colleagues.
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Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) Grants for Medical Educators
The GEA offers various grants to support research and innovation in medical education, with a focus on advancing the work of all those engaged in improving academic medicine. Funding opportunities are available at the national and regional levels. Proposals are encouraged that address professional identity formation, learner well-being, learning environment, faculty development, competency-based medical education, and more.
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Key Resources
Academic Medicine Podcast
Go beyond the pages of Academic Medicine with the Academic Medicine Podcast, featuring stories and conversations to expand your thinking about the issues shaping medical schools and teaching hospitals today. Listen anywhere podcasts are available.
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Social Media and Promotions Toolkit for Authors
Promoting your published work is just as important as any other step in the scholarly publishing process. This toolkit will help you do just that, with a particular focus on promoting your work on social media.
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Stage 6: Shape the Future of Medical Education
Lead new projects and collaborate with others to bring fresh ideas to medical education.
Engagement Opportunities
Research in Medical Education (RIME) Planning Committee
The RIME Planning Committee organizes the prestigious RIME component of Learn Serve Lead: The AAMC Annual Meeting. This committee evaluates medical education research paper submissions for inclusion in the meeting and provides constructive feedback to authors to prepare their scholarship for publication.
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Medical Education Program Planning Committee
Led by national leaders in medical education with areas of expertise in research methodology, educational interventions, career training, and diverse content expertise, the Medical Education Program Planning Committee reviews, evaluates, and selects medical education research and innovation abstracts and conference session proposals for Learn Serve Lead: The AAMC Annual Meeting.
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Medical Education Scholarship, Research, and Evaluation (MESRE) Section Steering Committee
The Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) MESRE Section Steering Committee leads and provides strategic direction for national initiatives that advance educational scholarship and promote its application to educational practice.
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Key Resource
Medical Education Research and Scholarship Leadership Opportunities
The AAMC is committed to developing a community of leaders in medical education research and scholarship to drive innovation across the continuum of medical education, from medical school and residency training to continuing professional development.
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