Research Curriculum for Department Chairs

The Chair Curriculum was developed to support current and future family medicine chairs in building a strong culture of research and scholarship within their departments. Research in family medicine is essential to answering the questions that matter most to patients, care teams, and communities, while also strengthening clinical care, advancing education, and improving faculty satisfaction.

This curriculum builds on the 2023 National Family Medicine Research Summit and aligns with the National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research (Objective B5), “Identify and promote promising practices for chairs to support and fund research participation within their departments and institutions.”

It was created collaboratively by ADFM with the ADFM Research Development Committee and the Research Directors and Chairs group, to provide practical guidance for chairs on how to support, fund, and grow research within their institutions.

The curriculum can serve as a roadmap for new chairs negotiating their roles, a tool for experienced leaders scaling their research enterprise, and a resource for leadership development programs. Most importantly, it is intended as a living guide that departments can adapt to their own needs and update over time as opportunities evolve. Ultimately, the curriculum provides a foundation for building a sustainable culture of curiosity, scholarship, and innovation in family medicine.

Curriculum for future department chairs: What to know in the research realm

Access the Full Curriculum

Advancing Research in Family Medicine: A Chairs' Learning Series

As an extension of the curriculum, ADFM has created a four-part learning series to help department chairs strengthen research capacity and leadership. Each session offers practical strategies, peer perspectives, and real-world examples tailored to chairs at all levels of experience. Moderated by Peter Seidenberg, MD, MSOL, Chair of the ADFM Research Development Committee, the series features department chairs from institutions at different stages of research growth.

Each session is available as a pre-recorded webinar, audio-only file, slide deck, or document, so you can engage at the depth and pace that works best for you. Together, these sessions provide a stepwise guide: from assessing your department’s research vision, to building infrastructure, navigating regulation, and sustaining funding.

Ecosystem

Position your department in research networks

Infrastructure

Build people, processes, and systems

Regulation

Stay compliant while enabling scholarship

Funding

Sustain research for the long term

Sessions

Curriculum for future department chairs: What to know in the research realm

Goal of this Curriculum: Identify and promote promising practices for chairs to support and fund research participation within their departments and institutions

  • The vision: Create a document intended to serve as a foundation for developing a full curriculum with individual lessons. Ensure the content is concise, with references included, and designed so that different sections can be presented at national meetings.
  • Where to share: New Chairs Workshop; LEADS fellowship; ADFM website under “Chair Resources”.
  • Ideal audience: Leaders with a non-research background who are negotiating a chair package.
  • Future Direction: Expand the curriculum to target department chairs with research experience who aim to further grow and scale their department's research enterprise.

Introduction / Preamble

The Family Medicine Research Summit, held in October 2023, brought together over 140 attendees, including department chairs, researchers, practicing physicians, patients, residents, and students, representing a diverse range of family medicine stakeholders. During the Summit, the group refined and endorsed the National Research Strategy for Family Medicine 2024-2030, which outlines three strategic priorities, three goals, and fifteen objectives. The Research Curriculum for Department Chairs aligns with Objective B5: “Identify and promote promising practices for chairs to support and fund research participation within their department and institutions.”

Why research is important in family medicine

The tripartite mission of academic health systems includes the pillars of clinical care, education, and research.  In family medicine, research applies methodology to curiosity, allowing us to answer questions that matter to our care teams, patients, and the communities we serve.  The pursuit of scholarship in the realms of quality improvement, process improvement, education, and clinical research has the potential to increase physician satisfaction and decrease burnout, thereby improving patient care.

Discovery: Questions to ask yourself about research in your department

  1. What is the vision of your department in terms of research and scholarship?

  2. Examine your department’s mission, vision, values, and culture

  3. What is your department’s current level of research?  

  4. What resources do you currently have to support his work?

  5. Perform a gap analysis between current and desired future state of research.

  6. What is your strategy to close the gap and accomplish your research vision?

  7. Use #5 and #6 above to create your Department’s Research Strategic Plan

  8. Make your Research Strategic Plan a living document by regularly reviewing it (at least quarterly) with your leadership team

Explore the full curriculum! 

The first session in the Chairs’ Learning Series explores how family medicine departments can position themselves within institutional and community research networks. You will see how aligning research with institutional priorities, integrating scholarship with care and education, and cultivating a culture of inquiry can expand opportunities for faculty and learners.

Department chairs share practical strategies for capacity-building and navigating challenges unique to family medicine. Whether your department is just beginning or already well-established in research, the webinar and companion materials provide concrete tools to strengthen your department’s research ecosystem.

The second session in the Chairs’ Learning Series focuses on the structures and supports departments need to grow scholarship. You will learn how to align research goals with available resources, secure methods, and analysis support, and create meaningful FTE for faculty and staff. Department chairs share approaches for leveraging the unique strengths of primary care and developing mentorship pathways to sustain growth. The webinar and companion materials offer practical tools to help you establish the infrastructure needed to advance research in your department.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jleaWRFzUKk

The third session in the Chairs’ Learning Series demystifies the regulatory and compliance landscape that surrounds research. You will learn how to work effectively with your IRB, Clinical Trials Office, and Office of Sponsored Research, and gain strategies for grants management and faculty training. Department chairs share practical advice for avoiding pitfalls, building strong institutional relationships, and creating systems that make compliance a seamless part of supporting scholarship.

The final session in the Chairs’ Learning Series highlights how departments can secure and manage resources to grow their research enterprise. You will learn strategies for negotiating chair packages, identifying diverse funding streams, and making the case for research as a driver of reputation, recruitment, and impact. Department chairs share practical lessons on grant management and navigating financial challenges so you can build sustainable support for scholarships in family medicine.

  • Chair Panelist Biographies
  • Session Materials:
  • Additional Resources:
    • Family Medicine: Finding Its Way on the Federal Research Roadmap Alyssa M. Indelicato, Amanda Weidner and Christopher P. Morley The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November 2024, 37 (Supplement2) S85-S91; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2024.240118R1
    • Leveraging the Clinical Translational Science Award Network to Advance Family Medicine Research Nancy Pandhi, Aleksandra E. Zgierska, Korey Kennelty, Wen-Jan Tuan and David P. Rabago The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November 2024, 37 (Supplement2) S122-S128; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2024.240075R1
    • Building Family Medicine Research Through Community Engagement: Leveraging Federal Awards to Develop Infrastructure Alfred F. Tallia, Jeanne M. Ferrante, Diane Hill, Manuel E. Jimenez, Maria Pellerano, Maria F. Ciminelli, Eric Jahn and Shawna V. Hudson The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November 2024, 37 (Supplement2) S133-S137; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2024.240007R1

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