Faculty Advisory & Support Panel (FASP)
The Faculty Advisory and Support Panel is a 12-member panel comprised of volunteer faculty members willing to offer confidential advice and support to any faculty member at the School of Medicine. This independent panel of longstanding members of the School of Medicine lowers the barriers for individual faculty facing difficulties or challenges to have frank discussions and get dispassionate advice from a neutral and concerned colleague. Topics may span the domains of professional interactions, collegial relationships, interpersonal or department concerns, career development, mentoring, promotion and reappointment, and conflict. Panel members are experienced, trained, and well-connected to offer guidance and make referrals if needed.
Any faculty member at the School of Medicine may reach out to FASP for advice or concerns. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Advice related to preparing for reappointment, promotion, or faculty lines
- Managing difficult situations with director, chief, chair or colleague
- Making a plan for a challenging period
- Conflict of interest or conflict of commitment
- Navigating career opportunities and policies
- Managing stress
- Receiving and providing scientific, clinical or professional mentorship
- Managing trainees
- Interpersonal dynamics
- Conflict and misalignments
- Handling change in the department, clinic or other areas of work
- Concerns over ethical conduct or professionalism
- Work-home-life issues
- Microaggressions and mistreatment from, by, or towards others
- Post-pandemic adjustments
The Process
Individual faculty may contact any of the panel’s members directly by email. Add “Secure:” in the subject heading of the message if you like. Conversations have the same confidential protection as any other career development process.
FAQ
Why FASP?
FASP panelists came together to provide an alternative or additional resource for collegial advice from a peer who is committed to the success of their colleagues. FASP members are selected for their abilities to counsel, insights into the institution, and experience as leaders in their specialties and departments. They are trained to leverage skills of coaching, listening, mentoring and leadership in their support of colleagues who seek their counsel.
Will my chair, department or dean’s office know that I went to FASP?
NO! FASP members do not report back to the school or your department, nor will any of them disclose that you contacted them without your explicit permission. Their role is to listen to your concern and offer their perspective or help you identify the resource(s) or appropriate next steps in order to help with your inquiry.
Are my conversations confidential, really?
FASP members are confidential resources with clear exceptions, namely those that are legally-binding. While confidential, they remain mandatory reporters of sexual harassment claims, danger to yourself or others substance use issues that put patients at risk, or disclosure of child/elder/dependent adult abuse or neglect. FASP members may discuss complaints about discrimination, sexual harassment or retaliation with you in a “hypothetical” way and refer you to the appropriate office to respond at the University. This also means that depending on the circumstances, if a FASP faculty member learns of discrimination, sexual harassment, or retaliation, s/he may need to report this internally to appropriate Stanford departments, or externally to regulatory agencies. To speak with a neutral party without putting Stanford University or the School of Medicine on notice about the content of the discussion, contact the Office of the Ombudsperson: http://med.stanford.edu/ombuds.html.
Can I talk to more than one panelist?
Yes. It is up to you, and is generally recommended, to seek multiple perspectives on the matter that is of concern to you.
How do I contact FASP?
Individual faculty may contact any of the panel’s members directly by email. Add “Secure:” in the subject heading of the message if you like.
Panel Members
Loretta Chou, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery
Michael Gisondi, MD
Emergency Medicine
Aaron Gitler, PhD
Genetics
Sara Goldhaber-Fiebert, MD
Anesthesiology
Dan Jarosz, PhD
Chemical and Systems Biology
Gordon Li, MD
Neurosurgery
Suzann Pershing, MD
Ophthalmology
Carolyn Rodriguez, MD, PhD
Psychiatry
Kate Shaw, MD, MS
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jay Shah, MD
Urology
