CHEST and APCCMPD Medical Educator Diversity Scholar Fellowship Award Grant

Funder: Association of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Program Directors

The APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship Award, established in 2023, aims to enhance diversity in medical education within pulmonary and critical care medicine. This fellowship offers support for fellows pursuing careers in medical education, providing funding for training and mentorship. Priority is given to individuals from historically underrepresented groups, emphasizing the commitment to fostering a diverse educational environment and addressing health disparities in medicine.

NOTE: Submission Deadlines: Mentor Applicant Proposals Open Thru May 4, 2026; Fellow-in-Training Mentee Applicant Proposals: Accepting Applications August 3 - November 2, 2026
Purpose
Established in 2023, APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship Award recognize the value of a diverse community in improving medical education in pulmonary and critical care medicine.
The APCCMPD and CHEST Medical Educator Scholar Diversity Fellowship provide support and funding for fellows who intend to pursue a career in Medical Education and whose experiences significantly contribute to the diversity of the medical educator community. This includes the variety of personal experiences or career plans, values, and worldviews that arise from differences in culture and circumstance. This scholarship provides monetary support for expenses related to training a fellow for an academic career as a Medical Educator. Allowable expenses include but are not limited to, courses related to teaching skills or medical education research; funding to support a 1-year medical education research project; and providing protected time to an external mid-career or an advanced career medical educator at a different institution than the fellow’s institution, to mentor the fellow-in-training.
Intent
This award intends to provide an ACGME fellow-in-training with support, training, and mentorship to pursue a career in medical education and ultimately serve as a mentor to future trainees interested in Medical Education. The program focuses on creating opportunities for fellows at institutions with no formalized medical education training, resources, or limited medical educator mentors by giving them mentorship at institutions with those resources to foster development as a medical educator.
Simultaneously, the grant supports protected time for a faculty member at a different institution than the fellow to serve as a mentor. It is necessary to protect the time of an external mentor, so they may ensure the fellow receives additional training, including coursework, teaching experiences, and career mentorship. The mentor will also ensure the completion of a required medical education research project.
This award pairs the awarded fellow-in-training with the awarded mentor.
Support of Medical Education Mentor
Funding will be awarded to provide protected time, at 0.15 of their full-time effort (FTE) or $35,000, to a medical educator faculty to mentor the awarded fellow-in-training via a virtual relationship. There is expected to be an increased effort and commitment to act as a mentor to beginning medical educators.
The role of the mentor will be to:Serve on the Award Review panel to identify the fellow-in-training for whom they will engage in a mentorship relationship.Assist the awardee Fellow-in-Training in developing a 1-year curriculum, which could include course work and teaching experiences, to obtain the necessary training and expertise to launch their career in the concentration area of medical education that is of interest to the awardee fellow-in-training.Assist the awardee fellow-in-training in developing a 1-year research project that supports the fellow’s development in the concentration area of medical education that interests the awardee fellow-in-training.Assist the awardee fellow-in-training in developing a budget for items 3. and 4. Serve as a mentor to the awardee fellow-in-training in pursuit of items 3. and 4.
Support a Fellow-in-Training Mentee
Up to $25,000 will be awarded to support the additional training of a mentee fellow-in-training who intends to pursue a career in medical education. This includes support to accomplish a 1-year curriculum, created with the medical education mentor, to obtain the necessary training and experience to launch a career in the medical education concentration (eg, medical research, curriculum development, evaluation science) area of interest.
Support of Medical Education Research Project
The APCCMPD and CHEST expect to award up to $25,000 to one fellow-in-training to support a 1-year medical education research project to be studied during the mentored training experience. The fellow-in-training will serve as the principal investigator on the research project and develop under the guidance of the medical educator mentor.

Eligibility

Medical education mentors should demonstrate the following:A proven track record of mentoring pulmonary, critical care, and pulmonary critical care medicine trainees or faculty in pursuing careers as medical educators.Must have an established record of leadership in medical education. This may be demonstrated by independent, peer-reviewed medical education research, novel curriculum development with widespread adoption, and/or effective evaluation expertise that is acknowledged broadly beyond their individual division.Must be on faculty at a pulmonary, critical care, and/or pulmonary critical care fellowship training program. The fellowship program must be a member of the APCCMPD.Must serve as faculty at a different institution from where the fellow-in-training is pursuing their training.Applicant trainees should demonstrate the following:Fellow-in-training must be at an ACGME-accredited program and in good standing.Demonstrate excellence in values towards education and teaching abilities. This individual excels in delivering and promoting medical education through various means within their training program.They are recognized by their peers as having made substantial contributions to the field of medical education through various means at the local level.A commitment to pursue a career in pulmonary, critical care, or pulmonary critical care medical education and to mentor future trainees who intend to pursue a career in medical education.