Beyond Traditional: Clearing the Roadblocks to Advancement in Academic Medicine

In academic medicine, the label of nontraditional is often used to refer to scholars whose outputs or journeys differ from what is considered normative. Those who do not sufficiently align with traditional expectations may be at risk of being excluded from fully participating or achieving advancement in academic medicine, an experience that disproportionately affects groups who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in medicine. In this eye opener, the authors use the lenses of their own stories in academic medicine to illustrate some of the traditional roadblocks experienced by these scholars, such as the lack of mentorship, the tendency to overlook or discourage work on nontraditional topics, and difficulty fitting innovative scholarship formats into curricula vitae or promotion packets. To clear the roadblocks, the authors call upon institutional leaders to enhance their processes, support systems, and criteria for learner and faculty academic advancement. Secondly, the authors call upon individuals to consider how they might engage in and frame their scholarly pursuits in a way that their merit can be readily ascertained.