Faculty Resources
General Information
A faculty member is an individual who is appointed by the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM/SOM), employed with Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) and has an active faculty appointment.
Faculty members in the School of Medicine have a significant professional responsibility to the SOM, HMH, and the profession. They must show active engagement in teaching, service or research.
To learn more about starting the process of becoming School of Medicine Faculty, click here.
The HMSOM offers various ranks for faculty members, including Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor.
- Instructors must have a Master's degree or equivalent in a recognized profession and evidence of effective teaching.
- Assistant Professors must have a doctoral degree or terminal degree in a discipline from an accredited institution, and evidence of teaching effectiveness, scholarship, and meaningful service to the institution, profession, and community.
- Associate Professors must have active board certification, 6 years of significant teaching experience, scholarship, research, and service to the HMSOM, HMH, the profession, and the community.
- Professors require proven ability, accomplishments, and evidence of peer recognition for excellence at a national and/or international level.
- Adjunct faculty appointments require a two-year term, candidate-specific rationale, and a letter from the HMSOM Chair, good standing from the Academic Department Chair, and a CV.
- Visiting faculty appointments require a one-year primary appointment at another institution, a letter from the HMSOM Academic Department Chair, and a review and recommendation process from the Chair to the Dean.
- Emeritus/a Faculty at HMSOM is a lifetime title for good standing faculty, requiring a letter detailing past contributions and anticipated continued service.
Applications for appointment can be made through Initial, Reappointment, or Promotion. The selection process for each position is based on the candidate's qualifications, teaching experience, and evidence of merit.
To Learn More about Appointments and Promotions, click here.
Faculty members at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine have the option to obtain an hmsom.edu email alias for professional use. If you are interested in acquiring an alias, please contact Jason Farrugia at jason.farrugia@hmhn.org.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Library, established in May 2018 at the IHS Campus in Nutley, NJ, aims to support learning, research, and inquiry by providing resources and services that promote evidence-based practice and lifelong learning skills, ultimately leading to excellence in patient care.
To learn more about the HMSOM Library, click here.
For instructions on how to log in to the HMSOM Library, click here.
For all other inquires, please contact: library@hmsom.edu
Academic departments at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine house our teaching faculty. Please follow the links below to read more about our departments and the school’s medical science and physician educators.
To view our Academic Departments and their Chairs, click here.
The Office of Faculty requires that all candidates for faculty appointments undergo a background check as part of the initial appointment and reappointment processes. Once you have expressed interest in becoming faculty, the Office of Faculty will reach out to you to complete this two-step process.
(Note: The HMSOM background check is different from the one you completed for employment at the HMH network, and background checks are not transferable due to the SOM being a separate entity.)
- Step 1: Complete a Non-Paid Activation Form (NPAF)
- Step 2: Provide consent for the background check through Certiphi (Application Station), our 3rd party vendor.
For more assistance or questions, please contact, somfaculty@hmsom.edu.
The Interprofessional Health Sciences campus (IHSC) houses the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, as well as the Seton Hall College of Nursing and Seton Hall School of Health and Medical Sciences.
Visitor parking at the IHSC is permitted for IHSC business only and only in designated parking areas. All visitors park in the IHSC garage located on Ideation Way.
For a map of the campus and parking information, click here.
The Office of Faculty Advancement aims to keep faculty members informed about HMSOM and its students. To maintain consistent communication, faculty members can update their contact information by contacting the Office of Faculty Advancement at somfaculty@hmsom.edu.
Faculty Involvement
Interviewing medical students for admissions involves about 30 min - 1 hour of prep time to go over an applicant file, along with 30 minutes of a virtual interview. The interviews can be scheduled for whenever you have time, including weekends and evenings. The number of interviews are subject to your scheduling and availability.
Contacts:
SOMAdmissions@hmsom.edu or Katharine Clouser, MD, Assistant Dean of Admissions: katharine.clouser@hmsom.edu
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine elected and/or appointed standing committees and subcommittees (collectively, “committee” or “committees”) of the SOM shall be established in the SOM. Each standing committee shall create bylaws to govern the activities and membership of the committee. Unless noted otherwise, SOM standing committees report to the Dean, who also approves their bylaws.
To learn more about Standing Committees, click here.
To learn more about the Faculty Assembly, click here.
M.I.N.D.S. is a 6-week paid internship for underrepresented high school juniors and seniors, focusing on medical professions, social determinants of health, and New Jersey health disparities.
To learn more about how to be invovled with the M.I.N.D.S. program, contact somdei@hmhn.org.
Specialty mentors are practicing physicians with first-hand, in-depth/current knowledge of a specific field of medicine. Their primary responsibility is to help students make informed career decisions. Each student will be paired with one or more official Specialty Mentor(s) to assist in making the best specialty choice for their career goals and interests. Students are expected to meet with their assigned mentors at least once every three months, although additional meetings can be requested as schedules permit.
Specialty mentors also support their mentees through the development of their Phase 3 Plan and the residency application process. Mentors are required to review their mentees' Phase 3 Plan.
To learn more about Mentoring, click here.
Contacts:
Lindsey Dedow, PsyD, Assistant Dean of Advising, Student Affairs & Wellbeing:hmsommentoring@hmhn.org
Students are eligible to participate in research and scholarship as extracurricular activities at any point in the curriculum and may pursue credit-bearing research and scholarship during Phase 3. Faculty are responsible for guiding students through research and scholarship activities, which may include hypothesis-driven investigation, literature review, protocol and instrument development, data gathering and analysis, and manuscript creation, among others. The Office of Research & Graduate Studies helps to promote research and scholarship opportunities to students and assists faculty with developing related electives.
To learn more about Research, click here.
Contacts:
Stanley R. Terlecky, PhD, Vice Dean of Research and Chair of Medical Sciences
Office of Research & Graduate Studies: ORGS@hmhn.org
Shadowing involves observing doctor-patient interactions and medical procedures and is used to inform and support career planning activities. A student may observe for a few hours to observe a particular procedure or return to observe the same physician over a brief period. Such experiences may turn into mentoring relationships, which are broader and consist of meetings and conversations outside of clinical practice. Shadowing includes no hands-on interaction or patient activities (beyond a verbal introduction).
Shadowing arrangements are coordinated between the faculty and the student. A physician must have a faculty appointment in order to host students for shadowing. No shadowing is permitted during curricular time.
Contacts:
Lindsey Dedow, PsyD, Assistant Dean of Advising, Student Affairs & Wellbeing: lindsey.dedow@hmhn.org
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine offers various student organizations and specialty interest groups, including the Committee on Student Wellness and Physician Mentoring, advocacy and diversity organizations like the Latino Medical Association and the Student National Medical Association, and student-initiated organizations like Arts in Medicine and Parks and Recreation.
If you would like to become a faculty advisor or learn more about Student Organizations and Specialty Interest Groups, click here or email saw@hmhn.org.
Students at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) have collaborated with Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI) to start a monthly Student-Run Free Clinic. Over the past year, the team has held 13 clinic days providing free primary care to uninsured adults in Bergen County. We are currently looking for physician volunteers who can provide primary care to adults (IM and FM) to help in the fall of 2024 and beyond!
- The clinic runs from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on Saturdays at the BVMI office, 75 Essex St. #100, Hackensack, NJ 07601.
- Physician volunteers must hold a faculty appointment from HMSOM.
- Malpractice is covered by HMSOM’s clinical insurance (BVMI is an affiliated clinical teaching site).
- BVMI support staff (nurse manager, administrative staff) are present to collaborate with students and faculty in managing patient care.
- BMVI’s associate medical director, Dr. Jasneet Kaur, manages follow-up of any urgent/critical laboratory/imaging test results received for patients seen during Saturday sessions.
If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to studentrunfreeclinic@hmhn.org or
Student Leaders:
Katherine Leopold (katherine.leopold@hmhn.org)
Joselin Vargas (joselin.vargas@hmhn.org)
Kaitlynn Chaljub (kaitlynn.chaljub@hmhn.org)
Elma Chowdhury (elma.chowdhury@hmhn.org)
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine offers opportunities for faculty involvement at various points and a variety of settings throughout the curriculum. Students complete a three-year core curriculum, meeting rigorous standardized learning outcomes. This competency-based curriculum works to instill the idea of lifelong learning and self-directed learning as the students reach their goals.
To learn more about teaching opportunities and the curriculum, click here.
Contacts:
Small Group Anatomy Lab
Michelle Titunick, PhD, Course Director, Structural Principles
michelle.titunick@hmhn.org
Large Group Active Learning “Lectures”
Keith Metzger, PhD, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education and Learning
keith.metzger@hmsom.edu
Human Dimension (HD)
Carmela Rocchetti, MD, Assistant Dean of Community Engaged Medical Education
carmela.rocchetti@hmsom.edu
Patient Based Problem-Based-Learning Curriculum (PPPC)
Sarah Bayefsky, MD, Director of PPPC
sarah.bayefsky@hmsom.edu
Introduction to Clinical Skills (CS)
Ofelia Martinez, MD, Assistant Dean of Medical Education
ofelia.martinez@hmsom.edu
Mukundha Maneyapanda, MD, Associate Director of Clinical Skills
mukundha.maneyapanda@hmsom.edu
AnnGene Anthony, MD, Assistant Director of Clinical Skills
anngene.anthony@hmhn.org
Longitudinal Clinical Preceptor Program (LCP)
Office of Faculty Development
somfacdev@hmhn.org
Phase 2 Clerkships
Office of Medical Education
OMEadmin@hmhn.org
Phase 2 Subinternship & Advanced Clinical Rotations
Ofelia Martinez, MD, Assistant Dean of Medical Education
ofelia.martinez@hmsom.edu
Phase 3 Electives (clinical or non-clinical)
Elizabeth Koltz, EdM, Director of Instructional and Curricular Design
elizabeth.koltz@hmsom.edu
LEO Access
LEO is our learning management system where students can view class schedules and events, clerkship materials, course assignments, and grades and evaluations. For more information, visit LEO.
To gain access, contact Sarah Kokkinakis at sarah.kokkinakis@hmsom.edu
Vendor Form (private practice faculty)
The vendor form is needed to gain access to an HMH email address and enable logins to software needed for any faculty in private practice.
To request access, contact Isa Asani at isa.asani@hmsom.edu