Stanford’s SMART-HM Program Empowers Junior Faculty to Become Tomorrow’s Leaders in Medicine
Early in his career, Andre Kumar, MD, clinical associate professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine, felt adrift. His interests were evolving, but he didn’t know whom to turn to or which paths to follow.
“I had the drive, but no direction – and no one to turn to,” Kumar says.
So, when division leadership approached him in October 2024 to create a professional development program, he saw the chance to build what he once needed: mentorship, professional development, and a connected community. That became SMART-HM – Stanford Mentorship and Advancement in Research and Training for Hospital Medicine.
How It Works
Launched in January, SMART-HM is a required five-year program for all new clinical assistant professors in the division. It begins with foundational training in academic writing, mentorship engagement, professional identity, and scholarly skills. By year two, each faculty member selects a niche – such as medical education, research, or quality improvement – and begins working with targeted mentors to develop that focus. The second half of the program shifts toward launching independent projects and building a regional or national reputation.
Andre Kumar, MD, knows mentorship alone isn’t enough. SMART-HM equips new hospital medicine faculty with the structure, skills, and cross-campus community to grow as educators, researchers, and clinical leaders.
Why It Matters
Stanford’s Division of Hospital Medicine has grown more than 200% in the last several years, from 40 to 140 faculty – spanning multiple sites across the Bay Area. Many new faculty arrived during the height of the pandemic, clinically overwhelmed and unsure how to enter academic life. Mentorship was inconsistent. Networking, when it happened, rarely extended beyond their immediate circles. Forty new faculty will be onboarded this year, many without Stanford training or a clear sense of its systems.
SMART-HM changes that. From day one, faculty plug into a community – attending mixers, joining cross-disciplinary projects, and gaining the support and guidance to navigate Stanford’s ins and outs while developing their niche and research beyond clinical work.
“We don’t know what the clinical environment for a hospitalist is going to be in 30 years, but we can definitely give them the tools to succeed as an academic hospitalist in the future.” – Andre Kumar, MD
The Impact
The inaugural 22-person cohort is already producing results. One faculty member is pursuing a master’s in poetry and using SMART-HM to launch a Center for Poetry and Medicine. Another created a bedside coaching model for more effective real-time feedback during clinical rounds. A third is leading a cross-specialty research project to improve care coordination.
“My job is to serve as a connector and a muse,” Kumar says. “I want them to work with mentors and do something new and meaningful.”
The inaugural cohort described feeling grateful that leadership was investing in their long-term careers. They felt supported in a system that acknowledged how uncertain the future of hospital medicine may be but still made space for their growth.
As Kumar puts it, “We don’t know what the clinical environment for a hospitalist is going to be in 30 years, but we can definitely give them the tools to succeed as an academic hospitalist in the future.”
From poetry in medicine to bedside coaching, SMART-HM provides these new faculty members with the support and resources to reshape the future of hospital medicine.
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