Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Introduction: The transition from resident to junior faculty in academic emergency medicine (EM) may be shaped not only by formal training and institutional policies but also by the “unwritten curriculum,” a set of norms and expectations embedded in institutional culture. However, the unwritten curriculum and its potential to impact junior faculty development remains largely unexplored. Little is known about how junior faculty perceive, experience, and navigate these informal expectations, or the formal and informal structures that influence this process. In this study we aimed to explore junior faculty members’ experiences with the unwritten curriculum in academic EM, with a focus on how they interpret and navigate institutional norms and identify supports and barriers encountered during their early faculty development.

Methods: Within their first five years, EM faculty at academic institutions distinct from their residency training sites completed an anonymous, iteratively developed survey designed to explore experiences with the unwritten curriculum, informed by Schlossberg’s transition theory framework. The primary analytic focus was identification of themes describing how junior faculty perceive and navigate implicit institutional norms. Open-ended responses underwent thematic analysis using a structured codebook, applied by two independent reviewers with consensus-based coding and adjudication by a third when disagreements arose. 

Results: A total of 35 junior faculty members completed the survey. All participants indicated influence of the unwritten curriculum on their professional development. Major themes identified include the unspoken importance of mentorship and peer guidance; implicit expectations and norms surrounding engagement, productivity, and visibility; work-life integration; cultural adjustment; scholarly output; and gaps in onboarding, feedback, and role clarity. Participants emphasized challenges in navigating departmental politics, understanding hierarchical nuances, and balancing unspoken expectations for committee involvement and informal social participation. Additionally, unclear feedback processes, inconsistent evaluation expectations, and cultural norms for active engagement were noted as barriers to integration and professional growth. 

Conclusion: Junior faculty in academic EM described the unwritten curriculum as a meaningful influence on their early faculty experience. Within this sample, participants highlighted mentorship, feedback transparency, and structured faculty development as potential mechanisms to support navigation of implicit expectations during the transition to junior faculty. These findings reflect individual perceptions rather than program characteristics and should be interpreted within the context of the study’s scope.