The Art of the Internal Transfer
When Changing Departments Is the Right Move
You like your institution. The benefits are solid. Your kids are in good schools. But your department feels like a dead end. Maybe the culture shifted after a leadership change. Maybe your research interests have drifted closer to another division's mission.
An internal transfer in academic medicine is one of the most underused career moves I see. Faculty assume the only options are stay put or leave entirely. But sometimes the right move is lateral -- a shift to a different department, division, or center within the same institution.
Why Internal Transfers Are Tricky
Moving across the hall can be harder than moving across the country. When you leave an institution, there is a clean break. When you transfer internally, both chairs still eat lunch in the same faculty dining room.
The politics are real. Your current chair may feel blindsided or rejected. Your new chair may worry about inheriting someone else's problem. Colleagues may wonder what went wrong. As Jeffrey Pfeffer notes in Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't, internal moves require more political skill than external ones because the audience is watching in real time.
How to Navigate It Well
I have coached faculty through dozens of these transitions. The ones that go smoothly share a few things in common.
- Start with a conversation, not an application. Talk to the receiving chair informally before anything becomes official. Gauge interest. Understand their needs. Frame your transfer as solving a problem for them, not escaping one for you.
- Tell your current chair before they hear it from someone else. Getting blindsided by a lateral move is one of the fastest ways to turn an ally into an adversary. Be honest and be direct.
- Get the details in writing early. Internal transfers often fall apart over logistics -- FTE allocation, startup funds, space, salary source changes. Nail these down with both departments before you commit.
- Keep your timeline realistic. Grant transfers, clinic schedule changes, and trainee supervision handoffs take time. Rushing the process creates resentment on both sides.
The Bridge You Cannot Afford to Burn
Think of it like a player requesting a trade within the same league. You will still compete on the same field. Your former teammates become your colleagues in a different context. How you handle the departure shapes every future interaction.
The single biggest mistake I see is faculty who trash-talk their old department after transferring. It never plays the way they think it will. Gratitude and professionalism cost you nothing and buy you everything.
The Takeaway
An internal transfer in academic medicine can revitalize your career without uprooting your life. But it demands more finesse than an external move, not less. Do it with transparency, planning, and respect for the relationships on both sides.
If you'd like to learn more, contact us to schedule a time to chat.
