Retaining Faculty in Academic Medicine: The Impact of Career Development Programs for Women

Abstract

Background: For more than two decades, national career development programs (CDPs) have addressed underrepresentation of women faculty in academic medicine through career and leadership curricula. We evaluated CDP participation impact on retention. Methods: We used Association of American Medical Colleges data to compare 3268 women attending CDPs from 1988 to 2008 with 17,834 women and 40,319 men nonparticipant faculty similar to CDP participants in degree, academic rank, first year of appointment in rank, and home institution. Measuring from first year in rank to departure from last position held or December 2009 (study end date), we used Kaplan-Meier curves; Cox survival analysis adjusted for age, degree, tenure, and department; and 10-year rates to compare retention. Results: CDP participants were significantly less likely to leave academic medicine than their peers for up to 8 years after appointment as Assistant and Associate Professors. Full Professor participants were significantly less likely to leave than non-CDP women. Men left less often than non-CDP women at every rank. Participants attending more than one CDP left less often than those attending one, but results varied by rank. Patterns of switching institutions after 10 years varied by rank; CDP participants switched significantly less often than men at Assistant and Associate Professor levels and significantly less often than non-CDP women among Assistant Professors. Full Professors switched at equal rates. Conclusion: National CDPs appear to offer retention advantage to women faculty, with implications for faculty performance and capacity building within academic medicine. Intervals of retention advantage for CDP participants suggest vulnerable periods for intervention.

Representation of Women Physician Deans in U.S. Medical Schools

“…Many ideas have been proposed to explain disparities, including gender stereotypes, 2,21 prioritization of family needs, 2,3,[22][23][24] lack of adequate mentor networks, 22,25,26 a culture of bias and discrimination, 3,22,24,25 unequal access to resources, 27 lack of self-promotion, 15 and schedule inflexibility. 26 Sponsorship has been cited as a critical element in career advancement, where a boss or other coworker who is in a position of authority actively advocates for a woman (or man) to be promoted or to receive other specific opportunities.…”

Gender Disparities in Academic Emergency Medicine: Strategies for the Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion of Women

“…Prior literature has highlighted successful programmatic interventions for the advancement of women in academic medicine . A literature review by Laver and colleagues summarized findings, citing 18 studies that evaluated dedicated programming for women in academic medicine.…”

“…Dedicated female PDGs have been shown to positively impact women at all stages of their career . Participants report a range of benefits including academic advancement, career retention, mentorship and sponsorship, and fostering a network of peer support .…”

Impact of a Women‐focused Professional Organization on Academic Retention and Advancement: Perceptions From a Qualitative Study

“…Every participant reinforced that the organization was critical in developing peer and mentor networks that provided a sense of belonging. Reducing professional isolation has been previously identified as a key facilitator of faculty retention among women in academia . Emergency medicine, especially the upper ranks of academic emergency medicine, continues to be majority male; thus, women‐focused professional organizations can provide a support network for women with few institutional peers—particularly at a similar rank or within a specific area of academic expertise.…”