Differences in U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction by Gender

Increased demands on academic medical faculty have raised awareness about faculty satisfaction and vitality, in part because of the demonstrated empirical link between job satisfaction and retention. Evidence suggests that faculty are affected by their perceptions of what is valued and rewarded in their work environments, and that supportive environments can foster faculty satisfaction. Given the high costs of faculty turnover, it is imperative to understand the factors that contribute to the retention of faculty. A previous Analysis in Brief (AIB) examined key areas of U.S. medical faculty job satisfaction and the disconnect for some faculty between what they value in the workplace and actual workplace opportunities. In this AIB, the effects of gender are examined to obtain a more nuanced understanding of job satisfaction

U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction

Concerns about the vitality of faculty careers at U.S. medical schools have been well documented, as medical school leaders and researchers have raised awareness about overall career satisfaction, faculty stress and burnout, and struggles with recruitment and retention. Previous research has demonstrated an empirical link between job satisfaction and retention as well as job dissatisfaction and intent to leave an organization. This Analysis in Brief examines key areas of medical faculty job satisfaction and dissatisfaction and the disconnect for some faculty members between what they value in the workplace and actual workplace opportunities

The Relationship Between Tenure and Guaranteed Salary for U.S. Medical School Faculty

Across all types of higher education in the United States, tenure has been historically linked to the concepts of academic freedom and economic security. In medical schools, however, the link between tenure and a financial guarantee has changed appreciably over the past decade into something much more tenuous. In the current economic environment where medical schools operate with limited and, arguably, unstable bases of “hard” funding, the liability of a financial guarantee to tenured faculty presents schools with a fiscal risk they often must manage. Accordingly, schools continue to revise their policies and increasingly provide no financial guarantee at all, or when they do, it is on a much more limited basis. This Analysis in Brief (AIB) presents data on the current relationship of the financial guarantee associated with tenure for both clinical and basic science medical school faculty, and how that relationship has evolved over time

Application of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics to exemplify the utility of human <i>ex vivo</i> organoculture models in the field of precision medicine

Here we describe a collaboration between industry, the National Health Service (NHS) and academia that sought to demonstrate how early understanding of both pharmacology and genomics can improve strategies for the development of precision medicines. Diseased tissue ethically acquired from patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was used to investigate inter-patient variability in drug efficacy using ex vivo organocultures of fresh lung tissue as the test system. The reduction in inflammatory cytokines in the presence of various test drugs was used as the measure of drug efficacy and the individual patient responses were then matched against genotype and microRNA profiles in an attempt to identify unique predictors of drug responsiveness. Our findings suggest that genetic variation in CYP2E1 and SMAD3 genes may partly explain the observed variation in drug response

Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO): HI stacking experiments with early science data

We present early science results from Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO), an HI survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Using ASKAP sub-arrays available during its commissioning phase, DINGO early science data were taken over $\sim$ 60 deg$^{2}$ of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 23 h region with 35.5 hr integration time. We make direct detections of six known and one new sources at $z < 0.01$. Using HI spectral stacking, we investigate the HI gas content of galaxies at $0.04 < z< 0.09$ for different galaxy colours. The results show that galaxy morphology based on optical colour is strongly linked to HI gas properties. To examine environmental impacts on the HI gas content of galaxies, three sub-samples are made based on the GAMA group catalogue. The average HI mass of group central galaxies is larger than those of satellite and isolated galaxies, but with a lower HI gas fraction. We derive a variety of HI scaling relations for physical properties of our sample, including stellar mass, stellar mass surface density, $NUV-r$ colour, specific star formation rate, and halo mass. We find that the derived HI scaling relations are comparable to other published results, with consistent trends also observed to $\sim$0.5 dex lower limits in stellar mass and stellar surface density. The cosmic HI densities derived from our data are consistent with other published values at similar redshifts. DINGO early science highlights the power of HI spectral stacking techniques with ASKAP.Comment: 27 pages, 25 figures, 10 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO): HI stacking experiments with early science data

We present early science results from Deep Investigation of Neutral Gas Origins (DINGO), an H I survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Using ASKAP subarrays available during its commissioning phase, DINGO early science data were taken over ∼60 deg2 of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 23 h region with 35.5 h integration time. We make direct detections of six known and one new sources at z \u3c 0.01. Using H I spectral stacking, we investigate the H I gas content of galaxies at 0.04 \u3c z \u3c 0.09 for different galaxy colours. The results show that galaxy morphology based on optical colour is strongly linked to H I gas properties. To examine environmental impacts on the H I gas content of galaxies, three subsamples are made based on the GAMA group catalogue. The average H I mass of group central galaxies is larger than those of satellite and isolated galaxies, but with a lower H I gas fraction. We derive a variety of H I scaling relations for physical properties of our sample, including stellar mass, stellar mass surface density, NUV − r colour, specific star formation rate, and halo mass. We find that the derived H I scaling relations are comparable to other published results, with consistent trends also observed to ∼0.5 dex lower limits in stellar mass and stellar surface density. The cosmic H I densities derived from our data are consistent with other published values at similar redshifts. DINGO early science highlights the power of H I spectral stacking techniques with ASKA

Creating a space for young women's voices: Using participatory 'video drama' in Uganda

This article draws upon research that explored the experiences of young women in relation to sexual health in Uganda with a view to enhancing gender-sensitive strategies. We have coined the phrase ‘participatory video drama’ to describe the exploratory methodology that the young women participants in our research used to present stories about their lives. The aim of this article is to suggest that ‘participatory video’ (PV) and ‘participatory video drama’ (PVD) are innovative methodological tools to utilise when working with participants who experience voicelessness in their everyday lives. We contribute to an emerging body of work around this methodology by suggesting that the process of PV provides a novel and engaging platform for participants to express their experiences. PVD further creates spaces for the performative exploration of embedded power relations and is therefore informative and has the potential to be transformatory and empowering

Recent Trends in Basic Science Department Reorganizations

The past several decades have seen a rapid and profound expansion of knowledge within the biomedical sciences. Achievements in molecular biology, human genetics, and neuroscience, among others, have contributed to the realization that the complexity of science now lends itself to interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts. This transformation of biomedical science has led to questions regarding the organization of academic departments in U.S. medical schools around traditional basic science disciplines. Some have proposed that the discipline-based department impedes scientific progress and a new structure that breaks down boundaries is needed. Others believe that traditional basic science departments continue to foster valuable and distinct contributions to research and education. To examine the ways in which basic science departments have evolved in this larger pattern of change in biomedical science, previous research analyzed the restructuring of medical school basic science departments from 1980 to 1999. This Analysis in Brief extends those findings with five additional years of data from 2000 to 2004 and explores two specific questions on recent trends in these reorganizations. Data tracking the numbers of basic science departments and specific changes occurring within them were triangulated among the AAMC Faculty Roster, the AAMC Directory of American Medical Education, and individual institutional information (Web sites and personal correspondence). The data reflect departments designated as basic science by their home institution, but do not include any pathology departments because of the widespread variation in the classification of these departments as basic science or clinical

An Exploration of the Satisfaction and Experiences of Part-time U.S. Medical School Faculty

Despite the fact that many medical schools have increased their reliance on part-time faculty over the past several decades, scant information about the experiences and job satisfaction of parttime faculty exists in the literature. This Analysis in Brief is an exploratory study to provide insight—from the part-time faculty perspective—into the unique issues facing this faculty group and suggestions they offer for improving the workplace. Understanding the part-time faculty members’ experience is important, as they serve a significant and permanent role in the medical school workforce. When used appositely, these part-time medical school faculty appointments can benefit both individuals and institutions. For example, part-time careers can address the work-life balance many faculty hope to achieve—especially the newer generation of both male and female faculty—and may serve as a pathway to retirement for others. To help inform these discussions around these issues and to create a baseline for future studies, we present salient themes from a set of focus groups

Trends in Tenure for Clinical M.D. Faculty in U.S. Medical Schools: A 25-Year Review

The number of faculty in academic medical centers, and clinical enterprises in particular, has expanded profoundly over the past several decades. During this expansion, the prevalence of tenure systems and the actual numbers and proportions of tenured positions in U.S. medical schools have garnered much attention. Some commentators have remarked that tenure, as a system, is vanishing from schools and that the opportunity for tenure-track appointments is declining, especially for clinical faculty. This Analysis in Brief presents data on the current status of tenure systems, the changing distribution of clinical M.D. faculty on tenure-eligible tracks, and trends in numbers of these positions over the past quarter century