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

Bunton, Sarah A.

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Portland State UniversityPDXScholarEducational Leadership and Policy FacultyPublications and Presentations Educational Leadership and Policy7-2008U.S. Medical School Faculty Job SatisfactionSarah A. BuntonPortland State UniversityLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/elp_facPart of the Higher Education and Teaching CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications andPresentations by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu.Citation DetailsBunton, S.A. (2008). U.S. medical school faculty job satisfaction. Analysis in Brief, 8(5), 1-2. Washington, DC: Association ofAmerican Medical CollegesIN BRIEFAnalysisVolume 8, Number 5July 2008Association ofAmerican Medical CollegesConcerns about the vitality of facultycareers at U.S. medical schools havebeen well documented, as medicalschool leaders and researchers haveraised awareness about overall careersatisfaction, faculty stress andburnout, and struggles withrecruitment and retention. Previousresearch has demonstrated anempirical link between job satisfactionand retention as well as job dissatis-faction and intent to leave an organi-zation.1 This Analysis in Briefexamines key areas of medical facultyjob satisfaction and dissatisfactionand the disconnect for some facultymembers between what they value inthe workplace and actual workplaceopportunities.MethodologyIn spring 2007, the AAMC(Association of American MedicalColleges) and the Collaborative onAcademic Careers in HigherEducation (COACHE) administered a51-item survey to 9,148 full-timebasic science and clinical faculty at 10medical schools.2 Based on focusgroups with medical school facultyand the extant literature, survey itemsaddressed—among other areas—insti-tutional climate and culture, perfor-mance-based feedback, governanceand operations, and clinical practice.Of the eligible faculty members, 3,208(35 percent) participated, with almostequal percentages of basic science andclinical faculty responding (37 percentvs. 35 percent, respectively).Results and DiscussionAreas of faculty satisfaction. Findingsindicate that, overall, 62 percent ofresponding faculty were satisfied orvery satisfied with their medicalschools and more than two-thirds (68percent) were satisfied with theirdepartments as places to work. Thesepercentages are slightly lower thanoverall measures of physician satis-faction over the past decade.1 Resultsalso revealed several areas of highsatisfaction (Figure 1). Over three-fourths of faculty respondentsreported being satisfied with theautonomy in their work (77 percentsatisfied or very satisfied), and 72percent of respondents noted theywere satisfied or very satisfied withthe quality of professional interactionswith departmental colleagues. Morethan two-thirds of faculty respondents(67 percent) reported being satisfiedor very satisfied with how well they“fit” (i.e., their sense of belonging) intheir department. For the subset offaculty respondents involved in patientcare, 80 percent were satisfied or verysatisfied with the quality of that careprovided by their institutions.The survey also revealed several areasof lower satisfaction. About one-thirdof respondents (34 percent) agreed orstrongly agreed that the criteria forpromotion at their institution wereconsistently applied to faculty acrosscomparable positions. Less than one-third of responding faculty (29percent) felt that their work wasappreciated by the medical schoolU.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction1 See www.aamc.org/data/aib for references.2 See www.aamc.org/data/aib for a list of participating medical schools and additional methodology.0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Figure 1: Areas of High and Low Faculty Satisfaction and DissatisfactionAutonomy in my workQuality of professionalinteraction withdepartmental colleaguesHow well I “fit”in my departmentCriteria for promotion areconsistently applied to facultyacross comparable positionsMy work is appreciated bythe SOM dean’s officeMy medical school does agood job explaining itsoverall finance to faculty77% satisfied or very satisfied72% satisfied or very satisfied67% satisfied or very satisfied34% agree or strongly agree29% agree or strongly agree21% agree or strongly agreedean’s office, and even fewerresponding faculty (21 percent) feltthat their medical schools did a goodjob explaining overall finances to them.From these findings, it appears thathigher areas of satisfaction tend tostem from the faculty member’s rela-tionships with colleagues, the school,and patients. In contrast, areas oflower satisfaction seem to stem fromthe institutional environmentincluding communication (or lackthereof) from medical school admin-istration and perceptions of equity.Disconnect between faculty values andworkplace opportunities. Responsesalso suggest several areas of disconnectbetween what faculty members value inthe workplace and how those valuestranslate into opportunities andpractice at an institution (Table 1).For example, 78 percent of respondentsreported that they would again choosean academic career, but only 65 percentof respondents said that they would doso at their current institutions.This disconnect is also apparent withregard to collaboration. For example,90 percent of faculty respondents feltthat opportunities to collaborate withfaculty in their department wereimportant or very important, yet only59 percent were satisfied or verysatisfied with those opportunities.Similarly, 89 percent of facultyrespondents felt that opportunities tocollaborate with faculty in otherdepartments at their medical schoolwere important or very important,while fewer (52 percent) were satisfiedor very satisfied with those opportu-nities. The same pattern held true forthe importance of opportunities tocollaborate with faculty in otherschools or colleges at their university(75 percent of faculty respondents feltthose opportunities were importantor very important) and faculty satis-faction with those opportunities(44 percent of respondents weresatisfied with such opportunities).Finally, 90 percent of faculty respon-dents who received feedback from theirunit head about career performancefelt that the feedback they receivedwas important or very important.Just over two-thirds (69 percent) ofrespondents, however, felt that thefeedback they received from theirunit head about career performancewas useful or very useful.ConclusionThese data suggest that while abouttwo-thirds of faculty respondentswere satisfied with their medicalschool and department as places towork, definite areas of satisfactionand dissatisfaction exist. Whileremaining cognizant of the limita-tions of this study (e.g., the responserate), understanding these areas andreconciling the disconnect betweenwhat faculty value in the workplaceand actual workplace opportunitiesmay increase faculty productivity andmorale. In turn, increased facultysatisfaction may decrease facultyturnover, which can cost eachacademic medical center severalmillion dollars annually.3 Medicalschools may also want to regularlycollect faculty satisfaction data toprovide indicators of institutionalprogress and help make their institu-tions better places for faculty to work.Domain Item %OverallSatisfactionAgreement that: “If I had it to do all over, I would again choosean academic career78Agreement that: “If I had it to do all over, I would again chooseto work at this medical school”65Collaboration Importance of opportunities to collaborate with faculty in mydepartment90Satisfaction with opportunities to collaborate with faculty in mydepartment59Importance of opportunities to collaborate with faculty in otherdepartments at my medical school89Satisfaction with opportunities to collaborate with faculty in otherdepartments at my medical school52Importance of opportunities to collaborate with faculty in otherschools/colleges at my university75Satisfaction with opportunities to collaborate with faculty in otherschools/colleges at my university44Feedback Importance of receiving feedback about performance from unit head 90Usefulness of feedback from unit head about career performance 69Analysis IN BRIEFAssociation ofAmerican Medical Colleges2450 N Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20037-1127analysis@aamc.orgwww.aamc.org/data/aibAuthor:Sarah A. Bunton, Ph.D., senior researchanalyst, sbunton@aamc.org 202-862-62253 Waldman J.D., Kelly F., Arora S., & Smith H.L. (2004). The shocking cost of turnover in health care.Health Care Management Review, 29, 2–7.Table 1: Areas of Disconnect Between Faculty Values and Workplace Opportunities

U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction

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U.S. Medical School Faculty Job Satisfaction

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