Faculty attrition among three specialties

• Published in: Annals of emergency medicine Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 11 - 15
• Main Authors: Thomas, Harold, Moorhead, John, Magnusson, A Roy, Schwartz, Earl
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.01.1991; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology; Emergency and intensive care: techniques, logistics; Emergency Medicine; emergency medicine, academic; faculty attrition; Faculty, Medical - supply & distribution; Intensive care medicine; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Orthopedics; United States; Workforce; emergency medicine, academic; faculty attrition; Job resignation; Human; Medicine; Orthopedic surgery; United States; America; Physician; Emergency; Cardiology; North America; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0196-0644; 1097-6760
• DOI: 10.1016/S0196-0644(05)81110-2

To survey faculty attrition in emergency medicine and compare it with faculty attrition in the specialties of orthopedic surgery and cardiology. Chairmen of the three departments were surveyed regarding faculty attrition, work hours, and motivation for leaving. Those emergency physicians having left also were surveyed. Responses were obtained from 67 of 68 emergency medicine programs, 53 of 58 orthopedic programs, and 47 of 54 cardiology programs. Overall, there were 670 total faculty in emergency medicine, of which 67 (10%) left their positions during 1988 — 38 to enter private practice, 18 to take another academic position, and 11 to do something unidentified. There was no difference in faculty attrition among the three specialties or in what the physicians left to do (P = .75). Both the orthopedists and the cardiologists worked more total hours each week (P = .001) but fewer night hours (P = .03) than the emergency physicians. Among the 67 emergency medicine programs, 28 reported no attrition; 39 reported one or more physicians leaving the program. These two groups of programs did not differ in terms of faculty size, hours worked, or night hours worked.