A comprehensive program in academic health professions to enhance faculty recruitment, mentoring, productivity, and retention: The case of RCSI's StAR program

Abstract

Top faculty talent recruitment, mentoring, productivity, and retention are paramount for organizational success among institutions of higher learning. Programs would do well to treat these various aspects of faculty management/development as inextricably linked to one another, rather than viewing recruitment or retention in a vacuum. The Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) program at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin was founded to bear these things, along with best practices in faculty development, in mind to enhance organizational effectiveness. This paper provides some background, description, and outcomes of the program thus far, revealing positive trends in scholarly productivity, teaching, program faculty commitment, and the development of future leaders for the institution, even while further evaluation and continued quality improvement for the StAR initiative are called for. It is hoped that the details provided here can be helpful for other academic organizations as they consider any of various initiatives aimed to attract high-quality labor capital, position those faculty for success, and enhance organizational effectiveness and reputation.