Faculty Retention Research Articles

Implementing pathways to anesthesiology: Promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and success.

Implementing pathways to anesthesiology: Promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and success.

Addressing the associate level nurse faculty shortage: Do job and mentoring satisfaction predict retention?

IntroductionAdministrators and faculty at associate-level nursing programs face challenges retaining qualified faculty members. Job satisfaction and effective mentoring programs may increase retention. The framework for this study was Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. The aim was to determine if job satisfaction and mentoring satisfaction levels could predict retention. MethodFull-time nursing faculty employed at state-approved associate-level nursing programs in the Mountain, Pacific, West North Central, and West South Central regions of the United States received an invitation to participate in this cross-sectional quantitative online survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to answer the research question. ResultsThere was a weak relationship between mentoring satisfaction and retention. There was a moderate, significant relationship between job satisfaction and retention. Job satisfaction predicted retention. DiscussionAdministrators and faculty can improve job satisfaction among nursing faculty by addressing motivators (like recognition, advancement, and achievement) and hygiene factors (like salary and workload). Evidence-based mentoring programs may help improve nursing faculty job satisfaction and retention.

Factors Affecting Retention Plan Among Faculty of Color in Rehabilitation Counselor Education Programs

Although many institutions of higher education have become committed to diversity and have made efforts to recruit faculty of color, the counseling profession has had a long history of underrepresentation of students and faculty of color. This study investigated the relationships between demographic characteristics, perceptions of the academic climate, and the employment continuation plans of tenured and tenure-track faculty of color in accredited, rehabilitation counselor education (RCE) programs. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify which factors best predict the employment continuation plans for this population. Participants were administered the Faculty Retention Questionnaire (FRQ) to examine these relationships. The sample consisted of 63 tenure-track and tenured faculty of color employed by accredited RCE programs. A univariate general linear model found that the demographic characteristics (race, ethnicity, gender, country of origin, and tenure status) did not predict the employment continuation plans of tenure-track and tenured faculty of color in accredited RCE programs. Multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to determine if the regression scores for the perception of academic climate components (role as researcher, tenure/promotion opportunities, workplace conditions, social climate, faculty/student relationships, role clarity, inter-role conflict, and person/role conflict) predicted 28.5% of the variance in the employment continuation plans of faculty of color in RCE programs. Among these, inter-role conflict was the only statistically significant predictor. Findings add to the literature pertaining to the retention of faculty of color in counselor education and suggest retention strategies supportive of faculty of color.

Building successful culture, mission, and vision in dermatology.

Building a successful culture in academic dermatology is necessary now more than ever, which is compounded by the shortage of dermatologists, especially academicians. This dearth of academic dermatologists raises questions concerning who will train future generations of physicians and who will drive innovative research to advance the field and improve patient care. Recruitment and retention of dermatologists in academia faces steep challenges posed by increasing demands within academic medicine and the draw of the private sector. It is important to address barriers to a career in academia. Efforts should be focused on modifiable aspects of dermatology residency experiences to promote a career in academic dermatology. Of equal importance is the retention of faculty already in academia because midcareer shifts from academic settings to private practice can result in a significant leadership gap.

Outcomes of a Peer Mentoring Circle: An Innovation to Improve Academic Physician Career Advancement in a Community Hospital Setting.

Faculty retention is a prominent topic in academic medicine. Investment in faculty career development supports faculty vitality, advancement, and retention. Academic physicians in community-based settings far from their academic affiliate may find identifying local career advancement mentorship challenging. In June 2018, a career advancement in-service day at The Children's Hospital of San Antonio and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston was convened to design a peer mentoring circle (PMC). Using self-determination theory, this program aimed to help PMC members develop goals; schedule and attend regular meetings; format, review, and critique member curricula vitae and portfolios; and hold one another accountable to submitting award and promotion applications. Eleven inaugural PMC cohort members attended regular monthly meetings from July 2018 to June 2019 (median, 6 members per meeting). All members were competent in accessing the PMC repository of materials. Statistically significant improvement ( P < .01) was seen in self-reported knowledge and skills relevant to award or academic promotion support and resources. Compared with no patient care or teaching awards and 1 academic promotion among non-PMC faculty, 5 PMC members (45.5%) earned a patient care award, 4 (36.4%) earned a teaching award, and 5 of 10 faculty members (50.0%) achieved academic promotion ( P < .001 for all). On the retrospective pre-post survey, members endorsed several PMC strengths, including personal and emotional support, professional support, and accountability. Next steps include establishing a local faculty development office, convening a second cohort, revising evaluation methods, expanding membership, and offering 1-on-1 career counseling. Community-based academicians who aim to replicate this program should organize a career advancement and faculty development in-service day, identify local faculty members to manage meetings, retain a repository of resources, set deadlines and hold one another accountable to them, and celebrate achievements and support one another in failure.

Recommendations for remaining agile in the face of a dental faculty workforce shortage.

Dental education is facing a faculty workforce shortage. Lack of preparation risks faculty, student, and staff morale and is an impediment to institutional growth and innovation. Administrators and faculty must consider strategies to better prepare for, and be successful within, a faculty shortage environment. We review strategies utilized by health professional institutions that have confronted faculty workforce shortages. These strategies were grouped into four domains reflecting the organizational units that typically direct and initiate change within dental education institutions: budget and finance, human resources, organizational structure, and curricular structure. Recommendations using a four-pronged approach based on these domains have been developed for remaining agile in the face of a faculty workforce shortage. Local needs assessments and strategic planning are the first steps in highlighting institutional strengths and identifying gaps within each of the domains. Faculty development and retention efforts, as well as increasing curricular efficiencies, are essential for success across all domains.

The Clinical Academic Partnership for Excellence: Lessons Learned From a Clinical Faculty Onboarding Program.

The Clinical Academic Partnership for Excellence (CAPE) is an innovative program designed to provide ongoing education, mentorship, and support for novice clinical faculty. The aims of this study were to (1) understand the competency of clinical faculty in their teaching, (2) discover the usefulness of CAPE modules, and (3) explore the benefits of the CAPE program. An electronic survey using Likert-style and open-ended questions was administered to clinical faculty who participated in CAPE over 2 years. Participants were able to operationalize the curriculum, objectively evaluate students, and communicate effectively using CAPE content. Benefits included collaboration with faculty, evidence-based teaching, and debriefing. Eighty-eight percent of participants planned to teach for the program again. The CAPE program is an innovative approach to bridging the gap between clinical practice and academia. It may be a sustainable solution for faculty retention, satisfaction, and quality education.

Structuring Inclusion into Faculty Recruitment and Retention

Structuring Inclusion into Faculty Recruitment and Retention

Growing Indigenous graduates in the health professions: a case study in decentralised student selection and engagement

ABSTRACT This case study research, informed by an Indigenous Research Paradigm, sought to ascertain the impact of a university’s decentralised health faculty Aboriginal engagement program. It involved analysis of health faculty and other faculties’ 2016–2020 student commencement, enrolment, completion, and retention data. The health faculty was more likely to have Aboriginal commencements in 2017 and 2018 due to a more equitable student selection process focused on applicant success factors and inclusive of Aboriginal epistemology. Other faculties’ Aboriginal commencement improved when a similar process was adopted. Excepting 2018, the health faculty was more likely to have Aboriginal completions and from 2017 onwards, Aboriginal enrolments. An increasing faculty retention pattern existed likely relating to earlier student engagement and planning. The decentralised model, led by Aboriginal people and supported by faculty and university, also provided processes for Aboriginal students, to crucially be, belong, and further grow as, Aboriginal people. With this presumably better positioning of graduates’ standpoints as Aboriginal health professionals to engage with healthcare cultural safety. This is important as health professions education is predominantly conceived by colonial paradigms which can promote assimilation. Despite improvements, inequities remained. Higher education should aim to graduate as many Aboriginal health professional graduates as possible to address healthcare inequities.

Introduction of Balint Groups as a Reflective Practice Method

Cynicism and burnout are well-described among new medical school graduates. At the new medical school in Washington state, the trend toward placing importance on wellness and creating a culture of healing was present from the outset. To encourage reflective practice, Balint groups were introduced as a method to teach students to think deeply about patient relationships and to address particular curricular objectives, including to demonstrate empathy for healthcare trainees and for patients, and to practice active listening skills in the context of the student Balint groups. The approach presented here will focus on the introduction of Balint groups into the pre-clerkship curriculum as a longitudinal tool to prepare students to use the method with more facility in their clerkships. The presentation at the 2022 American Balint Society Annual Meeting highlighted the introduction of Balint groups to the clinician faculty using the Intensive on the Road format, the introduction of Balint groups to pre-clerkship medical students, and the use of Balint groups in the pre-clerkship curriculum. The operational aspects, including faculty recruitment and retention, as well as student groupings and scheduling, were addressed in the context of the overall theme of monitoring student progress toward open communication about their challenging patient relationships. Programmatic evaluation and current trends were emphasized, along with the anticipated evolution and future directions of the program at our community-based medical school.

Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention

Faculty hiring and retention determine the composition of the US academic workforce and directly shape educational outcomes1, careers2, the development and spread of ideas3 and research priorities4,5. However, hiring and retention are dynamic, reflecting societal and academic priorities, generational turnover and efforts to diversify the professoriate along gender6–8, racial9 and socioeconomic10 lines. A comprehensive study of the structure and dynamics of the US professoriate would elucidate the effects of these efforts and the processes that shape scholarship more broadly. Here we analyse the academic employment and doctoral education of tenure-track faculty at all PhD-granting US universities over the decade 2011–2020, quantifying stark inequalities in faculty production, prestige, retention and gender. Our analyses show universal inequalities in which a small minority of universities supply a large majority of faculty across fields, exacerbated by patterns of attrition and reflecting steep hierarchies of prestige. We identify markedly higher attrition rates among faculty trained outside the United States or employed by their doctoral university. Our results indicate that gains in women’s representation over this decade result from demographic turnover and earlier changes made to hiring, and are unlikely to lead to long-term gender parity in most fields. These analyses quantify the dynamics of US faculty hiring and retention, and will support efforts to improve the organization, composition and scholarship of the US academic workforce.

Coaching and teaching performance in higher education: a literature review

PurposeThe purpose of this literature review was to identify best practices in coaching faculty within higher education and the subsequent benefits of effective faculty coaching programs for the retention of quality faculty. In higher education, where an emphasis is on the delivery of curriculum for student learning, faculty performance reviews are not universally defined, nor are coaching practices consistently employed. Giving teaching performance feedback promptly to faculty may be a means to foster professional growth and enhance the implementation of progressive practices to benefit student learning.Design/methodology/approachThe authors undertook a content analysis of current literature on the evaluation and coaching practices of higher education faculty that specifically addressed the quality and timeliness of feedback and gaps in practices.FindingsThrough this study, the authors gleaned recommendations for improving faculty evaluation, coaching, and feedback.Practical implicationsDeveloping coaching programs to include all higher education faculty may lead to improved teaching performance and alignment of the faculty with institutional goals. The insights from this study may provide the impetus to develop structures and processes for university-based professional development and coaching programs that could lead to positive student learning outcomes and better relationships among faculty.Originality/valueThis is the first review to use Cooper's systematic examination of current literature to explore the topics of faculty support, coaching, and development within higher education.

A National Qualitative Study of Work-Life Balance in Prelicensure Nursing Faculty.

This study explored how full-time, prelicensure baccalaureate nursing faculty members described their experiences with work-life balance. With increasing shortages of nursing faculty and practicing nurses, schools of nursing are developing faculty recruitment and retention efforts. It is imperative to understand the experiences of nursing faculty with regard to balancing their work and personal lives. A web-based survey including two open-ended questions related to work-life balance was disseminated to deans of nursing programs, who disseminated the survey to nursing faculty. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The sample (n = 320) was representative of current nursing faculty demographics. Three themes emerged: Relationship With Administration, Nursing Faculty Workload, and Boundary Setting. Opposing subthemes were noted in each theme. Administrators may use the findings from this study to create administrator and faculty development opportunities and mentorship programs that promote work-life balance of nursing faculty.

Introduction to this special issue.

Introduction to this special issue.

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Data for "Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in U.S. faculty hiring and retention

Retention and Career Success of Faculty: The Case for Building a Sense of Belonging to the Academic Medicine Community

As attrition in the healthcare workforce rises, factors that positively impact retention, engagement, work satisfaction, and vitality for faculty in Colleges of Medicine are of critical importance. One important factor that is less often discussed is the need to develop a sense of belonging and connectedness to the institutional community. Underrepresented minority faculty particularly feel the benefit of feeling like they belong. Recommendations for enhancing faculty connectedness to a community in support of developing a sense of belonging to that community are offered.

Inequity in Peer Review in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by retaining and advancing Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) individuals in the discipline of communication sciences and disorders (CSD), amid critical shortages of faculty to train the next generation of practitioners and researchers. Publishing research is central to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of faculty. However, inequity in peer review may systematically target BIPOC scholars, adding yet another barrier to their success as faculty. This viewpoint article addresses the challenge of inequity in peer review and provides some practical strategies for developing equitable peer-review practices. First, we describe the demographics of ASHA constituents, including those holding research doctorates, who would typically be involved in peer review. Next, we explore the peer-review process, describing how inequity in peer review may adversely impact BIPOC authors or research with BIPOC communities. Finally, we offer real-world examples of and a framework for equitable peer review. Inequity at the individual and systemic levels in peer review can harm BIPOC CSD authors. Such inequity has effects not limited to peer review itself and exerts long-term adverse effects on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of BIPOC faculty in CSD. To uphold ASHA's commitment to DEI and to move the discipline of CSD forward, it is imperative to build equity into the editorial structure for publishing, the composition of editorial boards, and journals content. While we focus on inequity in CSD, these issues are relevant to other disciplines.

Seeking Tenure While Black: Lawsuit Composite Counterstories of Black Professors at Historically White Institutions

ABSTRACT In tenure and promotion denial lawsuits against historically White institutions, Black professors submit evidence of discrimination based on implicit and explicit bias and gendered racism, yet legal redress rarely occurs because many courts will not recognize structural inequities as a persisting reality in academia. Informed by intersectional theory and methodology, this qualitative study synthesized data from legal documents of four tenure denial lawsuits filed by Black professors, with the results presented as a fictionalized composite counternarrative affirming these professors’ lived experiences. Drawing on scholarship about tenure and promotion, the study identifies intersectional barriers to tenure attainment for Black professors that include inadequate institutional support, divergence from established institutional tenure and promotion policies, inconsistent application of tenure and promotion guidelines, and problematic academic politics. The study findings illuminate how inequitable, often haphazard tenure and promotion processes can result in litigation and extend scholarship about the retention of Black professors in the academy. The project delineates a path toward more humanity-affirming academic work environments with unequivocal institutional commitments to faculty retention. To translate these values into practice, the authors assert the need for a new approach to tenure and promotion policy anchored in anti-discrimination, referred to as critical procedural justice.