Variables associated with full-time faculty appointment among contemporary U.S. Medical school graduates: implications for academic medicine workforce diversity.
OBJECTIVE
The authors sought to identify variables independently associated with full-time faculty appointment among recent medical graduates.


METHODS
With institutional review board approval, the authors developed a database of individualized records for six midwestern medical schools' 1997-2002 graduates. Using multivariate logistic regression, they identified variables independently associated with full-time faculty appointment from among demographic, medical-school-related, and career-intention variables. They report adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).


RESULTS
Of 1,965 graduates in the sample, 263 (13.4%) held full-time faculty appointments in 2007-2008, including 14.4% (123/853) of women graduates and 8.6% (17/198) of underrepresented minority (URM) graduates. Women (OR: 1.386; 95% CI: 1.023-1.878), MD/PhD program graduates (OR: 2.331; 95% CI: 1.160-4.683), and graduates who reported a career-setting preference for "full-time university faculty" on the Association of American Medical Colleges' Graduation Questionnaire (OR: 3.164; 95% CI: 2.231-4.486) were more likely to have a full-time faculty appointment. Graduates who chose family medicine (OR: 0.433; 95% CI: 0.231-0.811) and surgical specialties (OR: 0.497; 95% CI: 0.249-0.994) were less likely to have a full-time faculty appointment. URM race/ethnicity was not independently associated with full-time faculty appointment (OR: 0.788; 95% CI: 0.452-1.375).


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts to increase representation of women graduates in academic medicine seem to have met with greater success than efforts to increase representation of URM graduates. Greater participation of URM students in MD/PhD programs and in interventions during medical school that promote interest in academic medicine careers may increase URM graduates' representation in academic medicine.
Andriole
Dorothy A
DA
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. andrioled@wustl.edu <andrioled@wustl.edu>
Jeffe
Donna B
DB
Hageman
Heather L
HL
Ephgrave
Kimberly
K
Lypson
Monica L
ML
Mavis
Brian
B
McDougle
Leon
L
Roberts
Nicole K
NK
D003625:Data Collection; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States