JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite gender parity in medical school matriculants, women in academic medicine encounter ongoing challenges in career advancement, promotion, and leadership roles.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to assess the experiences and challenges impacting career trajectory for women-identifying faculty at The Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSUCOM) in tenure track (TT) and clinical track (non-tenure; CT) academic appointment tracks.

Methods:

The OSUCOM Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) organization conducted a survey in May 2023 distributed to all women-identifying faculty. This study focused on the responses of faculty who reported being on the TT or CT at the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor. Survey data were compared to ongoing and new programming in WIMS that addresses faculty needs across both tracks.

Results:

Approximately half (639/1292) of all women-identifying OSUCOM faculty responded to the survey, with 565 reported as TT or CT at the rank of assistant, associate, or full professors. Among these respondents, 23.5% (n=133) were on the TT [assistant professors (45.1%, n=60), associate professors (27.8%, n=37), full professors (27.1%, n=36)], while 76.5% (n=432) were on the CT [assistant professors (56.7%, n=245), associate professors (29.9%, n=129), full professors (13.4%, n=58)]. Across both appointment tracks, the two most common challenges impacting career advancement were caregiving responsibilities (55.1%, n=271) and burnout (47.8%, n=235). Significantly more CT versus TT faculty identified increased patient load (47.8% vs 9.9%, p<0.001) and clinical productivity requirements (38.4% vs 18.8%, p=0.002) as barriers to career advancement. CT faculty were also more likely to report a lack of mentorship compared to TT faculty (48.9% vs 31.9% p=0.001). Significantly more TT faculty reported the impact of COVID-19 (49.5% vs 19.2%, p<0.001) and lack of funding (27.2% vs 16.9%, p=0.014) as barriers to advancement. TT faculty were also significantly more likely to report providing sponsorship in their current role (54.5% vs 38.0%, p=0.003).

Conclusions:

Our findings highlight that TT and CT women-identifying faculty experience different career landscapes with distinct track-specific barriers to career advancement. CT women faculty are particularly vulnerable in areas such as mentorship and sponsorship, while TT faculty experience more challenges related to research productivity. With an increasing number of women being hired as CT faculty, it is critical for academic medical centers (AMCs) to maintain and strengthen support for both TT and CT faculty with institutional-level strategies and targeted programming to address the unique challenges facing women across all academic tracks and ranks.