Plan for compensating full-time physicians involved in medical education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Policy
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Academic institutions are increasingly prioritizing faculty productivity due to financial pressures.
• Current reward systems often overemphasize procedure-based specialties, neglecting primary care and other crucial academic roles.
• Productivity metrics alone fail to capture the full scope of faculty contributions to the academic mission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible and adjustable faculty compensation plan.
• To align faculty rewards with institutional goals and diverse contributions.
• To ensure fair compensation for teaching, research, and quality patient care.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative faculty reward model was developed.
• Eight weighted categories were proposed: previous salary, productivity, patient satisfaction, administration, academic rank, teaching, research, and quality of care.
• Departmental chairpersons or committees are responsible for weighing these categories.

Main Results:

• The proposed plan offers a quantifiable and adjustable method for faculty compensation.
• It allows for flexibility in rewarding behaviors aligned with departmental priorities.
• Individual faculty can increase compensation by adjusting their performance across weighted categories.

Conclusions:

• A balanced approach to faculty compensation is essential for academic institutions.
• The developed plan promotes a more equitable distribution of rewards, recognizing diverse contributions beyond mere productivity.
• Proactive development of such reward systems is crucial to sustain teaching, research, and scholarly activities amidst decreasing federal funding.