A computerized faculty time-management system in an academic family medicine department

The authors describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a computerized faculty time-management system (FTMS) in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The FTMS is presented as an integrated set of computerized spreadsheets used annually to allocate faculty time across all mission activities of the department. It was first implemented in 1996 and has been continuously developed since then. An iterative approach has been used to gain consensus among faculty about time resources needed for various tasks of all missions of the department. These time-resource assumptions are used in the computerized system. Faculty time is allocated annually by the department vice chair in negotiation with individual faculty, making sure that the activities planned do not exceed the work time each faculty member has available for the year. During this process, faculty preferences are balanced against department aggregate needs to meet mission commitments and obligations. The authors describe how the computerized FTMS is used for faculty time management and career development, department planning, budget planning, clinical scheduling, and mission cost accounting. They also describe barriers and potential abuses and the challenge of building an organizational culture willing to discuss faculty time openly and committed to developing a system perceived as fair and accurate. The spreadsheet file is available free from the authors for use in other departments.