Nephrology Program Director Protected Time for Program Administration in the United States

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nephrology Fellowship Programs
• Graduate Medical Education Administration

Background:

• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates protected time for program directors.
• Recent ACGME changes reduced required protected time for internal medicine subspecialties based on program size.
• The majority of nephrology programs now fall under a reduced 8-hour weekly protected time requirement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the protected time received by US adult nephrology program directors.
• To determine program directors' perceptions of necessary protected time for effective administration.
• To analyze the division of professional time among nephrology program directors.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous online survey was distributed to all 151 US adult nephrology program directors.
• The survey included 20 questions regarding protected time, perceived needs, and time allocation.
• Descriptive analysis was used to interpret the collected data from the 2021-2022 academic year.

Main Results:

• A 66% response rate was achieved, with survey data representative of national program demographics.
• Median protected time received was 10 hours/week, with programs having fewer than seven fellows receiving 8 hours/week.
• Program directors estimated a need for 12 hours/week, indicating a shortfall of 5 hours/week, with 62% working over 20 hours in direct patient care.

Conclusions:

• Nearly half of surveyed nephrology programs did not meet the ACGME's 10-hour minimum protected time.
• Nephrology program directors require a median of 12 hours/week for optimal program management.
• The study highlights a discrepancy between ACGME requirements and the practical needs of program directors.