Research activities of faculty in academic departments of medicine

To assess the involvement of current medical faculty in research, a research activities questionnaire and a faculty roster form were sent to all full-time, salaried faculty of departments of medicine in medical schools in the United States. Valid responses from 7483 faculty members were received from 119 medical schools. About 88% of respondents are men; 83% have M.D. degrees; 8% have a Ph.D. degree; and 7% have both degrees. Twenty-four percent of the faculty who have done research had little preparation for a research career. However, 45% of faculty with M.D. degrees had 2 or more years of research training. Seventy-seven percent of faculty with only an M.D. degree reported research activity from 1982 to 1983; the median effort of all faculty with an M.D. is 25%. Faculty with both degrees are more involved in research and the median effort for those with a Ph.D. is 95%.