Trends of Attrition and Migration in Academic Radiology in US Medical Schools

Concerns have been expressed over attrition and migration contributing to workforce shortages in academic radiology.

We aimed to assess trends in attrition (leaving academic radiology) and migration in academic radiology in US medical schools and assess any variations based on gender and over time.

Using the Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Roster, full-time faculty in clinical educator track appointed between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2009 (primary cohort), were followed from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2024. Retention, attrition, and migration rates for clinical faculty were compared by faculty rank and gender. Longitudinal trends in academic retention were plotted and analyzed using simple linear regression with years as the independent variable. More recent trends were assessed by comparing 7-year retention end points between the primary cohort and a secondary cohort appointed between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016, and 4-year trends for cohort appointed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019.

A total of 1,868 academic radiology faculty were included in the primary cohort (2010 cohort). After 14 years, 24.1% of instructors, 46.0% assistant professors, 59.6% associate professors, and 56.1% full professors retained their primary faculty appointment in the same medical school and department. The overall attrition rate for women (27.8%) was more than for men (23.5%, P = .04). Women had lower academic migration compared with men (21.8% versus 27.7% overall, P = .00737) at each rank. The yearly retention rates for assistant and associate professors did not fluctuate substantially during the study period for all three cohorts CONCLUSION: Retention rates in US academic radiology departments have not significantly changed over time, especially the attrition rates, which remain low. Migration rates have been historically low for women at the senior professor rank but have improved over time.