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The Association Between Academic Promotion and Lifetime Salary Compensation in Orthopaedic Surgery
Jason Silvestre1, James D Kang, Robert A Ravinsky
1From the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC (Silvestre, Ravinsky, Lawrence, and Reitman), the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA (Kang), the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (Kelly), the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (LaPorte), and the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (Harris).
Academic promotion significantly increases orthopaedic surgeons' lifetime earnings, particularly from assistant to associate professor. This highlights the financial advantages of career advancement in academic orthopaedics.
Area of Science:
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Academic Medicine
- Health Economics
Background:
- Limited research exists on the financial impact of academic promotion for orthopaedic faculty in the US.
- This study addresses this gap by quantifying the financial benefits associated with career advancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the association between academic promotion and financial compensation for orthopaedic faculty.
- To quantify the salary increases across different academic ranks and subspecialties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 2022 Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Salary Report data for US medical school orthopaedic surgery departments.
- Analyzed annual and lifetime salary compensation, modeling lifetime earnings based on promotion timelines.
- Employed nonparametric tests to compare median salaries across academic ranks.
Main Results:
- Median annual salaries increased with higher academic ranks across all orthopaedic subspecialties (P < 0.05).
- The most substantial lifetime salary increase was observed during promotion from assistant to associate professor (13% median increase).
- Sports medicine saw the largest lifetime earnings increase from assistant to associate professor (18%), while spine surgery showed the greatest increase from associate to full professor (22%).
Conclusions:
- Academic promotion offers significant financial benefits for orthopaedic surgeons.
- The promotion from assistant to associate professor yields the greatest financial gain.
- Understanding these financial trends is crucial for academic departments to attract and retain talented faculty.
